Nature Park Berg en Bos is a nature reserve of 250 hectares in the

Apeldoorn Apeldoorn (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland in the centre of the Netherlands. It is located about 60 km east of Utrecht, 60 km west of Enschede, 25 km north of Arnhem and 35 km south of Zwolle. The ...

village Berg en Bos in the Netherlands. The park is on the edge of the

Veluwe The Veluwe () is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km2) in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes, including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts. The Ve ...

hill area.

History

Park Berg & Bos, owned by the municipality of

, was built in 1934. It was a job creation project in the crisis of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. This place was, until the 19th century, a water supply to the water fountains and water of

Het Loo Het Loo Palace ( nl, Paleis Het Loo , meaning "The wikt:lea#English, Lea") is a palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, built by the House of Orange-Nassau. History The symmetry, symmetrical Dutch Baroque architecture, Dutch Baroque building was desi ...

Palace. From 1953 in evening 'Lumido' organized a music, water and light show in and around the forest pond in the park. 'Lumido' stopped in 2003 and restarted in August 2012.

Themes

The park shows the characteristic of this area's plants and animals such as

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

and

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

. As one penetrates deeper into Berg en Bos, the character gradually changes from a carefully landscaped park in an unspoilt but varied woodland. Along the trails in the park several routes are mapped out. There are various recreational amenities such as a 26 meter high tower, a playground and a

butterfly garden Butterfly gardening is a way to create, improve, and maintain habitat for lepidopterans including butterflies, skippers, and moths. Butterflies have four distinct life stages—egg, larva, chrysalis, and adult. In order to support and sustain ...

. The park also includes a zoo and a botanical garden. In the zoo Apenheul several monkeys live in the most natural conditions, and in the Pinetum different families of conifers are on display, including giant sequoias. The park also has several archaeological sites, including the remains of burial mounds, iron pits and field fire ovens.

Forest pond

The area around the large forest pond, near the entrance, is beautifully landscaped with an abundance of flowering plants along the trails. By the forest pond is the Stone Bank where

Queen Wilhelmina Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the ...

has painted.

Watchtower

To the left of the path to Apenheul is an observation tower 26 meters high on a hill of 9 meters. From the top level of this tower is a magnificent panorama of Berg en Bos and the area around. On clear days the view reaches to

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

(about 40 km).

Playground

Left of the 'exit' to Apenheul is the playground. This is especially equipped for the young (and youngest) visitors. Along the edges of this large meadow are all kinds of climbing and play equipment. The playground is also suitable for picnics and groups of children.

Climbing forest

Beyond the playground is the climbing forest, where using ropes and platforms routes are plotted through the trees.

Butterfly garden

In 1997, the Association for Environmental Education created a

in park Berg en Bos. In the garden grow various plants, attracting butterflies. On a sunny summer day there are native butterfly species as the

small tortoiseshell The small tortoiseshell (''Aglais urticae'') is a colourful Eurasian butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Adults feed on nectar and may hibernate over winter; in warmer climates they may have two broods in a season. While the dorsal surface of th ...

painted lady ''Vanessa cardui'' is the most widespread of all butterfly species. It is commonly called the painted lady, or formerly in North America the cosmopolitan. Description File:Vanessa cardui MHNT CUT 2013 3 14 Pontfaverger-Moronvilliers Dos. ...

, peacock butterfly,

common brimstone ''Gonepteryx rhamni'' (known as the common brimstone) is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It lives throughout the Palearctic realm, Palearctic zone and is commonly found across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Across much of its range, it is ...

, map butterfly and others. {{coord missing, Netherlands Protected areas of the Netherlands