Kleiner Deister
Encyclopedia
The Kleiner Deister is a ridge of hills (up to ) in the Calenberg Uplands
Calenberg Uplands
The Calenberg Uplands are a landscape unit in the Weser-Leine Uplands in Lower Saxony, Germany. They border on the Calenberg Land to the north and merge into the Weser Uplands in the west and the Leine Uplands in the east...

 which, together with the Nesselberg
Nesselberg
The Nesselberg is a ridge up to high in the Calenberg Highland which, together with the Kleiner Deister and the Osterwald, forms a group of three contiguous hill regions in the northwestern part of the Leine Uplands...

 and the Osterwald
Osterwald
Osterwald is a community and part of the Joint Community of Neuenhaus in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony. The community consists of the centres of Osterwald, Alte Piccardie and Hohenkörben ....

, forms a group of three adjacent hill ranges in the northern part of the Leine Uplands
Leine Uplands
The Leine Uplands is a region in Germany's Central Uplands which forms a part of the Lower Saxon Hills and lies along the River Leine between Göttingen and Hanover...

. It lies between Springe
Springe
Springe is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Deister hills, southwest of Hanover.-City Structure:* Springe with 12,666 Inhabitants* Bennigsen with 4,095 Inhabitants...

 and Eldagsen in Hanover region in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Geography

The Kleiner Deister is located immediately south of Springe
Springe
Springe is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Deister hills, southwest of Hanover.-City Structure:* Springe with 12,666 Inhabitants* Bennigsen with 4,095 Inhabitants...

 and just north of the Nesselberg
Nesselberg
The Nesselberg is a ridge up to high in the Calenberg Highland which, together with the Kleiner Deister and the Osterwald, forms a group of three contiguous hill regions in the northwestern part of the Leine Uplands...

. It is drained by the river Haller
Haller (river)
Haller is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Lower Saxony...

.

The B 217 federal highway from Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

 to Hamelin
Hamelin
Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 ....

 runs through the flat pass
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 of the Deister Gate. In the south east the Kleiner Deister is separated from the northern foothills of the Osterwald
Osterwald
Osterwald is a community and part of the Joint Community of Neuenhaus in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony. The community consists of the centres of Osterwald, Alte Piccardie and Hohenkörben ....

 by a valley through which run both the Gehlenbach stream and the L 422
Landesstraße
Landesstraßen are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are roads that cross the boundary of a rural or urban district...

 from Eldagsen to Coppenbrügge
Coppenbrügge
Coppenbrügge is a municipality in the Hamelin-Pyrmont district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximatively 15 km east of Hamelin.The Municipality covers the following villages:* Bäntorf* Behrensen* Bessingen* Bisperode* * Coppenbrügge...

.

At once time the old Wolfsbuche stood on the saddle between the Kleiner Deister and the Nesselberg and therefore between the Wolfsköpfe in the northeast and the Grasberg in the southwest; this was also the source of the Schwarze Bach, a tributary of the Gehlenbach. Both ridges lies between the villages of Springe-Altenhagen, the heart of Springe
Springe
Springe is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Deister hills, southwest of Hanover.-City Structure:* Springe with 12,666 Inhabitants* Bennigsen with 4,095 Inhabitants...

, Eldagsen and Coppenbrügge-Brünnighausen.

Part of a European long-distance path, the Roswithaweg ("Roswitha path"), runs over the Kleiner Deister and the neighbouring Nesselberg hills from north to south. The Kleiner Deister ist almost entirely surrounded by a 16.3 km long and 2 m high sandstone wall which, in the south, runs over the crest of the Nesselberg. The Saupark Springe - a wildlife park - is located here. It is the main attraction of the ridge and has many species of wild animal.

Geology

The Kleiner Deister has a Hercynian strike and forms the northeast wing of a large syncline. The strata of the Deister
Deister
The Deister is a chain of hills in the German state of Lower Saxony, about 15 mi southwest of the city of Hanover. It runs in a north-westerly direction from Springe in the south to Rodenberg in the north. The next the chain of hills that attaches in the south is called Small Deister...

 on both sides of the crest stem from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods; these are inverted in the case of the Kleiner Deister.

The side of the Kleiner Deister that descends southwest to the Nesselberg is made of stratified sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

s, siltstone
Siltstone
Siltstone is a sedimentary rock which has a grain size in the silt range, finer than sandstone and coarser than claystones.- Description :As its name implies, it is primarily composed of silt sized particles, defined as grains 1/16 - 1/256 mm or 4 to 8 on the Krumbein phi scale...

s and clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

s, with deposits of anthracite in places. These are the so-called Obernkirchen
Obernkirchen
Obernkirchen is a town in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 8 km southwest of Stadthagen, and 15 km east of Minden....

 strata (Wealden
Wealden
For the stone, see Wealden GroupWealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England: its name comes from the Weald, the area of high land which occupies the centre of its area.-History:...

) of the Lower Cretaceous.

The northeastern slopes of the Kleiner Deister are characterised by marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...

s, clays and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

s. These are the so-called Münder marls of the Upper Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to  Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...

.

Hills

  • Burgberg ca.
  • Wolfsköpfe
  • Drakenberg
  • Raher Berg
  • Hallermundskopf

Flora and fauna

The Saupark Springe is bounded by a wall which encloses much of the Kleiner Deister. The wildlife park has Wild Boar as well as Red Deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...

, Roe Deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...

, Fallow Deer
Fallow Deer
The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...

 and Mouflon
Mouflon
The mouflon is a subspecies group of the wild sheep Ovis aries. Populations of Ovis aries can be partitioned into the mouflons and urials or arkars...

. It also has a number of caves in which rare species of bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

 may be found. The actual park is an old deciduous mixed forest of beech and oak, birch and chestnut avenues. In addition to crags, caves, barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...

s, springs and wild meadows there is a wide range of rare animals and plants. Part of the Saupark, the Springe Bison Enclosure (Wisentgehege Springe), is a deer park in which visitors can observe wild animals at close range. In addition to breeding the almost extinct Bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...

, the enclosure is also home to Elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...

, Mouflon
Mouflon
The mouflon is a subspecies group of the wild sheep Ovis aries. Populations of Ovis aries can be partitioned into the mouflons and urials or arkars...

, wild horse
Wild Horse
The wild horse is a species of the genus Equus, which includes as subspecies the domesticated horse as well as the undomesticated Tarpan and Przewalski's Horse. The Tarpan became extinct in the 19th century, and Przewalski's Horse was saved from the brink of extinction and reintroduced...

s, owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...

s and birds of prey.

Since 1954 the Kleiner Deister and the Nesselberg have formed a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 with a total of around 2500 hectares (6,177.6 acre) which includes the Saupark Springe.

Places of interest

In addition to Saupark Springe and the Springe Bison Enclosure with their animals and plants, demonstration areas for deer feeding and Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...

 barrows; other points of interest include old sandstone quarries on the Nesselberg
Nesselberg
The Nesselberg is a ridge up to high in the Calenberg Highland which, together with the Kleiner Deister and the Osterwald, forms a group of three contiguous hill regions in the northwestern part of the Leine Uplands...

, the ruins of the medieval Hallermund Castle on the Hallermundskopf and the remains of an Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...

 circular rampart
Circular rampart
A circular rampart is an embankment built in the shape of a circle that was used as part of the defences for a military fortification, hill fort or refuge, or was built for religious purposes or as a place of gathering....

, the Kukesburg, near Altenhagen. In the stone quarries near Altenhagen 400 miners were employed around 1900 to extract the valuable Deister sandstone. This outstanding architectural stone was used in the opera house and new city hall
New City Hall (Hanover)
The New City Hall or New Town Hall in Hanover, Germany, is a city hall and was opened on July 20, 1913, after having been under construction for 12 years. It is a magnificent, castle-like building of the era of William II in eclectic style at the southern edge of the inner city...

 at Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

, in the Reichstag building in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

and other buildings across the whole of Europe.

External links

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