This region follows the shifting silhouette of the Weser River as it leaves the highlands of Hessen and Thüringen. The Weser was a culturally important river, linking the Hanseatic city of Bremen with the interior. Though the region is best known for its distinctive Weser-Renaissance style of architecture, its fractured political past yields a region full of unique surprises.
The Weser forms one of the most under-explored and amorphous regions in Germany. It offers a surprisingly large number of high-quality destinations that put it in contrast with the nearby Ruhr Valley and Lower Saxony. The river connected the heartland of Germany with the North Sea, and its history as a vital trade conduit is evident in every beautiful market square dotted along the entire length of the river. Start with the halftimbered alleys of Hannoverisch Münden, the halls of the ancient Monastery of Corvey, and follow the river north through Minden, Denmold, and up to the spectacular center of Bremen.
The name “Weser-Engern” is not a term you will find elsewhere. More typically, the region is divided along a North-South axis. To the north, often called “Weser-Ems,” the borders follow those of the ancient Prince-Bishopric of Verden and the Imperial City of Bremen on the coastal plains. To the south, a region sometimes referred to as “East Westphalia,” the hills of the Teutoburg Forest were divided among countless minor principalities, a legacy of the ancient Saxon Kingdom. My borders trace the influence of the Weser as a conduit of ideas and trade, from the confluence of the Fulda to the North Sea.
The name “Engern” is much more enigmatic and refers to the Angrivarii tribe of the Saxon people, as mentioned by Tacitus. Engern is a later German pronunciation of this word and came to refer to the central region of the Saxon Homeland, sitting between Westphalia and Eastphalia. The historical area of Engern almost exactly describes the area I marked on the map, though these borders had no historical impact beyond the early Middle Ages. More generally, I use it as a geographic indicator to describe the cultural landscape of the Weser River.
