TheDeister (German pronunciation:[ˈdaɪstɐ]ⓘ) is a chain ofhills in theGerman state ofLower Saxony, about 15 mi (25 km) southwest of the city ofHanover. It runs in a north-westerly direction fromSpringe in the south toRodenberg in the north.[1] The next in the chain of hills to the south is theKleiner Deister ("Little Deister") from which it is separated by the flat pass of theDeister Gate. It is surrounded by Springe,Wennigsen,Barsinghausen,Bad Nenndorf, Rodenberg andBad Münder (counter-clockwise, starting in the south).
It has a total length of 21 km (14 mi), and rises in the Hofeler to a height of 395 m (1,250 ft).[1] The highest point is theBröhn at 405 m (1,312 ft).
The chain is well-wooded and abounds in game.[1] From the 17th century on there were several coal mines;[1] the last was abandoned in the 1950s. Sandstone from quarries in eastern Deister was used in several important buildings all over Europe, including the opera house in Hanover and theReichstag inBerlin. Today the Deister is a popular target for people of the Hanover area for walking and cycling.
The Deister is a border region since ancient times. Here one can find many places with memorial stones,tumuli and ruins of castles.
The ridge is covered by a mixed forest ofbeech andspruce and, in places, also beech andoak. On the Cecilienhöhe near Bad Nenndorf, at the picnic area ofLauenau-Feggendorf and southwest of the old forester's lodge at Köllnischfeld are several examples of the rare, nativedwarf beech (Süntelbuche).
Amongst the rarer plants on the Deister are species ofholly,mezereon,orchids,sundews,globeflowers,hard shield fern, and greatsnowdrops.
The Deister is home to the typical animals found in the GermanCentral Uplands.Red deer,roe deer andwild boar are very common. Other wild animals occurring here are thepine marten andbeech marten,stoat,polecat,dwarf weasel andred fox. Birds of prey include thebuzzard,goshawk andred kite. Rarer small animals include themouse-eared bat andlesser horseshoe bat.
Most of the hills in the Deister have a tower at the top, used for various purposes. The one on the Großer Hals is for telecommunications, while the one on the Höfeler is used forair traffic control. The others are for sightseeing and restaurants.
52°15′N9°30′E / 52.250°N 9.500°E /52.250; 9.500
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Deister".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 937.| International | |
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