![MHL Corpusbuche 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/MHL_Corpusbuche_2.jpg)
Hainich is a forested hill chain in the state of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
in Germany, between the towns of
Eisenach
Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...
,
Mühlhausen and
Bad Langensalza
Bad Langensalza (; until 1956: Langensalza) is a spa town of 17,500 inhabitants in the Unstrut-Hainich district, Thuringia, central Germany.
Geography Location
Bad Langensalza is located in the Thuringian Basin, the fertile lowlands alon ...
. Hainich covers an area of around 160 km² (61,8 sq mi), of which, since 31 December 1997, half has been designated as ''
Hainich National Park
Hainich National Park (german: Nationalpark Hainich), founded on December 31, 1997, is the 13th national park in Germany and the only one in Thuringia. One of the main objectives of the park is the protection of an ancient native beech forest. In ...
''. The highest point in Hainich is ''Alte Berg'' at 1621 ft (494 m). The ''Mühlhäuser Stadtwald'' in the northern part of Hainich is the largest
municipal forest
A municipal forest or municipal woodland is a forest or wood owned by a town or city. Such woods often have a higher density of leisure facilities like play parks, restaurants and cafes, bridleways, cycle paths and footpaths. Unlike an urban forest ...
in Thuringia. The landmark of Hainich is ''Betteleiche'', a 600-year-old
common oak
''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is wide ...
at Ihlefeld.
Geography
Hainich is 18,6 mls (30 km) long from north to south and 2,5 to 5 mls (4 to 8 km) broad from west to east. The western edge of Hainich leads to ''Lempertsbach'' and ''Lauterbach'' valley and is steeper than the eastern slope. In the northwest you can find high
rocks
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...
like ''Sommerstein'' and ''Winterstein''. The reason for the steeper slopes in western Hainich is the Saalfeld-Gotha-Eichenberg
fault. Because of limestone the Hainich creeks are dry for the most time of the year. In the east of Hainich water rises up in strong sources like ''Kainspring'' or ''Popperöder Quelle''. So Hainich is a
karst region.
Communities
The following communities take part of Hainich: Eigenrieden,
Heyerode,
Hallungen,
Nazza,
Mihla,
Lauterbach,
Bischofroda, Berka v.d Hainich,
Behringen
Behringen is a former municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 December 2007, it is part of the municipality Hörselberg-Hainich
Hörselberg-Hainich is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Ger ...
,
Reichenbach, Craula, Zimmern, Alterstedt,
Weberstedt
Weberstedt is a village and a former municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the municipality Unstrut-Hainich
Unstrut-Hainich is a municipality in the district Unstrut-Hainic ...
,
Mülverstedt
Mülverstedt is a village and a former municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the municipality Unstrut-Hainich
Unstrut-Hainich is a municipality in the district Unstrut-Haini ...
,
Flarchheim
Flarchheim is a village and a former municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the municipality Unstrut-Hainich.
Flarchheim was the site of the Battle of Flarchheim
The Battl ...
,
Kammerforst
Kammerforst is a municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...
,
Oppershausen
Oppershausen is a municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...
,
Langula
Langula is a village and a former municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country ...
,
Niederdorla
Niederdorla is a village and a former municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, Germany. It is the geographical center of Germany. Its nearest main city is Erfurt, which also is the capital city of Thuringia. Since 31 Decembe ...
,
Oberdorla
Oberdorla is a village and a former municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous countr ...
, Mühlhausen.
Geology
The geological surface of Hainich is Middle
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
so called ''Muschelkalk''.
Climate
The annual average precipitation at Hainich ridge is as 31.5 in (800 mm). The average temperature is 43,7 °F (6,5 °C). The lower parts in the east are drier and warmer. The next commercial weather station is near
Weberstedt
Weberstedt is a village and a former municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the municipality Unstrut-Hainich
Unstrut-Hainich is a municipality in the district Unstrut-Hainic ...
.
Ecology
Hainich contains the largest coherent area of
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
trees in Germany. The main trees are
beech, mixed with
ash
Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
,
maple
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
,
tilia cordata
''Tilia cordata'', the small-leaved lime or small-leaved linden, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to much of Europe. Other common names include little-leaf or littleleaf linden, or traditionally in South East England, pry or p ...
,
hornbeam
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Origin of names
The common English name ''hornbeam ...
and chequer tree (''Sorbus torminalis'').
Hainich is also known as an important habitat for
European wildcat
The European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') is a small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus. It inhabits forests from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus. Its fur i ...
(''Felis silvestris''). Central parts of Hainich National Park, so Weberstedt and Schöndorf forest, are rich on
dead wood
''Dead Wood'' is a 2007 British horror film, written, produced and directed by Richard Stiles and David Bryant and starring Emily Juniper, Fergus March, Rebecca Craven, Nina Kwok and John Samuel Worsey with Bryant appearing in a small role. ''D ...
. That's the reason for the incidence of 522
beetles with their habitat only in wood. Biologists found from 1992 to 2008 altogether 2080 of different beetles in Hainich National Park.
[Weigel, A. & Apel, W. 2011. Käfer im Nationalpark Hainich. Gotha]
Forestry
The north of Hainich is managed by the forestry service in
Creuzburg
Creuzburg is a town and a former municipality on the Werra river in the Wartburgkreis in Thuringia, Germany. Since December 2019, it is part of the town Amt Creuzburg.
Geography
Creuzburg is in the area known as the Muschelkalk. Three mountain ...
. The forests belong to the municipality of
Mühlhausen and to the cooperatives of Oberdorla, Niederdorla, Langula and Kammerforst. Selective tree cutting and uneven-aged management are dominant in the beech forests.
Sycamore maple and
Chequer tree
''Sorbus torminalis'', with common names wild service tree, chequers, and checker tree, is a species of tree in the mountain ash or rowan genus (''Sorbus'') of the rose family ( Rosaceae), that is native to Europe, parts of northern Africa and ...
are bringing the best yield. In former times oaks and hornbeam were favorised.
Tourism
A traditional trail is ''Rennstieg''. It is 19,5 mls (31,3 km) long and leads from Eigenrieden in the north to Behringen in the south across Hainich.
On 26 August 2005 nearby Thiemsburg forester's house in the southeast of Hainich one of the largest tree canopy paths was declared to be open. It is the most important institution for
environmental education
Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...
in Thuringia and a platform for ecological research in the treetop region of a broadleaf forest. An attraction in ''Mühlhäuser Stadtwald'' are the Redwood trees (
Sequoiadendron giganteum
''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus '' Sequoiad ...
) from 1884. They are the largest ones in Thuringia. A trail from ''Weißes Haus'' on the eastern edge of Hainich leads to this site. Another curious tree, also in ''Mühlhäuser Stadtwald'', is ''Corpusbuche'' a 400-year-old hornbeam.
References
External links
* http://www.hainich.de
* http://www.nationalpark-hainich.de
{{Authority control
Forests and woodlands of Thuringia