What Landkreis Heidekreis does

Landkreis Heidekreis is a public government district (Kreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany, formed in 1977 through the merger of the former Soltau and Fallingbostel districts and renamed from Soltau-Fallingbostel to Heidekreis in 2011. The entity serves approximately 140,000 residents and delivers the full range of mandated district-level administrative services, including registry office functions, residency and vehicle registration, social welfare, health services, youth welfare, elderly and care services, construction permitting, environmental protection, economic development, tourism promotion, and public safety. It is led by Landrat Jens Grote and operates from two administrative sites at Bad Fallingbostel (headquarters, Vogteistraße 19) and Soltau (Harburger Straße 2), supported by a digital service portal (openkreishaus.heidekreis.de), an online appointment booking system, a youth mobile app (JugendApp), a mental health resource portal (Psychiatriewegweiser), and a district council information system.

The district's technology stack is built around accessibility-first public service delivery. ReadSpeaker text-to-speech has been embedded since 2016 with support for over 20 languages and customization controls; SUMM AI-powered live translation into Leichte Sprache (Simple Language) was added in September 2025. Privacy is enforced through self-hosted Matomo analytics with IP anonymization and CCM19 cookie consent management. The platform integrates YouTube and Vimeo for embedded video content. Compliance is documented through EN 301 549 V2.1.2 accessibility conformance, SSL/TLS encryption, and adherence to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework for video service providers. The district maintains a multi-channel communication footprint spanning its website, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp channel, and a dedicated @dethlingerteich Instagram account for environmental project updates.

Operationally, Landkreis Heidekreis is financed through public budgets and tax revenues rather than commercial pricing, and does not generate revenue in the conventional sense. The most material non-recurring operational undertaking is the Dethlinger Teich Gesamtsanierung, a multi-year environmental remediation of a former World War II chemical weapons disposal site, estimated at EUR 50-80 million, with EUR 38.4 million committed by the Lower Saxony Ministry for Environment in February 2021. As of June 2025, 51,500 munitions items had been recovered from 7,500 cubic meters of excavated material. Execution is delivered through a partnership with GEKA (federal chemical weapons disposal operator) and engineering planner Mull und Partner Ingenieurgesellschaft. The entity also launched the TRENDS HK2030 transformation project in 2026 as a multi-year restructuring initiative.

Name

Landkreis Heidekreis

Legal name

Landkreis Heidekreis

Website

https://heidekreis.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Landkreis Heidekreis is a public government district in Lower Saxony, Germany, serving approximately 140,000 residents with mandated administrative, social, health, youth, and environmental services through physical offices and a digital service portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bad Fallingbostel

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Landkreis Heidekreis is a public district government in Lower Saxony, Germany, delivering mandated administrative services including registry office operations, residency permits, vehicle registration, social services, health services, youth welfare, elderly care, construction permits, environmental protection, and economic development to approximately 140,000+ residents. The district operates a digital service portal (openkreishaus.heidekreis.de), online appointment booking, the JugendApp mobile platform for youth, and the Psychiatriewegweiser mental health resource directory, complemented by physical service offices in Bad Fallingbostel and Soltau. It also runs the Dethlinger Teich Gesamtsanierung, a major environmental remediation project for WWII-era chemical munitions.

Product overview

Landkreis Heidekreis operates a digital government services platform offering multiple interconnected online services. The core offerings include a Serviceportal (openkreishaus.heidekreis.de) for general administrative matters, Online-Terminvereinbarung for appointment booking, and a citizens navigation tool (Was erledige ich wo?). Specialized services include the Psychiatriewegweiser for mental health resources and the JugendApp mobile application for youth. The district also manages the Dethlinger Teich Gesamtsanierung, a major environmental remediation project. Accessibility features include ReadSpeaker text-to-speech and SUMM AI-powered Simple Language translation. The Kreistagsinformationssystem provides transparency into district politics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JugendApp: A free mobile app for young people aged 12-18 in the Heidekreis region, providing information about events, meeting points, counseling services, and career guidance. Developed with input from local youth.
• Psychiatriewegweiser

Products and services

• Serviceportal (openkreishaus.heidekreis.de)

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• GEKA (Gesellschaft zur Entsorgung chemischer Kampfstoffe und Rüstungsaltlasten mbH, Munster)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2022Partnership with the federal-owned GEKA for the Dethlinger Teich remediation project. GEKA provides specialist chemical weapons disposal capabilities, operates destruction facilities, and conducts on-site work including groundwater treatment systems. The partnership was formalized in December 2022 for this unique environmental remediation project involving WWII-era chemical munitions and explosives.
• Lower Saxony Ministry for Environment, Energy, Construction and Climate Protection (Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Umwelt, Energie, Bauen und Klimaschutz)coreOthers · 1 January 2021Primary government funding partner providing financial commitment for Dethlinger Teich remediation. Secured approximately 38.4 million EUR for complete remediation plus additional prior funding. Minister Olaf Lies and later Minister Christian Meyer have been personally involved in project oversight and financing agreements.
• Mull und Partner Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH (Planning Partnership)majorTechnology or Integration · 1 September 2019Engineering planning partnership responsible for detailed remediation concept development, construction supervision, and project management for the Dethlinger Teich remediation project. Jointly developed the remediation concept with GEKA and Professor Burmeier.
• Jugendarbeit digital e.V. (Digital Youth Work Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit organization collaborating on the development and implementation of the JugendApp digital youth platform. Brings extensive experience in digital youth engagement. Project developed with input from local teenagers through workshops and surveys.
• Scheja & Partners GmbH & Co. KG (Data Protection Officer)minorOthersExternal data protection officer appointed to ensure GDPR compliance across all data processing activities of the district administration. Located in Bonn, providing advisory services on data protection matters.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• KDVZ Citkomm: Municipal data center serving NRW municipalities with e-government solutions, citizen portals, and administrative IT services. Comparable provider of digital administration infrastructure for German local-government entities.
• mgm technology partners GmbH: German e-government platform specialist delivering citizen-facing digital services, OZG implementations, and administrative modernization to public authorities. Most directly comparable commercial peer in terms of digital citizen service delivery scope and German public-sector focus.
• Landkreis München: Comparable German Landkreis in Bavaria delivering a similar administrative service portfolio (registry, social services, youth services) with an active digital citizen services program. Most direct structural peer for benchmarking service delivery and digital maturity.
• AKDB (Anstalt für Kommunale Datenverarbeitung in Bayern): Bavarian municipal data processing center providing IT services and digital administration solutions to Bavarian municipalities. Directly comparable in providing backend IT infrastructure and digital citizen services to German local-government entities.
• Dataport AöR: Public-sector IT service provider owned by multiple German states, delivering digital administration, citizen portals, and IT infrastructure for public authorities. Closest functional analogue to Heidekreis's openkreishaus service portal, online appointment booking, and shared digital infrastructure model.
• Region Hannover: Comparable German regional administrative entity in Lower Saxony with similar population scale (~1.1M region) and broad public-service mandate including environmental and social services. Useful peer for regional-scale service delivery comparisons within the same federal state.

Others

• GEKA mbH: Federal government-owned specialist for chemical weapons disposal and remediation of munitions-contaminated sites. Strategic partner (not competitor) on the Dethlinger Teich project and the only German entity with comparable WWII chemical munitions disposal capability; relevant for environmental-remediation adjacency.

Broad incumbents

• Sopra Steria SE: Major European IT services group with a substantial German public-sector practice serving federal, state, and municipal clients with digital transformation and e-government solutions. Comparable in functional domain but far broader in scale and commercial scope than the district.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• Instagraminstagram.com/landkreis_heidekreis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/landkreis-heidekreis

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Landkreis Heidekreis