Bergen, Lower Saxony

Bergen
St. Lambert's Church
Location of Bergen within Celle district
Bergen
Bergen
Coordinates: 52°48′37″N 9°57′40″E / 52.81028°N 9.96111°E / 52.81028; 9.96111
CountryGermany
StateLower Saxony
DistrictCelle
Subdivisions13 districts
Government
  Mayor (201924) Claudia Dettmar-Müller
Area
  Total
164.4 km2 (63.5 sq mi)
Elevation
77 m (253 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)
  Total
12,927
  Density79/km2 (200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
29303
Dialling codes05051
Vehicle registrationCE
Websitewww.bergen-online.de

Bergen (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛʁɡn̩] ; Eastphalian: Bargen) is a town in the north of Celle district on the Lüneburg Heath, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Administratively it acts as a municipal borough divided into 12 subordinate parishes based on the town and its surrounding villages: Becklingen, Belsen, Bergen, Bleckmar, Diesten, Dohnsen, Eversen, Hagen, Hassel, Offen, Sülze and Wardböhmen. Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was located in the area of Belsen.

The town had 13,099 inhabitants according to the census conducted in December 2008. Members of the British military and their families, who were not included in the census, brought the actual population to about 17,000. These soldiers occupied a NATO base and exercise on the Bergen-Hohne Training Area just outside the town, but the base closed in summer 2015 as part of the British Army's withdrawal from Germany. The Sieben Steinhäuser, a cluster of dolmens dating from the Stone Age, are located within the training area.