Kalkriese in the context of Osnabrück (district)

The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also called the Varus Disaster or Varian Disaster (Latin: Clades Variana) by Roman historians, was a major battle fought between an alliance of Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire between 8 and 11 September 9 AD, possibly near modern Kalkriese. Fighting began with an ambush by the Germanic alliance on three Roman legions being led by Publius Quinctilius Varus and their auxiliaries; the alliance was led by Arminius, a Germanic chieftain and officer of Varus's auxilia. Arminius had received Roman citizenship and a Roman military education, thus allowing him to deceive the Romans methodically and anticipate their tactical responses.

Teutoburg Forest is considered one of the most important defeats in Roman history, bringing the triumphant period of expansion under Augustus to an abrupt end. It dissuaded the Romans from pursuing the conquest of Germania, and so can be considered one of the most important events in European history.

The Teutoburg Forest (/ˈtjuːtəbɜːrɡ/ TEW-tə-burg; German: Teutoburger Wald [ˈtɔʏtoˌbʊʁɡɐ ˈvalt] ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed the Teutoburg Forest in 1616 in commemoration of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, which most likely took place at Kalkriese instead.