NATIONAL PARKS IN GERMANY Wild and Beautiful Western-Pomerania Lagoons National Park Bavarian Forest National Park Jasmund National Park Im Forst 5 Freyunger Straße 2 Stubbenkammer 2 a D-18375 Born /Germany D-94481 Grafenau /Germany D-18546 Sassnitz /Germany Phone: +49 (0)38234 502-0, fax -24 Phone +49 (0)8552 9600-0, fax -100 Phone: +49 (0)38392 350-11, fax -54 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.nationalpark-vorpommersche- www.nationalpark-bayerischer-wald.de/english www.nationalpark-jasmund.de boddenlandschaft.de Berchtesgaden National Park Kellerwald-Edersee National Park Doktorberg 6 Laustraße 8 Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park D-83471 Berchtesgaden /Germany D-34537 Bad Wildungen /Germany Neuenfelder Straße 19 Phone: +49 (0)8652 9686-0, fax -40 Phone: +49 (0)5621 75249-0, fax -19 D-21109 Hamburg /Germany [email protected] [email protected] Phone: +49 (0)40 42840-3392, fax -3552 www.nationalpark-berchtesgaden.de www.nationalpark-kellerwald-edersee.de/en/home/ www.nationalpark-wattenmeer.de Müritz National Park Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park Eifel National Park Schloßplatz 3 Virchowstraße 1 Urftseestraße 34 D-17237 Hohenzieritz /Germany D-26382 Wilhelmshaven /Germany D-53937 Schleiden-Gemünd /Germany Phone: +49 (0)39824 252-0, fax -50 Phone: +49 (0)4421 911-0, fax -280 Phone: +49 (0)2444 9510-0, fax -85 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.mueritz-nationalpark.de/cms2/MNP_prod/ www.nationalpark-wattenmeer.de www.nationalpark-eifel.de/go/eifel/english.html MNP/en/Homepage/index.jsp www.nationalpark-wattenmeer-erleben.de Saxon Switzerland National Park Hainich National Park An der Elbe 4 Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park Bei der Marktkirche 9 D-01814 Bad Schandau /Germany Schlossgarten 1 D-99947 Bad Langensalza /Germany Phone: +49 (0)35022 900-600, fax -666 D-25832 Tönning /Germany Phone: +49 (0)361 5739140-00, fax -20 poststelle.sbs-nationalparkverwaltung@smul. Phone: +49 (0)4861 616-0, fax -69 [email protected] sachsen.de [email protected] www.nationalpark-hainich.de www.nationalpark-saechsische-schweiz.de/?lang=en www.nationalpark-wattenmeer.de Harz National Park Black Forest National Park Lindenallee 35 Schwarzwaldhochstraße 2 D-38855 Wernigerode /Germany D-77889 Seebach /Germany Phone: +49 (0)3943 5502-0, fax -37 Phone: +49 (0)7449 92998-0, fax -499 [email protected] [email protected] www.nationalpark-harz.de/en www.schwarzwald-nationalpark.de Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park Lower Oder Valley National Park Brückener Straße 24 Park 2 D-55765 Birkenfeld /Germany D-16303 Schwedt /Oder, OT Criewen /Germany Phone: +49 (0)6131 884152-0, fax -999 Phone: +49 (0)3332 2677-0, fax -220 [email protected] [email protected] www.nationalpark-hunsrueck-hochwald.de/en www.nationalpark-unteres-odertal.eu 5 Preface by Professor Dr. Beate Jessel President of the Federal Agency for Nature 6 Interview: Wilderness in Germany? Where is it ? Karl Friedrich Sinner 8 National Parks in Germany Contents National Park 10 Bavarian Forest 14 Berchtesgaden 18 Eifel 22 Hainich 26 Harz 30 Hunsrück-Hochwald 34 Jasmund 38 Kellerwald-Edersee 42 Müritz 46 Saxon Switzerland 50 Black Forest 54 Lower Oder Valley 58 Western Pomerania Lagoons 62 Wadden Sea 64 Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea 68 Hamburg Wadden Sea 72 Lower Saxony Wadden Sea 76 Jewels of Nature – the National Natural Landscapes 78 Make Nature an experience and enjoyment for all – the National Natural Landscapes and EUROPARC 81 Publishers Information and Credits 3 1 5 4 2 3 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 5 9 13 2 6 10 14 4 3 7 11 15 4 8 12 16 Preface National Parks are treasure troves of nature National Parks are a showcase of the natural fea- It is a central part of future-orientated politics tures of a country. They are at the centre of pub- to protect these treasure troves as part of our nat- lic awareness. The tradition of National Parks in ural heritage for our children and grandchildren. Germany is relatively young. Now this tradition This includes the rigorous designation and imple- is nearly 50 years old. The first National Park in mentation of core areas free of any land use. It also Germany was created in 1970 when the Bavarian means improving the quality of existing National Forest National Park was designated. National Parks and considering where future National Parks Parks got a special push in 1990 with the help of may be established in Germany. I believe we must the National Park programme of the former Ger- achieve the central goal of our national Biodiversity man Democratic Republic. Now, the 16 designated Strategy, to establish 2 % of the land area of Ger- National Parks in Germany are widely recognised many as a wilderness area by 2020. So far we are and accepted among large parts of the population. not anywhere near achieving this goal, nor have we They also represent a high economic value for exhausted all the potential regarding these matters. the respective regions. Recent studies by the Fed- For over 100 years nature conservation has eral Agency for Nature Conservation show that been the responsibility of the Government. This 9.5 million National Park tourists resulted in an must remain so. We will continue to need National additional annual turnover of € 487 million. That Park Administrations that are close to the needs amount is equivalent of 15,000 incomes. ( figures of their communities and are adequately funded, excluding the Hunsrück-Hochwald National to ensure we can maintain and further develop Park). Communities increasingly recognise that our natural heritage and to inform our citizens this is an opportunity and that they can be proud about the developments and processes in these ar- of their natural heritage. In this regard National eas. For the future, I want to assure our National Parks are also a success story for nature conser- Parks of the active support of the Federal Agency vation. A contributing factor for this has been the for Nature Conservation for their many roles and shared public presence of all National Parks under responsibilities. the brand “Nationale Naturlandschaften” (Nation- al Natural Landscapes) established by the umbrella organisation EUROPARC Germany. This success can be traced back to the independent manage- ment authorities of the respective federal states and the high commitment of their staff. National Prof. Dr. Beate Jessel Park administrations are responsible for a wealth President of the Federal Agency of roles. These include the protection of biological for Nature Conservation diversity and the management of the area, but also research, monitoring, environmental education, the facilitation of experiencing nature, active public re- lations work and the close cooperation with other key local players. 5 Wilderness in Germany ? Where is it ? Wilderness simply means to “let nature be nature”. Exactly that is the guiding principle of the 16 National Parks in Germany. In these places, nature can freely develop – not influenced by people. Karl Friedrich Sinner, former Chief Executive of the Bavarian Forest National Park, board member of EUROPARC Germany and expert on all questions on the topic of “wild” areas in Germany. 6 What success stories have there been in recent years in the core areas? In large parts of the Bavarian Forest National The areas of National Parks where wilderness is Park nature can develop developing show increasing species diversity and into wild woodland a dynamic development of nature. These are quite according to its own different to our traditional views of nature and ancient laws of “being – developing – dying” habitat conservation. Many extremely endangered People often think of the jungle, Siberian landscapes species, such as mosses, mushrooms , insects, birds or the Serengeti, when they hear the term “wilderness”. and also amphibians, mammals and fish have ben- Where can we find wilderness in Germany? efitted from this development. Even species previ- ously considered extinct or those that had not been You can find a great diversity of wilderness in recorded for a long time can be found again in the the core areas of all 16 German National Parks. core areas of National Parks. Wild streams and mountain slopes affected by avalanches, the wild forests of our National Parks rich in spruce, the naturalness of our broad-leaved National Parks in the central parts of Germany and river and coastal landscapes – they all show wilderness. Can you define wilderness? Wilderness can only be described in part. It is the individual perception by people when they see na- ture left to its own devices, nature you can expe- rience in all its vitality and diversity. Wilderness needs space and freedom from the effects of civili- sation. At the same time it is a place where we need to behave in a civilised way. Why is Wilderness so important for Germany? Recent research shows that the core areas of Karl Friedrich Sinner, former Chief National Parks are hotspots for biodiversity. For Executive of the Bavarian Forest the first time, they give us an impression of what National Park, board member of species diversity actually means for our country. EUROPARC Germany, the umbrella Untouched wilderness with its many highly differ- organisation for the National entiated development phases gives us an important Natural Landscapes insight into the carbon cycle and carbon seques- tration. In water protection areas free of fisheries we can see the diversity that used to exist in our Where do you see the future for German National oceans. Parks? To enjoy wilderness is also a deep human expe- rience that people can have when they engage with Most importantly to continue the chosen path and nature.