Hemmingen: Leine floodplain and Roman history

In Hemmingen, landscape and history stand side by side as distinct points of interest. The Leine floodplain and nature trails explore topics related to floodplain landscapes and their wildlife and plant life. The Roman marching camp at Wilkenburg and St. Vitus Church add their own historical highlights. When choosing your destination, you can decide whether nature or cultural history should take centre stage during your stay.

Landscape and nature along the Leine

The section of the “Leineaue zwischen Hannover und Ruthe” nature reserve located in Hemmingen includes diverse floodplain habitats. These include riverside woodlands, flood channels and former river branches, as well as former marl and gravel extraction ponds. Natural floodplain features and former extraction ponds are both part of the landscape described here.

The Southern Leine floodplain stretches between Pattensen, Sarstedt, Laatzen, Hemmingen and Hannover. Its landscape features include ponds, oxbow lakes, wet meadows, reed beds and remnants of floodplain forest. During nature walks, twelve stations provide information about the landscape’s history and its wildlife and plant life. This allows you to explore the landscape and its history together.

The Hemmingen Nature Trail runs between the districts of Harkenbleck and Wilkenburg through a varied landscape of meadows, ponds and protected habitats. Steinfeldsee offers a different connection with nature: it is a nationally significant habitat for migratory and overwintering birds. While the nature trail explores the landscape along its route, Steinfeldsee is particularly important for birds during migration and overwintering.

Roman camp and St. Vitus Church

The Roman marching camp at Wilkenburg is located in Hemmingen. It covered around 40 hectares and extended over more than 500 × 600 metres. Archaeological investigations confirmed V-shaped pointed ditches and rounded corner boundaries, typical features of Roman camps. The Hemmingen-Wilkenburg marching camp is a cultural monument.

St. Vitus Church in Hemmingen-Wilkenburg was first mentioned in 1140 as part of a castle-like complex. Its furnishings include an altar, a baptismal font, a pulpit, epitaphs and painted galleries. There are also heraldic plaques above more than 40 historic tombs. The church offers a different perspective on Hemmingen’s history from the archaeological evidence of the marching camp: here, the focus is on church furnishings and historic tombs.

A park open to the public

Hemmingen Palace Park has been freely accessible to the public since 1985. For your travel planning, it is a specific public access point, distinct from the historical descriptions of the church and the marching camp. If you are weighing up different themes, you can choose from nature-related interests, archaeological history, church furnishings and a freely accessible park.

Hemmingen as a travel destination

The landscape destinations appeal to different interests: the Southern Leine floodplain focuses on floodplain habitats, landscape history and wildlife and plant life; Steinfeldsee is a habitat for migratory and overwintering birds. The Roman camp, with its archaeologically confirmed features, and St. Vitus Church, first mentioned in 1140, offer cultural history. The palace park adds a place that is freely accessible to the public. This makes it easy to consider Hemmingen as a destination based on which of these interests appeals to you most.

Discover more destinations: Dedenhausen, Ronnenberg, Garbsen, Wunstorf, Lehrte, Gehrden, Isernhagen, Altwarmbüchen

Back to the regional travel overview: Hannover Region.