Bückeberg

Bückeberg / Bückeberge
Location of the Bückeberg ridge in Germany
Highest point
Peak	Diebische Ecke
Elevation	375 m (1,230 ft)
Geography
State	Between Bad Eilsen and Bad Nenndorf; Schaumburg; Lower Saxony (Germany)
Range coordinates	52°15′36″N 9°12′42″E / 52.259917°N 9.211528°E / 52.259917; 9.211528Coordinates: 52°15′36″N 9°12′42″E / 52.259917°N 9.211528°E / 52.259917; 9.211528
Parent range	Calenberg Uplands
Geology
Type of rock	Limestone, sandstone, shale, stone coal

The Bückeberg (also the Bückeberge) is a small hill range, up to 375 metres high, in the Calenberg Uplands between the Harrl and the Deister in central Germany, and is often considered part of the Weser Uplands. It lies in the district of Schaumburg, and stretches for some 20 km (12 mi) from west to east from Bückeburg and the village of Bad Eilsen towards Bad Nenndorf.

The ridge runs from southwest to northeast for about 20 kilometres at heights of 200 m to about 375 m. It only has a few summits, like the Bückeberg (or Diebische Ecke) (ca. 375 m), east of the track junction on the Eulenburg Way, and the Großer Karl (301.7 m) near Reinsdorf. Here its course swings north and ends with the foothills of Münchhausener Berg and Heisterberg near Beckedorf. The gentle northern dip slope descends into the North German Plain, whilst the steeper southern scarp slope drops into the Aue valley, through which the A 2 autobahn runs. The Heeßer Berge in the west is a nature reserve.

The ridge is cut through in two places: at Bad Eilsen near the western end, where the river Aue has cut a gap in the ridge, and at the Reinser Paß (pass) near the eastern end.

The crest of the Bückeberg consists of a hard, light sandstone, known as Obernkirchen sandstone, which is one of the best in Europe and, because of its transshipment through Bremen, is known internationally as Bremen Sandstone. The western Bückeberg contains clay and anthracite that used to be mined here. In the eastern section there are Jurassic limestones with halite (rock salt) deposits. It is here near Soldorf that the brine springs emerge which extend to the spa town of Bad Nenndorf, where they are used for bathing.