The Wietze is a river, 29 kilometres long, in the South Lüneburg Heath

Lüneburg Heath

The Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest and woodland in northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Bremen and is named after the town of Lüneburg. Most of the area is a nature reserve...

, 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.

The river rises east of the Soltau

Soltau

- Middle Ages :The region of the Lüneburg Heath had already been settled by the start of the New Stone Age about 4,000 years ago. The Soltau area was initially occupied by a few individual farms. The parish of Soltau was probably founded around 830 and the first wooden church Sante Johannis...

 suburb of Moide and flows from there in a southerly direction to Wietzendorf

Wietzendorf

Wietzendorf is a municipality in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 11 km southeast of Soltau, and 50 km southwest of Lüneburg....

. Here it is joined by the only tributary of any size, the Aue. The Aue has two source streams: the Hötzinger Aue, which rises north of Stübeckshorn, 98 m above sea level and the Alvernsche Aue, that has its source northwest of Alvern, 86 m above sea level. Beyond Wietzendorf the Wietze swings east, passes the village of Reddingen

Reddingen

Reddingen is a village in the municipality of Wietzendorf in Soltau-Fallingbostel district, Lower Saxony, Germany. The village, even with its associated hamlets of Reiningen and Halmern, only has 100 inhabitants.- Location :...

 and flows through its attached hamlets of Halmern and Reiningen and past the Winterhoff farm. It then turns again towards the south and discharges into the Örtze

Örtze

The Örtze is a river in the North German state of Lower Saxony, which rises north of Munster in the Große Heide and, after , joins the Aller southeast of Winsen.- Source and course :...

 at Müden

Müden (Örtze)

Müden is a village in the municipality of Faßberg in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath in the German state of Lower Saxony.The village, which is situated in the county of Celle has around 2220 inhabitants and is a very popular tourist centre, whose catchment area includes Hamburg, Bremen and...

.

The Wietze is a very clean river. It is water quality class II through (moderately polluted, -betamesosaprob-) Between Wietzendorf and Velligsen the river can be used by canoe

Canoe

A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...

s. It is looked after by the Örtze maintenance division which is based Faßberg

Faßberg

Faßberg is a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 35 km north of Celle, and 30 km west of Uelzen.-Places of interest:* Historic village centre of Müden * Berlin Airlift memorial* St...

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There is a river of the same name that also flows through the Lüneburg Heath, but discharges into the River Aller

Aller

The Aller is a river, long, in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last form the Lower Aller federal waterway...

 - see Wietze (Aller)

Wietze (Aller)

The Wietze is a river, about 30 km long, and a tributary of the River Aller in Lower Saxony, Germany.- Geography :The river begins at the confluence of the Edder and Flöth northeast of Hanover near Altwarmbüchen...

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