the northern and central parts of Brandenburg – did not reach 150 to more than 300 years, are today sent all over the world. Lower Lusatia. Instead the highly varied moraine landscape The 30-year-long military use of this area, ending in 1988, has was formed in the Wolstonian Stage that ended 180,000 years left both grey-hair grass meadows and broad heather mead- ago. The natural lakes that it left in its wake have long since ows. In the autumn a shepherd and his herd of moorland silted up. The Kirchhain-Finsterwalder Basin extends over more sheep tends to the violet and white blooms of the heath. than half of the nature park. The expansive ice front basin is interrupted by the valley of the Kleiner Elster (Lesser Elster). horse of the wood pear-leaved wintergreen Beaver Two Elsters cranes feed here. In the backwaters such plants as water Heraldic Animal – chestnut, water pineapple, and common water-crowfoot Its bigger sister river, the Schwarze Elster (Black Elster), flows are present, while in the damp meadows the heath spotted through the Breslau-Magdeburg glacial valley in the south Western Capercaillie Nature Park in the South orchid, the Western marsh orchid, and marsh gentian are to of the nature park. With many winding backwaters and the be found. In the moors one can even see species of sundews. The Niederlausitzer Heidenlandschaft (Lower Lusatian Heath- remains of alluvial forests, the Kleine and Schwarze Elster In earlier times the Western capercaillie was so frequent in Lower The improved water quality of the Schwarze Elster has since land) is the southernmost nature park in Brandenburg. The together with the Großer and Kleiner Röder (Greater and Lusatia that rakish capercaillie hunts in the royal forest was obvi- attracted fish such as the European chub, which is severely 480-square-kilometer area is located on the border to Saxony, Lesser Röder) form extended lowlands with wet woodlands, ously worthwhile. Today this galliforme, which is almost as large as endangered in Brandenburg, the Northernpike, and gudgeon. around 70 kilometers from Dresden and Cottbus or 100 meadows, and moors. a turkey, is severely endangered throughout Germany. Until 1975 kilometers from Berlin and Leipzig. With brown coal mines Where the Kleine and Schwarze Elster meet in the west of it was considered an inhabitant of most all the larger evergreen Ministry of Environment, Health and Consumer Protection of the Federal State of Brandenburg in the area and a former military site in its middle the nature the nature park, there opens the so-called Kleine Spreewald and mixed forests in Lower Lusatia. A species protection project Editors: Brandenburg State Office of Environment, Health and Consumer Protection, park arouses particular attention. It conceals surprises both (Smaller Spreewald). It is similar to the »real« Spreewald with is being implemented for this bird native to the pine heaths in the Office of Press and Public Relations in its diverse near-natural landscape as well as in the dramatic its alder stocks, dark, boggy soil, and simultaneously points Lower Lusatian Heathland Nature Park and to the neighboring 14476 Potsdam, OT Groß Glienicke, Seeburger Chaussee 2, Tel. (03 32 01) 4 22 - 0 Post-Mining Landscape and Niederlausitzer Heidelandschaft Nature Park remnants of decades of human activity. The last ice age – the to the origin of the name »Schwarze Elster,« referring back to Lower Lusatian Upland Nature Park. This aids not only the Western Photographs: U. Albrecht, Fremdenverkehrsverein Niederlausitz e.V., Weichselian glaciation that ended 10,000 years ago and formed the Germanic words for alder and bog. Rich seams of brown coal were located here under the sur- capercaillie but also help increase the distribution of such species Prof. Dr. M. Freude, K. Hirche, Dr. S. Klaus, G. Kohlhase, F. Pauliuk, V. Rösler, O. Schulz, E. Schutt, S. Sixdorf, M. Walther face. The more than one-hundred-years of brown coal mining as Tengmalm’s owl, the black woodpecker, and the Eurasian wood- Map: Pro Line Concept, Berlin Large, unspoiled pine woods and forests with remnants of in the eastern part of the nature park has left a strong mark cock that also live in old forests. Other rare and impressive species Design/Production: Power DesignThing GmbH Printing: Landesvermessung und Geobasisinformation Brandenburg deciduous forests grow on the sandy plateaus that form the on the cultural landscape. such as the black stork, the white-tailed eagle and ospreys As of: September 2013 edge of the Kirchhain-Finsterwalder Basin in the north of the Attractive local recreation areas have been created in the make their homes in large contiguous forests. nature park. Of special note are the naturally rejuvenating recultivated pit mines, such as the Grünewalder Lauch or Bad In the 14th century the administration in Liebenwerde felt beech forests in the northwest of the park – otherwise beech Erna (Erna Bath). The abandoned slag heaps also provide the forced to employ a beaver hunter – the last beaver died in is rare in Lower Lusatia – and the presence of Lower Lusatian ideal habitat for highly specialized grasshopper and beetle 1965 in an arm of the Elster near Prieschka. Hunting and Niederlausitzer lowland spruce and silver fir. In the northwest large blankets species such as the tawny earwig and the slender blue-winged habitat destruction weakened the 100-animal-strong beaver of blueberries lie in the pine forests. Original deciduous forests grasshopper. The rare matricary grapefern, moonwort, and population of 1945. Since 1970 however beavers are increas- Heidelandschaft are located in the heart of the nature park. On the former the small pear-leaved wintergreen grow on older virgin soils. ingly found here. Today this water resource manager and Nature Park military training ground in Bad Liebenwerda one of the largest The water in the mining lakes serves as safe sleeping grounds builder of the animal kingdom is just as extensively present in unspoiled sessile oak forests in Germany – the Prösa – is still for more than 3,000 common cranes and thousands of bean the Elster lowlands as the European otter. Northern lapwing Naturpark Landesamt für Nationale extant. The seeds of the trees, which have grown in this place for geese and greater white-fronted geese. and common snipe breed in the meadows, white storks and Umwelt, Niederlausitzer Gesundheit und Naturlandschaften Verbraucherschutz Heidelandschaft Dbrichen NP Prie§en Frankena Uckermrkische BR Flusslandschaft NP NemitzRheinsberg Seen NLP Werenzhain A permanent Elbe-Brandenburg Stechlin- BR Unteres Ruppiner Land Schorfheide- Odertal Chorin exhibtion is Atelierhof NP being shown in Administration of the NP Barnim Buchhain 96 West- Bernau the Nature Park Niederlausitzer - havelland NP Massen Mrkische Heidelandschaft Nature Park BERLIN Schweiz KIRCHHAIN House in Bad Potsdam Hennersdorf 04924 Bad Liebenwerda, Markt 20 NP Nexdorf Liebenwerda DOBERLUG- Tel: (03 53 41) 6 15-0 NP NP Dahme- Heideseen Wei§haus which is inter- Hoher Nuthe- NP KIRCHHAIN np-niederlausitzer-heidelandschaft@ Flming Nieplitz Schlaubetal NSG esting for small BR lugv.brandenburg.de Spreewald Hohe Warte and tall folks. www.grossschutzgebiete.brandenburg.de PLACE OFFERINGS Information Accommodations trail Discovery rental Bike Riding/charabanc Canoeing ground Camping Swimming Museum/Gallery or architec Cultural monumentl tural Archeological monument NLP = national park (Nationalpark) NP NSG FINSTERWALDE Betten Drasdo BR = Gro§schutzgebiete biosphere reserve Niederlausitzer Bad Liebenwerda • • • • • • in (Biosphärenreservat) Brandenburg Landrcken Buchwald NP Association Nature Park Lower Beutersitz • • • NP = natureNLP = Nationalparkpark (Naturpark) Niederlausitzer Lugau BR = Biosphrenreservat Heidelandschaft Eichholz Lusatian Heathland Buchhain • Large NPNature = Naturpark Reserves in Brandenburg DOBERLUG 04924 Plessa, An der Elstermühle Dobra • • • • Schacksdorf Tel: (0 35 33) 52 06 Döllingen • • • • Langennaundorf [email protected] Domsdorf • • • • Hammer- Dr§ig www.naturpark-nlh.de Schilda teich Dreska • • • Schnborn Bad S Lindena Dübrichen • c Trbitz Erna h w Nature Watch Bases: a Fischwasser Besucher- Eichholz-Drößig • rz e Wildgrube bergwerk F 60 UEBIGAU E Pechhtte Elsterwerda • • • • • ls 04928 Plessa, An der Elstermühle te r Fischwasser • NSG Tel./Fax: (0 35 33) 51 08 80 r e Friedersdorf • • • Technisches Denkmal st Schadewitz El Brikettfabrik Louise e 04924 Bad Liebenwerda, Markt 20 Gorden • Beutersitz ein Domsdorf Kl Rckersdorfer Sorno Tel: (03 53 41) 101 92 • • • • • • • Land and People See Grünewalde FALKENBERG Gruhno www.naturwacht.de Gruhno • • Friedersdorf Rckersdorf Neumhl 101 NSG Haida/Würdenhain • •* • • 46 towns and villages belong to the nature park, located in Schadewitzer Until 1925 there was a sawmill in Nature and Biodiversity Hohenleipisch • • • • P Conservation Union (NABU): Feuchtbiotop addition to the Elster Mill Plessa. Kahla • •* • • the counties of Elbe-Elster and Oberspreewald-Lausitz. While WAHRENBRCK Rothstein Schadewitz OppelhainOppelha Today, with the help of the NRW- Biologischer Arbeitskreis Kraupa • • Schmerkendorf Rothsteiner Ziegel- NSG Elsterwerda is understood to be the commercial center, Bad Winkel Felsen Prestewitz huser Tubertsmhle P NSG Stiftung (North Rhein-Westphalia Bad Liebenwerda e.V., Andrea Zanker Lindena • • • Zinsdorf Grnhaus 04924 Bad Liebenwerda, Lugau • • Liebenwerda, with its medieval city center, has now carried Kleiner Theisa Suden Foundation), the restored building Spreewald