is a district in
Lower Saxony ,
Germany . It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of
Diepholz ,
Verden ,
Soltau-Fallingbostel ,
Hanover and
Schaumburg , and by the state of
North Rhine-Westphalia (district
Minden-Lübbecke ).
From the early Middle Ages to the end of the 16th century this region was the heart of the county of
Hoya . The ruling family became extinct in 1582, the central and southern parts of the county were annexed by the Lüneburg branch of the duchy of
Brunswick-Lüneburg . In 1705 the area of Nienburg and Hoya became subordinate to
Hanover .
In 1866 the kingdom of Hanover was annexed by
Prussia . The Prussian government established the districts of Nienburg and Stolzenau, which were merged in 1932.
The district is roughly located between
Bremen and
Hanover . The
Weser river enters the district in the south, coming from
North Rhine-Westphalia , and runs north towards Bremen.
