Editing Teutoburg Forest

{{Short description|Forest in Germany, site of a major Roman defeat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Teutoburg Forest
| alt_name = {{lang|de|Teutoburger Wald}}
| iucn_category = 
| map_image = Teutoburger Wald - Deutsche Mittelgebirge, Serie A-de.png
| map_caption = Teutoburg Forest and [[Weser Uplands]]
| photo = Blick-über-den-Teutoburger-Wald1.jpg
| photo_caption = View over the Teutoburg Forest
| location = [[Germany]] (north-west)<br/>[[Lower Saxony]] & [[North Rhine-Westphalia|NRW]]
| nearest_city = [[Bielefeld]]<br/>[[Paderborn]] (to the south)<br/>[[Osnabrück]] (to the north-west)
| coordinates = {{coords|51|54|00|N|8|49|00|E|display=inline, title}}
| area = {{circa|{{cvt|4,000|km2}}}} almost all of it included officially in one of two natural parks:<br/>{{cvt|1,220|km2}} <br/>([[TERRA.vita Nature Park]])<br/>{{cvt|2,711|km2}} <br/>([[Teutoburg Forest / Egge Hills Nature Park]])
| established = 
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year = 
| governing_body = 
}}
The '''Teutoburg Forest''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tj|uː|t|ə|b|ɜːr|g}} {{respell|TEW|tə|burg}}; {{langx|de|Teutoburger Wald}} {{IPA|de|ˈtɔʏtoˌbʊʁɡɐ ˈvalt||De-Teutoburger Wald.ogg}}) is a range of low, [[forest]]ed [[hill]]s in the [[Germany|German]] states of [[Lower Saxony]] and [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was '''Osning'''. It was first renamed the ''Teutoburg Forest'' in 1616 in commemoration of the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]] in 9 AD, which most likely took place at [[Kalkriese]] instead.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-ambush-that-changed-history-72636736/ |title=The Ambush That Changed History |work=Smithsonian Magazine |first=Fergus M. |last=Bordewich |author-link=Fergus Bordewich |date=September 2006 |access-date=2021-08-14 }}</ref>

==Geography==
The Teutoburg Forest is a peripheral section in the north of the German [[Central Uplands]], and forms a long narrow range of hills (comprising three [[Ridge|ridges]]) extending from the eastern surroundings of [[Paderborn]] in the south to the western surroundings of [[Osnabrück]] in the northwest. South of the city centre of [[Bielefeld]], a gap called the [[Bielefeld Pass]] bisects the range into the ''Northern Teutoburg Forest'' (two thirds) and ''Southern Teutoburg Forest'' (one third). In addition, the northeastern and southwestern ridges are cut by the exits of the longitudinal valleys between the ridges.

The geologically oldest ridge is the northeastern one, which consists of [[limestone]] of the [[Triassic]].

Most of the ridges and part of the valley are covered by [[deciduous forest]]. Parts of the valley areas are used for agriculture, especially the production of [[cereals]].

The highest elevation in the Southern Teutoburg Forest is the [[Velmerstot]] ({{cvt|468|m|ft|disp=or}}) south of [[Horn-Bad Meinberg]]. In the Northern Teutoburg Forest the highest elevation is the [[Dörenberg]] ({{cvt|331|m|ft|disp=or}}) north of [[Bad Iburg]].

The river [[Ems (river)|Ems]] has its source at the western base of the southernmost portion of the Teutoburg Forest.

The southern half of the range, situated about {{convert|30|km}} southwest of the Weser valley, is part of the watershed between the Ems basin in the west and the Weser basin in the east. The drainage towards the Weser is affected by the [[Werre]] river. The northwestern half of the range is drained to the river Ems on both sides.

The neighboring landscapes are the [[Westphalian Lowland]] in the west, [[Hase (river)|Hase]] valley in the north, the hilly [[Ravensberg Basin]] in the northeast, [[Lippe Uplands]] in the east, and [[Egge Range]] ({{langx|de|Eggegebirge}}) in the south.

Except for a short area south of [[Osnabrück]], which belongs to the [[States of Germany|Bundesland]] of [[Lower Saxony]], the whole forest is part of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]].

A long-distance hiking trail called ''[[Hermannsweg]]'' runs for {{convert|156|km}} along the length of the Teutoburg Forest, from [[Rheine]] in Münsterland to Leopoldstal near [[Horn-Bad Meinberg]].<ref name="Hermannsweg">{{cite web |url=https://www.nrw-tourism.com/a-hermannsweg |title=Hermann Trail: One of Germany's most beautiful high-altitude trails |website=Tourismus NRW e.V. |location=Düsseldorf, Germany |access-date=2021-08-14 }}</ref><gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200">
File:Winter im Teutoburger Wald18.jpg|alt=|Winter Scenery at the Teutoburg Forest
File:Herbst im Teutoburger Wald 04.jpg|alt=|Fall Scenery at the Teutoburg Forest
File:Donoperteich09.jpg|alt=|Donop's Pond (Donoperteich)
File:Externsteine-2021 (4b).jpg|alt=|[[Externsteine]]
File:Hermannsdenkmal (11).jpg|alt=|[[Hermannsdenkmal]]
File:Velmerstot lip.jpg|alt=|Tip of the [[Velmerstot|Velmerstot Mountain]]
</gallery>

==History==
The [[Battle of Teutoburg Forest]] in 9 AD occurred in or near this region,<ref>{{cite web |title=Teutoburg Forest |website=Destination Germany |url=http://www.cometogermany.com/ENU/about_germany/master_tlregion-id148.htm?cc_lang= |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708180557/http://www.cometogermany.com/ENU/about_germany/master_tlregion-id148.htm?cc_lang= |archive-date=2011-07-08 |access-date=2021-08-15 }}</ref> though the exact location is disputed. The Roman historian [[Tacitus|Cornelius Tacitus]] identified the location of the battle as ''saltus Teutoburgiensis'' (''[[Wiktionary:saltus#Etymology 2|saltus]]'' meaning a forest valley in Latin). Recent excavations suggest that at least the final stages of the battle took place further northwest, at [[Kalkriese]], north of [[Osnabrück]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-ambush-that-changed-history-72636736/ |title=The Ambush That Changed History |work=Smithsonian Magazine |first=Fergus M. |last=Bordewich |author-link=Fergus Bordewich |date=September 2006 |access-date=2021-08-14 }}</ref>

The Teutoburg Forest was also the scene of some fighting at the very end of the [[Second World War]]. Lieutenant [[Ralph Elliott]] of the [[Manchester Regiment]] – a noted Australian scholar in later life – was severely wounded in combat in the Teutoburg Forest, and nearly died before being rescued several hours later.<ref>"REL34679 – University of St Andrews medallion for Honours English, 1947–48 : R W V Elliott". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 20 August 2010.</ref>

The Teutoburg Forest is composed of two separate [[nature park]]s:

* [[TERRA.vita Nature Park]], northwest part between [[Bielefeld]] and [[Osnabrück]]
* [[Teutoburg Forest / Egge Hills Nature Park]] between [[Bielefeld]] and river [[Diemel]]

== Hills ==
{{main|List of hills in the Teutoburg Forest}}

== Hermann's Memorial and the renaming of the Osning ==
[[File:Hermannsdenkmal (09).jpg|thumb|The [[Hermannsdenkmal]]]]
[[Arminius]] (also known as Hermann the [[Cherusker]]), leader of the [[Germanic tribes]] during the battle, became something of a legend for his overwhelming victory over the Romans. During the period of national renaissance in the wake of the [[Napoleonic Wars|Napoleonic wars]], German people saw him as an early protagonist of German resistance to foreign rule and a symbol of national unity.

A monumental statue of Arminius commemorating the battle, known as the [[Hermannsdenkmal]] (the "Hermann monument"), was erected on the hill of Grotenburg near [[Detmold]], close to the site where the most popular theory of the time placed the battle. Emperor [[Wilhelm I of Germany|William I]], the first ''[[Kaiser]]'' of the unified [[German Empire]], dedicated the monument in 1875. In order to create a [[nationalism|national]] landscape the Osning Hills were given the name "Teutoburg Forest", ''see also [[Teutons|Teutonic]]''. The first to use that name had been historian and geographer [[Philipp Clüver]] in 1616, later it became more common when [[Ferdinand of Fürstenberg (1626–1683)|Ferdinand of Fürstenberg]] used it in his history and had it printed on maps. However, the old name survived among the local population and the part of the ridge around the [[Ebberg (Bielefeld)|Ebberg]] ({{cvt|309|m|ft|disp=or}}) near [[Bielefeld]] is still known as the Osning today.

The [[composer]] [[Johannes Brahms]] liked to take walks in this forest during his stay in [[Detmold]].
<!--==See also==-->

== Websites ==
* [http://www.westfaelische-geschichte.de/web840 Arminius / Varus. The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest - Internet-Portal "Westfälische Geschichte", LWL-Institut für westfälische Regionalgeschichte, Münster]
* [http://en.teutoburgerwald.de Teutoburg Forest as a holiday destination - site of regional tourism board]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Teutoburg Forest}}

{{German Central Uplands}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Teutoburg Forest| ]]
[[Category:Forests and woodlands of Germany]]
[[Category:Forests and woodlands of Lower Saxony]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of North Rhine-Westphalia]]