NSG Mastberg und Innersteaue, Hildesheim

Mastberg und Innersteaue is a nature reserve in the city of Hildesheim, Lower Saxony.

The nature reserve with the registration number NSG HA 134 is 37 hectares in size. It is completely part of the FFH area "Haseder Busch, Giesener Berge, Gallberg, Finkenberg". In the north it borders directly on the nature reserve "Haseder Busch", in the west on the nature reserve "Lange Dreisch und Osterberg".

The nature reserve is located in the north of the city of Hildesheim to the west of the Hildesheim Hafen industrial park, which is situated on the Hildesheim branch canal. It protects a section of the Innerste floodplain at the foot of the Mastberg and the Mastberg.

In the floodplain, east of the Innerste, there are grassland areas that are used relatively extensively as wet meadows due to high groundwater levels. The course of the river is accompanied by remnants of near-natural floodplain forest. In the north there is an oxbow lake. Furthermore, flood depressions, flood meadows, tall herbaceous vegetation and sedge and reed communities can be found.

The Mastberg, which consists of rocks of the Keuper, is covered by an oak-hornbeam forest, which originated from a former middle forest and forest pasture use.

On the western edge of the forest there is a stand of snowy hornbeams. In order to preserve the cultural-historical commercial forest, the former middle forest and Schneitel use is replaced today by maintenance measures of the Lower Saxony State Forests.

In the north of the reserve there are Bronze and Iron Age burial mounds.

The area has been under nature protection since January 31, 2008. It replaces the nature reserve "Innersteaue unter dem Mastberg", which was designated on January 26, 1989. The responsible lower nature conservation authority is the city of Hildesheim.