View of Totengrund

The Dead Ground - A valley of unearthly beauty
The dead-ground theory

As in the Totengrund, as in the rest of the heathland, there were only a few nutrients in the soil and there was also no spring or stream, neither cattle nor fields could be operated in the area of the Totengrund. The Totengrund was formerly also called "Toter Grund" by the heather farmers. The only plants were juniper and heather. But people could not (survive) live from it.
Further information can be found here:
lueneburger-heide.de/sehenswuerdheiten/1074_Der_Totengrund__Ein_Tal_von_ueberirdischer_Schoenheit.html

The route from Wilsede to Totengrund is easy to cycle on. The way around the Totengrund is very strenuous (sandy and steep).

The Totengrund is justifiably a famous heath basin and a valley of unearthly beauty.
What a view! With the Totengrund, one of the most beautiful and famous heath valleys lies ahead of us. So it's no wonder that the first heath areas were acquired here for nature conservation in order to preserve them for posterity.
With the fantastic view over the valley, one can speculate whether the name "Totengrund" comes from the fact that the Wilseder farmers are said to have once carried their dead through the valley to the cemetery in Bispingen, or whether the name is simply due to the fact that the soil is so poor and it was dry that it did not yield anything economically.

naturpark-lueneburger-heide.de/natur-und-kultur/naturwunder-und-naturblicke/totengrund