Böhme River
Encyclopedia
The Böhme is a right-bank, northeastern tributary
of the Aller
in the district of Soltau-Fallingbostel in the north German state of Lower Saxony
. The river is 71 kilometres (44.1 mi) long.
in the Pietzmoor
. It flows mainly in a southwesterly direction through the district of Soltau-Fallingbostel losing 61 m in height.
The Böhme leaves its source region southwest of the town of Schneverdingen
and heads south, passing through the town of Soltau
about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) later. It then runs close to the northwestern boundary of the Bergen-Hohne Training Area
and through the centres of Dorfmark
and Bad Fallingbostel
. Above Walsrode
it forms the Böhme Knee (Böhmeknie), which strikes out to the northwest, before finally swinging southwest to reach the Aller
a little below the small village of Böhme between Ahlden and Rethem.
The Böhme is the westernmost of the large rivers in the Southern Heath or Südheide. Unlike the others, however, it flows through a relatively narrow valley in its middle reaches between Dorfmark and Walsrode, the highest points of which are the 40 m high bluffs of the Fallingbostel Lieth. It had already begun to attract tourists by the end of the 19th century and its popularity is reflected in local names such as the Honerdingen Switzerland (Honerdinger Schweiz) - now unrecognisable due to sand quarrying - and Böhme Gorge (Böhmeschlucht). It initially formed a single landscape unit with the small ridge of the Falkenberg
end moraine, the dolmens of the Sieben Steinhäuser
and the old resort of Achterberg, today inside the Bergen-Hohne Training Area. Today it is still dominated by tourism, especially visitors to the Walsrode Bird Park
and the grave of Hermann Löns
in Walsrode, the largest town in the Böhme valley.
This region, also called the Heidmark
has a denser population than the surrounding area, partly because of the more fertile soils on the local loam heathland, but importantly due to early industrialization in Bomlitz (on the Böhme tributary of the same name).
The upper reaches of the valley are broad and typical of the southern Lüneburg Heath
. Here the Böhme rises from several old peat pits in the re-flooded Pietzmoor near Schneverdingen. The main settlement on the upper river is the road and railway hub of Soltau, a town of similar centrality
as Walsrode and well-known as a tourist destination because of the Heide Park
north of the town.
Below Walsrode the valley broadens suddenly into the Aller
glacial valley with a densely wooded, sandy floodplain resembling an alluvial fan
. The water quality is good being Class II: moderately polluted almost throughout..
, Hamburg
and Hanover
, which is convenient for logistic firms and tourist traffic, and also on industry, mainly in Bomlitz (Industriepark Walsrode, Dow Wolff Cellulosics) and Bad Fallingbostel (the main depot for Kraft Foods
in Europe).
The course of Böhme is followed at a short distance by the A7 motorway, the B209 federal road
and since 1890 by the Heath Railway
. It is crossed by railway lines of lesser importance such as the so-called America Line
and the Bomlitz–Walsrode railway
.
The river gave its name to the proposed town of Böhmetal, which was to have been formed from the Bomlitz, Bad Fallingbostel and Walsrode in 2011, before the plans came to nothing.
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the 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...
in the district of Soltau-Fallingbostel in the north German state of 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...
. The river is 71 kilometres (44.1 mi) long.
Course
The Böhme rises on the southwestern edge of the Lüneburg Heath Nature ParkLüneburg Heath Nature Park
In the north of the area known as the Lüneburg Heath in northern Germany, lies the Lüneburg Heath Nature Park with an area of...
in the Pietzmoor
Pietzmoor
The Pietzmoor is named after the little village of Pietz, and is the largest contiguous area of bog on the Lüneburg Heath in northern Germany. The bog lies southeast of the town of Schneverdingen and is bordered to the south by the village of Heber. The Pietzmoor has an average peat depth of 4 m,...
. It flows mainly in a southwesterly direction through the district of Soltau-Fallingbostel losing 61 m in height.
The Böhme leaves its source region southwest of the town of Schneverdingen
Schneverdingen
Schneverdingen is a town in the northern part of the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km north of Soltau, and 50 km south of Hamburg....
and heads south, passing through the town of 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...
about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) later. It then runs close to the northwestern boundary of the Bergen-Hohne Training Area
Bergen-Hohne Training Area
Bergen-Hohne Training Area is a NATO military training area in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It covers an area of , which makes it the largest military training area in Germany.It was established by the German armed forces, the...
and through the centres of Dorfmark
Dorfmark
The village of Dorfmark is part of the borough of Bad Fallingbostel in the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony.Dorfmark has 3,469 inhabitants, over 22% of the borough's population, and an area of , some 24% of the total area in the borough.The River Böhme flows through Dorfmark...
and Bad Fallingbostel
Bad Fallingbostel
Bad Fallingbostel is the district town of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of Bad since 5 August 2002. It has close ties to Walsrode, a few miles to the west...
. Above Walsrode
Walsrode
-Middle Ages:986 Foundation of Walsrode Abbey by Count Walo. The first recorded mentionof the town is dated May 7, 986.1383 The dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg grant Walsrode a town charter.1479 First recorded instance of Walsrode's coat of arms...
it forms the Böhme Knee (Böhmeknie), which strikes out to the northwest, before finally swinging southwest to reach the 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...
a little below the small village of Böhme between Ahlden and Rethem.
Descriptions
Falkenberg (Lüneburg Heath)
The Falkenberg lies in the northwestern part of the district of Celle in northern Germany. It is one of the highest points on the Lüneburg Heath. In good weather Hanover is visible from its summit...
end moraine, the dolmens of the Sieben Steinhäuser
Sieben Steinhäuser
The Sieben Steinhäuser is a group of five dolmens on the Lüneburg Heath in the NATO training area of Bergen-Hohne, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. The stones are considered to be part of the funnelbeaker culture...
and the old resort of Achterberg, today inside the Bergen-Hohne Training Area. Today it is still dominated by tourism, especially visitors to the Walsrode Bird Park
Walsrode Bird Park
Weltvogelpark Walsrode ia s bird park located in the middle of the Lüneburg Heath in North Germany within the municipality of Bomlitz near Walsrode in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany....
and the grave of Hermann Löns
Hermann Löns
Hermann Löns was a German journalist and writer. He is most famous as "The Poet of the Heath" for his novels and poems celebrating the people and landscape of the North German moors, particularly the Lüneburg Heath in Lower Saxony. Löns is well known in Germany for his famous folksongs...
in Walsrode, the largest town in the Böhme valley.
This region, also called the Heidmark
Heidmark
The Heidmark is an area of the Lüneburg Heath, much of which has not been accessible to the population since about 1935/1936. The establishment of a large military training area by the German armed forces, the Wehrmacht, as part of their rearmament and preparation for war resulted in the...
has a denser population than the surrounding area, partly because of the more fertile soils on the local loam heathland, but importantly due to early industrialization in Bomlitz (on the Böhme tributary of the same name).
The upper reaches of the valley are broad and typical of the southern 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...
. Here the Böhme rises from several old peat pits in the re-flooded Pietzmoor near Schneverdingen. The main settlement on the upper river is the road and railway hub of Soltau, a town of similar centrality
Centrality
Within graph theory and network analysis, there are various measures of the centrality of a vertex within a graph that determine the relative importance of a vertex within the graph...
as Walsrode and well-known as a tourist destination because of the Heide Park
Heide Park
The Heide Park Resort is a theme park in Soltau, Lower Saxony. With an overall area of over 850,000 m², it is one of the biggest German amusement parks and the biggest in Northern Germany....
north of the town.
Below Walsrode the valley broadens suddenly into the 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...
glacial valley with a densely wooded, sandy floodplain resembling an alluvial fan
Alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain. A convergence of neighboring alluvial fans into a single apron of deposits against a slope is called a bajada, or compound alluvial...
. The water quality is good being Class II: moderately polluted almost throughout..
Economy and transport
The current economic development of the Böhme valley is mainly based on its accessibility to the three-way motorway interchange at Walsrode at the intersection of the catchment areas of BremenBremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and 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...
, which is convenient for logistic firms and tourist traffic, and also on industry, mainly in Bomlitz (Industriepark Walsrode, Dow Wolff Cellulosics) and Bad Fallingbostel (the main depot for Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
in Europe).
The course of Böhme is followed at a short distance by the A7 motorway, the B209 federal road
Bundesstraße 209
Bundesstraße 209 is a German federal road that runs from Nienburg/Weser district in Lower Saxony to Schwarzenbek in the district of Herzogtum Lauenburg, Schleswig-Holstein.- Route :...
and since 1890 by the Heath Railway
Heath Railway
The Heath Railway is a regional railway line in North Germany that crosses the Lüneburg Heath from which it derives its name. Most of the line is unelectrified and single-tracked. It links Buchholz in der Nordheide with Hanover, the capital city of Lower Saxony...
. It is crossed by railway lines of lesser importance such as the so-called America Line
America Line
The America Line is the unofficial name of a railway line in northern Germany which is mainly of regional importance today...
and the Bomlitz–Walsrode railway
Bomlitz–Walsrode railway
The Bomlitz–Walsrode railway is a railway line in the German state of Lower Saxony that is operated by the Osthannoverschen Eisenbahn .- Route :*Bomlitz–Gleisdreieck –Cordingen...
.
Towns and villages
The towns and villages on the Böhme include:- Heber
- Wolterdingen
- SoltauSoltau- 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...
- DorfmarkDorfmarkThe village of Dorfmark is part of the borough of Bad Fallingbostel in the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony.Dorfmark has 3,469 inhabitants, over 22% of the borough's population, and an area of , some 24% of the total area in the borough.The River Böhme flows through Dorfmark...
- VierdeVierdeVierde is a village within the borough of Bad Fallingbostel in Soltau-Fallingbostel district in the Heidmark .- History :...
- Bad FallingbostelBad FallingbostelBad Fallingbostel is the district town of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of Bad since 5 August 2002. It has close ties to Walsrode, a few miles to the west...
- UetzingenUetzingenUetzingen is a village in the parish of Bomlitz in North Germany. It lies in the Lower Saxon district of Soltau-Fallingbostel. The village has 462 inhabitants and its parish covers an area of 10 km².- Location :...
- Honerdingen
- WalsrodeWalsrode-Middle Ages:986 Foundation of Walsrode Abbey by Count Walo. The first recorded mentionof the town is dated May 7, 986.1383 The dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg grant Walsrode a town charter.1479 First recorded instance of Walsrode's coat of arms...
- Böhme
The river gave its name to the proposed town of Böhmetal, which was to have been formed from the Bomlitz, Bad Fallingbostel and Walsrode in 2011, before the plans came to nothing.
Tributaries
- Soltau (joins from the right in the centre of Soltau)
- Große Aue (flows through the Heide ParkHeide ParkThe Heide Park Resort is a theme park in Soltau, Lower Saxony. With an overall area of over 850,000 m², it is one of the biggest German amusement parks and the biggest in Northern Germany....
near Soltau and enters from the left south of Soltau into the only slightly larger Böhme) - Fischendorfer Bach (drains the highest parts of the Falkenberg end moraineFalkenberg (Lüneburg Heath)The Falkenberg lies in the northwestern part of the district of Celle in northern Germany. It is one of the highest points on the Lüneburg Heath. In good weather Hanover is visible from its summit...
and joins from the left on the southern edge of the village of Dorfmark) - Steinbach (enters from the left down a channel resembling that of an interlocked, mountain stream)
- BomlitzBomlitz (river)The Bomlitz is a right-bank tributary of the River Böhme in North Germany. It is just under long and runs through the Heidekreis district in Lower Saxony.- Name :...
(largest tributary of the Böhme, merges from the right in the Eibia-Lohheide resort between Bomlitz and Walsrode) - WarnauWarnau (river)The Warnau is a right-bank tributary of the River Böhme in North Germany and is part of the Weser basin. It is about long and has a catchment area of , mostly in the district of Soltau-Fallingbostel in Lower Saxony....
(second largest tributary, joins 1 km below the Bomlitz from the right on the Borger Burg after a picturesque section with steep banks) - Rieselbach (flows through the Walsrode Bird ParkWalsrode Bird ParkWeltvogelpark Walsrode ia s bird park located in the middle of the Lüneburg Heath in North Germany within the municipality of Bomlitz near Walsrode in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany....
and enters from the right) - Fulde (drains the Grundloses Moor and discharges into Böhme in Walsrode south of the Klostersee)
- JordanbachJordanbachThe Jordanbach is a right-bank tributary of the River Böhme in North Germany. It lies entirely within the borough of Walsrode which is part of Soltau-Fallingbostel district in the state of Lower Saxony....
(drains the large VehmsmoorVehmsmoorThe Vehmsmoor is a nature reserve in North Germany. It is located in the borough of Walsrode within the district of Soltau-Fallingbostel in Lower Saxony...
and joins from the right near Altenboitzen)