The Augsburg-Western Woods Nature Park (german: Naturpark Augsburg-Westliche Wälder) is one of the two ''nature parks'' in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

. The 1988 founded park has a size of . The nature park is bordered by the rivers

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

Wertach Wertach is a small town in the Oberallgäu district, southern Bavaria, (Germany), in the German Alps. It is situated on the river Wertach, southeast of Kempten. The town was the childhood home of the writer W. G. Sebald. History Wertach was ...

Schmutter The Schmutter is a river in Bavaria, Germany, a right tributary of the Danube. The Schmutter's source is southwest of Schwabmünchen, in the Swabia region of Bavaria. The Schmutter flows north, and for several tens of kilometers it flows paral ...

Flossach Flossach is a river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Mindel and an indirect right tributary of the Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 Euro ...

and

Mindel The Mindel () is a river in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Mindel originates west of Kaufbeuren, in the Allgäu region, and flows generally north. It flows into the Danube (right tributary) in Gundremmingen, east of Günzburg. The towns Mindelhei ...

. The biggest part of it is located in

Augsburg (district) Augsburg (; Swabian German: ''Augschburg'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of Augsburg and the districts of Aichach-Friedberg, Landsberg, Ostallgäu, Unterallg� ...

and extends to the edge of the districts Unterallgäu,

Günzburg (district) Günzburg is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. Its capital is the town Günzburg. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Dillingen, Augsburg, Unterallgäu and Neu-Ulm, and by the state of Baden-Wür ...

and Dillingen (district).

Landscape

The gentle, hilly landscape is divided by the streams

, Neufnach and

Zusam The Zusam is a river in Bavaria, Germany and a right tributary of the Danube. Its source is just north of the village of Könghausen, in the Unterallgäu district of Bavaria. It flows north for approximately 97 km, before converging into the ...

into gently undulating plateaus and flat interfluves. It is part of the

Tertiary Hills The Tertiary Hill Country (german: Tertiärhügelland or ''Tertiäres Hügelland''), also called the Tertiary Hills, is an upland area with a moderate climate in the northern Alpine Foreland, which extends northwards as far as the River Danube. It ...

between the

and the Bavarian Alpine Foreland. Nearly half (43%) of the region are forested and the proportion of grassland are high, too. The northern part around

Welden Welden is a community in the Augsburg district of Bavaria, Germany, and is the seat of the commune of Welden. Since the local government reform in 1978 it comprises Welden, Reutern and Ehgatten. Geography Welden lies at the centre of the ''Holz ...

is named Holzwinkel, the middle part around

Dinkelscherben Dinkelscherben is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria in Germany. Fleinhausen Fleinhausen is a village of the municipality of Dinkelscherben in the western part of the Bavarian district of Augsburg in Germany. Located on the w ...

, Reischenau and the south part (south of the line

Thannhausen Thannhausen () is a town in the district of Günzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Mindel, southeast of Günzburg, and west of Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_Germa ...

Ziemetshausen Ziemetshausen is a municipality in the district of Günzburg in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

Fischach Fischach is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and ...

Gessertshausen Gessertshausen is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

Stadtbergen Stadtbergen ( Swabian: ''Staberga'') is a town in the district of Augsburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the outskirts of Augsburg, west of Augsburg city centre. Stadtbergen was granted town privileges in May 2007. Mayors * Ludwig F ...

) are the Stauden.

Sights and attractions

Nature-Park-House near
Oberschönenfeld Abbey Oberschönenfeld Abbey (Kloster Oberschönenfeld) is a Cistercian nunnery in Gessertshausen in Bavaria, Germany. History As early as around 1186 there were Beguines, or a similar community of women, on this site. In about 1211 they formed a more ...

The Nature-Park-House, which was opened in the year 1992, is located in an adjoining building of

Oberschönenfeld Abbey Oberschönenfeld Abbey (Kloster Oberschönenfeld) is a Cistercian nunnery in Gessertshausen in Bavaria, Germany. History As early as around 1186 there were Beguines, or a similar community of women, on this site. In about 1211 they formed a more ...

south of

. In the rooms of the Nature-Park-House the exhibition ''Nature and Men in the Nature-Park'' is shown. Furthermore there is near the Nature-Park-House the last thatched ''Staudenhaus'', a little farm house in the type of construction which was typical in the ''Stauden''. This house was rebuilt at this place between the years 1974 and 1980. In the stables, unused since 1972, the

Bezirk Schwaben The German term ''Bezirk'' (plural ''Bezirke'', derived from la, circulus, "circle") translated as "district" can refer to the following types of administrative divisions: * ''Stadtbezirk'', a subdivision of a city in the sense of a borough (e. ...

established the Swabian Folklore and Crafts Museum (Schwäbische Volkskundemuseum) in 1984. File:Kloster Oberschoenenfeld Schwaben Ansicht West.jpg, Oberschönenfeld Abbey File:Staudenhaus 3.jpg, Staudenhaus

Further attractions and sights in the Augsburg-Westliche Wälder Nature Park

* people's observatory in Streitheim *

Nemeton A nemeton (plural: nemeta) was a sacred space of ancient Celtic religion. Nemeta appear to have been primarily situated in natural areas, and, as they often utilized trees, they are often interpreted as sacred groves.Koch, p. 1350. However, other ...

s and former castles, built in the Middle Ages (for example the Haldenburg near Schwabegg) * Fuggercastle Kirchheim, from the 18th century, with the „Cedarhall“, one of the most beautiful

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

halls of Europe. The hall has a

coffered ceiling A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...

with timber of Cedar from the

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and 14 native kinds of wood, all in natura. *

pilgrimage church A pilgrimage church (german: Wallfahrtskirche) is a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or a church along a pilgrimage route, like the Way of St. James, that is visited by pilgrims. Pilgrimage churches are often located by the graves ...

of St. Michael in Violau and observatory from the 18th century * pilgrimage church of Maria Vesperbild near

* pilgrimage church in Biberbach * pilgrimage church of Allerheiligen near Scheppach (municipality

Jettingen-Scheppach Jettingen-Scheppach is a market community in the Günzburg ''Landkreis'' in the Schwaben (Swabia) ''Regierungsbezirk'' in Bavaria. It lies between Ulm and Augsburg. Its population as of 1 December 2005 was 7,044. Politics Jettingen-Scheppach ...

) * church of St. Thekla in

* many little

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

- and

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

-churches in the "Swabian Pfaffenwinkel"

Gallery

File:Aystetten westl - Rauher Forst v O.jpg File:Rothsee Zusmarshausen.jpg, Rothsee File:Wald bei Mödishofen 04.jpg File:Christoph-Scheiner-Turm-01.jpg

References

External links

Nature park website
{{Authority control Nature parks in Bavaria Augsburg (district) Dillingen (district) Günzburg (district) Unterallgäu Swabia (Bavaria) Protected areas established in 1988 1988 establishments in West Germany