River Meiße

Meiße
The Meiße near Bleckmar
State	Lower Saxony, Germany
Physical characteristics
Main source	South of Wietzendorf in the Großes Moor near Becklingen nature reserve 73 m above sea level (NN) 52°51′30″N 9°57′39″E / 52.85833°N 09.96083°E / 52.85833; 09.96083Coordinates: 52°51′30″N 9°57′39″E / 52.85833°N 09.96083°E / 52.85833; 09.96083
River mouth	South of Hodenhagen into the Aller 21 m above sea level (NN) 52°45′34″N 9°34′59″E / 52.75944°N 9.58306°E / 52.75944; 9.58306
Length	42 km
Basin features
Progression	Aller → Weser → North Sea
River system	Weser
Landmarks	Villages: Bleckmar, Hasselhorst, Belsen, Hörsten, Gudehausen, Hartmannshausen, Meißendorf, Hodenhagen
Tributaries	Left: Berger Bach, Geltteichsgraben, Bruchgraben Right: Mühlenbach, Liethbach (confluence of Forellenbach and Schwemmbeck), Meierbach, Hohe Bach, Brummbeeke (confluence of Prahlbeeke and Krusenhäusener Bach)

The Meiße is a German river, 42 kilometres long, in the state of Lower Saxony that flows through part of the Lüneburg Heath. It is a right-hand tributary of the River Aller.

The Meiße rises south of Wietzendorf in the nature reserve of Großes Moor bei Becklingen. Originally the upper course of the upper Wietze (Örtze) was the headstream of the Meiße before the Großes Moor diverted the Wietze into the River Örtze at a point south of the sharp bend in the river near Wietzendorf as a result of headward erosion. The Meiße flows through the villages of Bleckmar, Hasselhorst (in the unparished area of Lohheide on the Bergen-Hohne Training Area), Belsen, Hörsten, Gudehausen and Hartmannshausen (all three also belonging to Lohheide), as well as Meißendorf, and discharges into the Aller south of Hodenhagen after about 41 kilometres (25 mi).

Its left-hand tributary streams are the Berger Bach, which flows through the town of Bergen and joins the Meiße near Belsen, and the small Geltteichsgraben and Bruchbach, which originate in the Meißendorf Lakes.

The right-hand feeder streams of the Meiße are: the little Mühlenbach near Bleckmar and the Liethbach, which arises near Bredebeck (in Lohheide) from the confluence of the Forellenbach and Schwemmbeck. On the Liethbach is Schloss Bredebeck, a former manor house, once part of the British base of Hohne Station. The building was used as an officers' mess and has been used as lodgings for the British Royal Family in the past. The Meierbach, which emerges in the Bergen-Hohne Training Area, flows through the Meiersee and discharges into the Meiße shortly before Hodenhagen. The Hohe Bach also starts in the military training area, flows past the Sieben Steinhäuser and also joins the Meiße shortly before Hodenhagen. Before the Meiße reaches the Aller it branches again into the Hudemühlener Meiße.