The Arnsberg Forest Nature Park (german: Naturpark Arnsberger Wald) is a

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...

in the districts of Hochsauerlandkreis and Soest within the administrictive region of Arnsberg in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The park was established in 1960 and covers an area of 482 km². Nearly 350 km² of the protection is forested and the park's wooded hills rise up to . The nature park, which consists of the Arnsberg Forest in the west and the Warstein Forest in the east, is important for the regional economy both in terms of forestry and tourism. The two forests form a densely wooded part of the Süder Uplands within the

Rhine Massif ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

Geography

Location

The Arnsberg Forest Nature Park lies between the river Möhne in the north, on which the Möhne Reservoir is located, and the deep valley of the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

in the south. Between these two valleys the park is situated between Möhnesee in the northwest, Rüthen in the northeast, Brilon in the east, Olsberg in the southeast, Meschede in the south and Arnsberg in the southwest; Warstein lies within the nature reserve. To the north is the heavily forested region of the Haarstrang, to the east are the

Brilon Heights The Brilon Plateau (german: Briloner Hochfläche) is a highland area in the county of Hochsauerlandkreis in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is surrounded by the Brilon Heights (''Briloner Höhen''), whose mountains reach a heig ...

, to the south is the

Rothaargebirge The Rothaar Mountains (german: Rothaargebirge, , also ''Rotlagergebirge''), or Rothaar, is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 843.1 m in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, Germany. It is believed that its name must once have been ...

, to the southwest is the Lennegebirge and to the west the terrain gradually descends towards

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

into the

Rivers and lakes

The best-known water feature in the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park is the Möhnesee, set in the Möhne valley between the Haarstrang in the north and the Arnsberg Forest in the south. Numerous rivers run through the wooded valleys. These include the

and Möhne, which border the forests, as well as other water courses that feed the Möhne and Ruhr: * Biber (Möhne tributary near Rüthen) *

Glenne Glenne is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Lippe, which it joins near Lippstadt. Its upstream is called Haustenbach. See also *List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia A list of rivers of North Rhine-W ...

(Möhne tributary northwest of Rüthen-Kallenhardt) ** Lörmecke (Glenne tributary between Suttrop and Kallenhardt) ** Möhne (Ruhr tributary near Neheim-Hüsten) * Wester (Möhne tributary near Belecke) ** Langer Bach (Wester tributary near Warstein) **

Wideybach Wester (in its upper course: Wideybach) is a 14-km long river, a southern tributary of Möhne of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows between the Warstein and Belecke subdivisions (german: ortsteil) of the town of Warstein. See also * ...

(Wester tributary near Warstein) * Heve (Möhne tributary, mouth at the southern end of the Möhnesee) *

( Rhine tributary near Duisburg-Ruhrort) * Wanne (Ruhr tributary near Niedereimer)

Hills

The hills and hilltops of the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park include: the Warsteiner Kopf (556.9 m; fourth-highest hill), the Gemeinheitskopf (551.9 m; fifth-highest hill) the Niekopf (550.4 m; sixth-highest hill) and the Nuttlarer Höhe (542.2 m). These are the best known hills in the nature park because, unlike the other local heights they are shown on most of the maps and the specialised reference books. There are also, as the following list shows, a number of unnamed hilltops. * Highest hill (unnamed '' Kuppe''; ) * Second highest hill (unnamed ''Kuppe''; ) * Third highest hill (unnamed ''Kuppe''; ) * Fourth highest hill (Warsteiner Kopf; ) * Fifth highest hill (Gemeinheitskopf; ) * Sixth highest hill (Niekopf; )

Villages

In or on the edge of the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park are numerous villages belonging to these municipalities and towns:

Tourism

Sights

The Bilstein Cave southwest of Warstein in the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park attracts many tourists. The cave of Hohler Stein southwest of Rüthen-Kallenhardts is also worth visiting as are the observation towers of

Lörmecke Tower Lörmecke is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows into the Glenne near Warstein-Suttrop. See also *List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia A list of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany: A * Aa, left tributary of the M ...

(near the highest point in the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park between Warstein and

Eversberg Eversberg is a town with about 2000 inhabitants in the county of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The history of the town goes back to the 11th century when Count Eberhard von Arnsberg founded the castle Eversberg. The castle today is a ruin. Th ...

), the Küppel Tower (near Meschede-Freienohls) and the Delecke Bismarck Tower (north of Möhnesee-Delecke).

Trails

Many trails wind through the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park and its hills and valleys. The best known are the Upland Trail (no. "X 13") and the Renn Trail (no. "X 26").

Literature

* Ralf Günther: ''The Arnsberger Wald im Mittelalter. Forstgeschichte als Verfassungsgeschichte''. Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Westfalen, Nr. 22. / Geschichtliche Arbeiten zur westfälischen Landesforschung, Band 20. Aschendorff, Münster 1994, 345 (IX) S.,

References

External links

Arnsberg Forest Nature Park internet site

General information etc about the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park at naturparke.de

Topographical mpa from the North Rhine-Westphalia State Office for Data and Statistics (LDS NRW) at geoserver.nrw.de
{{Authority control Central Uplands Forests and woodlands of North Rhine-Westphalia Sauerland Nature parks in North Rhine-Westphalia