The Altmühl Valley Nature Park (german: Naturpark Altmühltal) is a
nature park, 2,962 km²
in area, in the south German state of
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 ...
. The area of the park is almost coextensive with that of the
natural region
A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate.
From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...
major unit of the Southern
Franconian Jura
The Franconian Jura ( , , or ) is an upland in Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to and it has an area of some 7053.8 km2. Emil Meyn ...
(''Südliche Frankenalb''). It lies immediately north of the city of
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Ba ...
on the
River 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 ...
and is divided into a southern and northern
Altmühl Valley.
Description
The nature park was established on 25 July 1969
in
Pappenheim
Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 11 km south of Weißenburg in Bayern.
History
Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within Holy Roman Empire. It ...
by society formed for the purpose, the ''Naturpark Altmühltal (Südliche Frankenalb)'' ("Altmühl Valley Nature Park (Southern Franconian Jura)"). It is the fourth largest nature park in Germany after the
Central/North Black Forest Nature Park,
Bergstraße-Odenwald Nature Park and
Southern Black Forest Nature Park.
File:Arnsberger Leite 01.jpg, Arnsberger Leite
File:Altmühltal - Bavaria, Germany - 16 July 2015.jpg, Burgstein
File:2016 Zwölf Apostel 09.jpg, Zwölf Apostel
File:2013 Weltenburg 18.jpg, Weltenburger Enge
File:Weltenburger Enge (Nordufer).JPG, 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 , p ...
at Weltenburger Enge
File:Wasserzell vom Frauenberg (1).jpg, Villages and valleys
File:Arzberg 2-2.jpg, Arzberg
File:2016 Heinrichsgraben 10.jpg, Sinter terraces
File:Klausenhöhle.JPG, Cave-systems
File:Herbst im Harburger Karab (FFH-Gebiet) 02.jpg, Autumn in Harburger Karab forest
File:Galgenberg 05.jpg, Autumn at Galgenberg
File:Figurenfeld bei Eichstätt.jpg, Figurenfeld sculpture park
File:Naturpark_Altmuehltal.jpg, Nature park sign
See also
*
List of nature parks in Germany
Nature parks in Germany (german: Naturparks) have been established under section 22, paragraph 4 of that country's Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG). there were 103 nature parks, comprising about 27 percent of the total land area of Ger ...
References
[Area of the nature park:]
– 2962 km²
''Liste der Naturparke''
(Association of German Nature Parks), retrieved 20 August 2014, at naturparke.de
according to other sources:
– 2967 km²
''Der Naturpark Altmühltal''
retrieved 12 October 2016, at naturpark-altmuehltal.de (pdf; 67.16 KB)
[Naturpark Altmühltal](_blank)
retrieved 24 April 2014, at openstreetmap.org
[''Der Naturpark Altmühltal''](_blank)
retrieved 12 October 2016, at naturpark-altmuehltal.de (pdf; 67.16 KB)
Literature
* ''Das Tal der Uraltmühl'', 144 Seiten, Tümmels, Nuremberg,
* ''Das Urdonautal der Altmühl'', 132 Seiten, Tümmels, Nuremberg,
External links
Altmühl Valley Nature Park at naturpark-altmuehltal.de
{{Authority control
Nature parks in Bavaria
Eichstätt (district)
Kelheim (district)
Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen
Franconia