Map

The Weyerberg is a 54.4 metre high, sandy geest

Geest (topography)

Geest is a type of slightly raised landscape that occurs in the plains of in Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils, usually mantled by a heathland vegetation, comprising glacial deposits left behind after the last ice age during the...

 island in the Teufelsmoor

Teufelsmoor

The Teufelsmoor is a region of bog and moorland north of Bremen, Germany. It forms a large part of the district of Osterholz, and extends into the neighbouring districts of Rotenburg .- Geography :...

 ("Devil's Bog") in northern 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...

. It is located near its main settlement of Worpswede

Worpswede

Worpswede is a municipality in the district of Osterholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Teufelsmoor, northeast of Bremen. The small town itself is located near the Weyerberg hill. It has been the home to a lively artistic community since the end of the 19th century, with over 130...

 in the district of Osterholz 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...

. Its name means something like 'wooded hill'. It probably emerged at the end of the ice age

Ice age

An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...

, when meltwaters deposited sand around its 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...

 core.

Traces of the New Stone Age were found on and around the hill: stone tools and items of jewellery. Urn graves dating to 1100 BC were discovered on the southern slopes, the Hinterm Berg. In 500 BC, the hill was abandoned as a settlement again as the climate cooled down.

In 1218 Worpswede was first mentioned in the records because the eight farms there were tithing

Tithe

A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...

 to Osterholz Abbey.

On the Weyerberg stands the Lower Saxony Stone by Bernhard Hoetger. In 1957 the Stiftung Worpswede was founded that sought through land purchase to prevent further sand quarrying on the Weyerberg.

Sources

• Hans-Gerhard Kulp: Der Weyerberg und das Teufelsmoor – ein landschaftsökologischer Führer. Hrsg.: Biologische Station Osterholz, Verlag M. Simmering 1995, Lilienthal
• Wendula Dahle (Hrsg.): Im Land der Moore und Deiche. Ausflüge links und rechts der Weser. Ein Reise- und Lesebuch. Edition Temmen, 5. Aufl. 2005, ISBN 3-86108-466-X