The Solling () is a range of hills up to high in the Weser Uplands in the German state of Lower Saxony, whose extreme southerly foothills extend into Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Inside Lower Saxony it is the second largest range of hills and the third highest after the Harz (Wurmberg; 971 m) and the Kaufungen Forest (Haferberg; 581 m).
The Solling is a cultural landscape consisting mainly of spruce and beech forests. Oak also grows in some areas. The Solling forest is home of a number of animals and birds, for example red deer or chaffinch. They can best be observed in the Neuhaus wildlife park.
Together with the smaller and lower Vogler range and the little Burgberg to the north, the Solling is part of the Solling-Vogler Nature Park.
Hills The main hills in the Solling include the following (heights given in m above Normalnull):
Große Blöße (527.8 m) Großer Ahrensberg (524.9 m) Moosberg (513.0 m) – with Hochsolling observation tower Vogelherd (c. 505 m) Dreiberg (493.5 m) Großer Steinberg (493 m) – with "Harzblick" observation tower Tünnekenbornstrang (490.1 m) Langenberg (484.6 m) Bärenkopf (473.0 m) Wolfsstrang (468.7 m) – with Gaußstein Schönenberg (457.1 m) Hasselberg (also called the Schrodhalbe; 452.5 m) – with TV tower Hahnenbreite (452.0 m) Alte Schmacht (447.5 m) – with transmission facility Eisernstieg (446.3 m) Strutberg (444 m) – with "Sollingturm" observation tower Großer Lauenberg (442.6 m) Wildenkiel (c. 441 m) Auerhahnkopf (c. 440 m) Hengstrücken (424 m) Buchholz (421.7 m) Sonnenköpfe (414.6 m; western peak) Sonnenköpfe (407.0 m; eastern peak) Junge Schmacht (388.0 m) Platte (379.7 m) Sommerberg (364.5 m) Kahlberg (224.7 m)
Villages and towns Villages and towns in the Solling are:
Abbecke Amelith Bad Karlshafen Bevern Bodenfelde Boffzen Dassel Derental Einbeck Espol Fohlenplacken Fredelsloh Fürstenberg Hardegsen Hellental Hilwartshausen Holzminden Höxter Kammerborn Lauenförde Lauenberg Lüchtringen Mackensen Merxhausen Mühlenberg Neuhaus Nienover Schießhaus Sievershausen Silberborn Schönhagen Schorborn Sohlingen Uslar Vahle Wahmbeck
Literature Johannes Krabbe: Karte des Sollings von 1603, herausgegeben und eingeleitet von Hans-Martin Arnoldt, Kirstin Casemir und Uwe Ohanski, Verlag Hahnsche Buchhandlung Hannover 2004.
External links
http://www.solling.de http://www.hutewald.de http://www.hackelberg.de Wildpark Neuhaus (with forest museum)