Weser Uplands Attractions Weserbergland

The Bramwald, to the east of the Weser Uplands below Münden, reaches a height of 400m/1,300ft in the Bramburg and 408m/1,339ft in the Totenberg. Next comes the Solling hills, a plateau of Bunter sandstone some 500sq.km/195sq.mi in extent with deciduous and coniferous forest, rising to 528m/1,732ft in the Grosse Blösse, the highest hill in the Weser area.

Northwest of B 217 and part of the Weserbergland range of hills is the Deister range, with the Annaturm (405m/1,329ft) and the Nordmannsturm (379m/1,243ft), the Süntel with the Hohe Egge (437m/1,434ft; views) and the magnificent limestone cliffs of the Hohenstein.

Between Höxter and Vlotho are the Lippe Uplands (Lippisches Bergland), part of the Weserbergland range of hills, with the Köterberg (497m/1,631ft; television tower, Köterberghaus; wide views). The northern limits of the Weserbergland are reached in the Wiehengebirge (Heidbrink and Wurzelbrink, 320m/1050ft), the continuation of the Wesergebirge to the west of the Porta Westfalica.

West of the Weser below Münden extends the Reinhardswald, part of the Weserbergland range of hills. The Reinhardswald is the largest continuous area of forest in Lower Hesse (210sq.km/81sq.mi; 70 hectare/175 acre nature reserve around the Sababurg), reaching its highest point in the Staufenberg, a rounded basalt hill 472m/1,549ft high.

Between Stadtoldendorf and Bodenwerder lies the Vogler, a smaller massif of Bunter sandstone with flat-bottomed depressions and deeply indented valleys between the hills, which reaches its highest point in Ebersnacken (460m/1,509ft; views). Beyond this are two beautifully wooded ridges of Jurassic limestone - the Hils ridge, with the Blosse Zelle (477m/1,565ft) and the Grosser Sohl (472m/1,549ft; views), and the long and often precipitous Ith ridge, with the Knüllbrink (439m/1,440ft; views).

To the north of the Hameln-Elze road (B 1) are the Osterwald (419m/1,375ft) and the Saupark hills.

The most attractive route through the Weserbergland is the Weser Valley Road (Wesertalstrasse) between Münden (Hannoversch Münden) and Minden, with its ever-changing scenery and numerous pretty villages and towns.

Detours

A number of rewarding detours can be made from the Weser Valley Road: between Münden and Bad Karlshafen into the Reinhardswald, with the Sababurg; from Höxter to the Köterberg with its far-ranging views and the health resort of Neuhaus in the Solling range; from Emmern to the imposing Hämelschenburg and Bad Pyrmont with its beautiful Kurpark.

Excursion ships ply the Weser during the summer; the principal ports of call are Bodenwerder, Hameln, Höxter, Bad Karlshafen and Polle.

Of the many spas in the Weserbergland, the most notable are Bad Karlshafen, Bad Pyrmont, Bad Eilsen, Bad Münder, Bad Nenndorf, Bas Oeynhausen and Bad Essen.

The Wesergebirge (Weser Hills), part of the Weserbergland range of hills, reach a height of 320m/1,050ft in the Amelungsberg, and the Bückeberge (367m/1,204ft; sandstone quarries), farther north.