Bergen-Hohne Training Area (German: NATO-Truppenübungsplatz Bergen or Schießplatz Bergen-Hohne) is a NATO military training area in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It covers an area of , which makes it the largest military training area in Germany. It was established by the German armed forces, the Wehrmacht, in 1935. At the end of the Second World War it was taken over by British occupying forces and some of its facilities used as a liberation camp for survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, which was located on the edge of the training area near the town of Bergen. Under British control, the training area was steadily expanded and, since the 1960s, has also been used by the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) and other NATO troops. Geography Location Bergen-Hohne Training Area is situated on both sides of the boundary between the districts of Heidekreis (formerly Soltau-Fallingbostel) and Celle, about north of Hanover, roughly southeast of Bremen and around south of Hamburg. It is located between Bad Fallingbostel in the west and Bergen in the east, and between the towns of Soltau a few miles to the north and Wietze to the south. Its extent roughly coincides with the geographical area known as the Heidmark. The terrain is between 28 and . Landscape The central part of the training area consists of two areas of heathland (Heide) known as Lohheide und Osterheide, which have not been under any local administrative control since 1945. Surrounding this are a number of areas of marsh known in German as a Moor. In the northern part of the training area is the small Wittenmoor. Just beyond its eastern boundary is the larger Großes Moor, in the south is the Ostenholz Moor and on the southern boundary the Bannetzer Moor which adjoins the Meißendorf Lakes. The remaining areas consist of woodland. Outside of and flowing parallel to the northwestern edge of the military training area is part of the middle course of the River Böhme. Similarly the Meiße runs roughly along its southeastern and southern boundary (both are northeastern tributaries of the River Aller). Near the centre of the area are the Sieben Steinhäuser (literally: seven stone houses), a group of dolmens that may be visited at weekends. East-southeast of them and not far away is a small lake, the Meiersee, through which the Meierbach stream flows