We have already presented all sixteen German national parks (Nationalpark). Now the turn of natural parks (Naturpark) has come. In West Germany, nature parks began to be created in the late 1950s, but the oldest such German park appeared much earlier – it was founded in the Lüneburg Heath back in the days of the Weimar Republic – in 1921.
The first natural parks in Germany were the Palatinate Forest, the Southern Eifel and the Vogelsberg volcanic region. Now they all occupy 27 percent of the entire country! There are more than a hundred such parks in Germany, so we will limit ourselves to three dozen.
The municipality of Essing in the district of Kelheim on the northern edge of the Altmühl valley
Altmültal
Altmühltal Nature Park (Naturpark Altmühltal). Federal state of Bavaria. Year of creation: 1969. Area: 2962 square kilometers.
Municipality of Oberammergau
Ammer Alps
Nature Park Ammer Alps (Naturpark Ammergauer Alpen). Federal state of Bavaria. Year of creation: 2017. Area: 227 square kilometers.
Beach in Kamminke in the Szczecin Bay
Szczecin bay
Nature park in the Szczecin Bay (Naturpark Am Stettiner Haff). Federal state of Mecklenburg – Vorpommern. Year of creation: 2005. Area: 537 square kilometers.
Autumn day in the commune of Enze
Arnsberg Forest
Nature park Arnsberg Forest (Naturpark Arnsberger Wald). Federal state of North Rhine – Westphalia. Year of creation: 1961. Area: 482 square kilometers.
Former Korin Monastery (Kloster Chorin), located in the park
Barnim Nature Park
Barnim Nature Park. Federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg. Year of creation: 1999. Area: 749 square kilometers.
A ride on a mail carriage near the Bad Bocklet resort
Bavarian Rhön
Bavarian Rhön Nature Park (Naturpark Bayerische Rhön). Federal state of Bavaria. Year of creation: 1967. Area: 1245 square kilometers.
The traditional Bergische Kaffeetafel (Bergische Kaffeetafel) coffee table is a great way to refresh yourself while working up an appetite in the fresh air.
Bergishes Land
Nature Park Bergisches Land (Naturpark Bergisches Land). Federal state of North Rhine – Westphalia. Year of creation: 1973. Area: 1917 square kilometers.
The inhabitant of this lake region is the white-tailed eagle
Feldberger Seenlandscape
Nature Park Feldberger Seenlandschaft (Naturpark Feldberger Seenlandschaft). Federal state of Mecklenburg – Vorpommern. Year of creation: 1997. Area: 345 square kilometers.
Foggy winter at Fichtelsee lake
Fichtelgebirge
Fichtelgebirge Nature Park (Naturpark Fichtelgebirge). Federal state of Bavaria. Year of creation: 1971. Area: 1028 square kilometers.
Nest of cormorants near the river Pene
Valley of the river Pene
Peene Valley Nature Park (Naturpark Flusslandschaft Peenetal). Federal state of Mecklenburg – Vorpommern. Year of creation: 2011. Area: 334 square kilometers.
The ruins of the Neideck Castle in Franconian Switzerland
Franconian Switzerland – Feldensteiner Forst
Natural Park Franconian Switzerland – Feldensteiner Forst (Naturpark Fränkische Schweiz-Veldensteiner Forst). Federal state of Bavaria. Year of creation: 1995. Area: 2346 square kilometers.
In the valley of the river Ilse
Exit
There are three natural parks and one national park in the Harz region of Germany. One of them is the Harz / Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park (Naturpark Harz / Sachsen-Anhalt). Year of creation: 2003. Area: 1660 square kilometers.
Starry sky over the Hessian Rhön, taken with many hours of exposure
Hessian Rhön
Nature Park Hessian Rhön (Naturpark Hessische Rhön). Federal state of Hesse. Year of creation: 1963. Area: 700 square kilometers.
Young roe deer in a mowed field
Island Usedom
Natural park on the island of Usedom (Naturpark Insel Usedom). Federal state of Mecklenburg – Vorpommern. Year of creation: 1999. Area: 632 square kilometers.
Sunrise near the Kyffhäuser Monument – a monument to the German Emperor Wilhelm I
Kyffhäuser
Kyffhäuser Nature Park (Naturpark Kyffhäuser) Federal state of Thuringia. Year of creation: 2008. Area: 305 square kilometers.
Source of the river Lahn
Lan-Dille
Nature Park Lahn-Dill Highlands (Naturpark Lahn-Dill-Bergland). Federal state of Hesse. Year of creation: 2007. Area: 874 square kilometers. In the photo: the source of the Lahn River.
Lake Schalse
Lauenburg lakes
Nature Park Lauenburg Lakes (Naturpark Lauenburgische Seen). Federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Year of creation: 1961. Area: 474 square kilometers.
Sheep of the Lüneburg breed (Lüneburger Heidschnucke) are distinguished by unpretentiousness and endurance
Lüneburg Heath
The Lüneburg Heath Nature Park (Naturpark Lüneburger Heide) is the oldest in Germany. Federal state of Lower Saxony. Year of creation: 1921. Area: 1130 square kilometers.
Mill Pritzkhagener Muhle (Pritzhagener Mühle)
Brandenburg Switzerland
Nature Park Brandenburg Switzerland (Naturpark Märkische Schweiz). Federal state of Brandenburg. Year of creation: 1990. Area: 205 square kilometers.
The Danube Valley near Tuttlingen
Upper Danube
Natural Park Upper Danube (Naturpark Obere Donau). Federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Year of creation: 1980. Area: 857 square kilometers.
Pine trees on a red sandstone cliff near Hauenstein
Palatinate Forest
Nature Park Palatinate Forest (Naturpark Pfälzerwald). Federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Year of creation: 1958. Area: 1798 square kilometers.
Loop of the river Saar (Saarschleife) near Mettlach
Saar-Hunsryuk
Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park (Naturpark Saar-Hunsrück). Federal states of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate. Year of creation: 1980. Area: 1938 square kilometers.
Autumn mist over Schlei bay
Schlei bay
Schlei Natural Park (Naturpark Schlei). Federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Year of creation: 2008. Area: 498 square kilometers. Schlei is a narrow and long bay of the Baltic Sea in northern Germany.
Castle Drachenburg (Drachenburg) – one of the sights of Siebengebirge
Zibengebirge
Siebengebirge Nature Park, in translation – Semigorye (Naturpark Siebengebirge). Federal state of North Rhine – Westphalia. Year of creation: 1959. Area: 112 square kilometers.
Thick moss in the forest near Ebrach
Steigerwald
Steigerwald Nature Park. Federal state of Bavaria. Year of creation: 1971. Area: 1280 square kilometers.
View from the Taunus towards the skyscrapers of Frankfurt am Main
Taunus
Taunus Nature Park. Federal state of Hesse. Year of creation: 1962. Area: 1348 square kilometers.
Externsteine rocks
Teutoburg Forest
Nature Park Teutoburg Forest / Egge (Naturpark Teutoburger Wald / Eggegebirge). Federal state of North Rhine – Westphalia. Year of creation: 1965. Area: 2711 square kilometers.
In the vicinity of the Thuringian resort Masserberg
Thuringian Forest
Nature Park Thuringian Forest (Naturpark Thüringer Wald). Federal state of Thuringia. Year of creation: 1990. Area: 2082 square kilometers.
Lacher See – lake of volcanic origin in the Eifel
Volcanic Eifel
Natural and geological park Volcanic Eifel (Natur- und Geopark Vulkaneifel). Federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Year of creation: 2010. Area: 980 square kilometers.
City of Bodenwerder in the valley of the river Weser
Weser Highlands
Weser Highlands Schaumburg-Hamel Nature Park (Naturpark Weserbergland Schaumburg-Hamel). Federal state of Lower Saxony. Year of creation: 1975. Area: 1116 square kilometers.