Harburg Hills


The Harburg Hills are a low ridge in the northeastern part of the German state of Lower Saxony and the southern part of the city state of Hamburg. They are up to high.

Geography and history

The Harburg Hills lie northwest of the Lüneburg Heath in the Lower Saxon district of Landkreis Harburg and in the Hamburg quarters of Eißendorf, Hausbruch, Heimfeld, Marmstorf and Neugraben-Fischbek within the Harburg borough. Thus they are located between the actual city of Hamburg to the north, Seevetal to the east, the Lüneburg Heath to the southeast, Handeloh, Welle and Otter to the south, Tostedt and Buchholz in der Nordheide to the southwest, Hollenstedt and Beckdorf to the west and Neu Wulmstorf to the northwest. At the centre of this hill country is the municipal district of Rosengarten. The geographic centre of the Harburg Hills is the Buchholz motorway interchange on the A 1. The hills are framed by the River Seeve in the east and the River Este in the west.
The Harburg Hills are end moraines that were formed in the Saalian glaciation and Weichselian Ice Age. They are a popular recreation area today.

Terrain

The Harburg Hills form a landscape of hilly forests, heaths and farmland. In the extreme north of this hill country, where they are called "The Black Hills" and are very rugged for North Germany, may be found the nature reserves of the Fischbeker Heide and Neugrabener Heide as well as the Schwarze Berge Deer Park. The southern end of these hills is called the Lohberge.

Access

The area is crossed by the A 1 and A 261 Autobahns; junctions Neu Wulmstorf-Rade, Buchholz-Dibbersen and Rosengarten-Tötensen enabling easy access to the hills. The A 7 runs through the northeastern part of the region; leave at the Marmstorf exit.

Hills