Location

Handeloh lies between the rivers Seeve

Seeve

The River Seeve is a tributary of the Elbe in northern Germany. It is approximately long. Its source is near Wehlen in the northern part of the Lüneburg Heath. It flows into the Elbe in Over, Seevetal...

 and Este

Este (river)

Este is a river of Hamburg, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Hamburg...

, south of Buchholz in der Nordheide

Buchholz in der Nordheide

Buchholz in der Nordheide is the largest town in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 25 km southwest of Hamburg.-Geography:Buchholz is home to the Brunsberg, the region's highest mountain...

. The Harburg Hills

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...

 lie to the northwest and the 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...

 Nature Reserve to the southeast. The parish belongs to the collective municipality of Tostedt

Tostedt (Samtgemeinde)

Tostedt is a Samtgemeinde in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Its seat is in the village Tostedt.- Municipality structure :The Samtgemeinde Tostedt consists of the following municipalities:# Dohren...

, whose seat is in the village of Tostedt

Tostedt

Tostedt is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 35 km southwest of Hamburg, and 12 km southwest of Buchholz in der Nordheide....

.

Neighbouring communities

• Welle
• Otter
• Undeloh
  Undeloh
  Undeloh is a village in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany.- Location :Undeloh lies on the Lüneburg Heath near its highest hill, the Wilseder Berg.- Neighbouring communities :...
  
  
• Buchholz in der Nordheide

Sub-divisions

Handeloh has the following sub-divisions: Handeloh, Höckel, Inzmühlen and Wörme.

Parish council

The parish council, which was elected on 10 September 2006, is made up as follows:

• Freie Wählergemeinschaft Handeloh
  Free Voters
  Free Voters is a German concept in which an association of persons participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it is a locally organized group of voters in the form of a registered association . In most cases, Free Voters are active only at the...
  
   6 seats
• CDU 5 seats
• SPD 2 seats

(as at: the local elections on 10 September 2006)

Coat-of-arms

On the left hand side of the shield, in the upper half a gold wagon wheel with 8 spokes on green, in the lower half two blue wavy lines on silver, on the right hand side a black pine with four roots on gold.

Meaning: The wagon wheel symbolises the former importance of forestry in the parish. The two wavy lines represent the rivers Este and Seeve that flow through the parish. The dense woods are portrayed by the pine tree whose four roots symbolise the four villages in the parish association.

Museums

• The Alte Schmiede ("Old Smithy") Natural History Museum and Training School

Exhibitions cover the local bird world, mammals and birds of North Germany, including the coasts, local amphibians and reptiles.

The training school hosts seminars for employees in nature conservation management and support.

Transport

The village is served by two stations on 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...

 (Heidebahn): Handeloh and Büsenbachtal. The latter also serves the village of Wörme and the Büsenbach valley walking area.
In addition the station of Handeloh on the Heath Railway is the last stop within the HVV

Hamburger Verkehrsverbund

The Hamburger Verkehrsverbund is a company coordinating the public transport in and around Hamburg, Germany. Its main objectives are to provide the user with a unified fare system, requiring only a single ticket for journeys with transfers between different operating companies, and to further...

tarif zone. However since 2008 season tickets have been valid to Soltau.

Media

A manor house (Reiterhof) in Handeloh was the main setting for the 52-part TV series, Neues vom Süderhof.