The Arnsberg Forest Nature Park (german: Naturpark Arnsberger Wald) is a nature park in the districts of

Hochsauerlandkreis Hochsauerlandkreis (meaning “High Sauerland District” in German) is a Kreis (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Soest, Paderborn, Höxter, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe, M� ...

and Soest within the administrictive region of

Arnsberg Arnsberg (; wep, Arensperg) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Hoch ...

in the German state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

. 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 The Süder Uplands 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 The Möhne () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ruhr. The Möhne passes the towns of Brilon, Rüthen and Warstein. There is a large artificial lake near the mouth of the river, the Möhne Reservoir, us ...

in the north, on which the

Möhne Reservoir The Möhne Reservoir, or Moehne Reservoir, is an artificial lake in North Rhine-Westphalia, some 45 km east of Dortmund, Germany. The lake is formed by the damming of two rivers, Möhne and Heve, and with its four basins stores as much as 1 ...

is located, and the deep valley of the Ruhr in the south. Between these two valleys the park is situated between

Möhnesee Möhnesee is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography The Möhnesee municipality is situated around the Möhne Reservoir (hence the name), approx. 10 km south of Soest. History On the night of ...

in the northwest,

Rüthen Rüthen () is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Rüthen is situated at the northeastern border of the natural preserve Arnsberger Wald between the Haarstrang and the valley of the river Möhne, appro ...

in the northeast,

Brilon Brilon (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Brailen'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany, that belongs to the Hochsauerlandkreis. Geography Brilon is situated on the Brilon Heights at an altitude of about 450 m on the up ...

in the east, Olsberg in the southeast,

Meschede Meschede () is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Hochsauerlandkreis. Education One of the five branches of South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (also: Fachh ...

in the south and

in the southwest;

Warstein Warstein () is a municipality with town status in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the north end of Sauerland. Geography Warstein is located north of the Arnsberger Wald (forest) at a brook called Wäs ...

lies within the

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. To the north is the heavily forested region of the

Haarstrang The Haar () or Haarstrang is a ridge of hills on the southern edge of the Westphalian Basin in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. From a natural region perspective it is the southern, submontane part of the Hellweg Börde, which stand ...

, to the east are the Brilon Heights, to the south is the Rothaargebirge, to the southwest is the

Lennegebirge The Lenne Mountains (german: Lennegebirge), or Lenne Uplands (''Lennebergland''), is a range of hills up to high in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is part of the Süder Uplands within the Rhine Massif. Geography Location Th ...

and to the west the terrain gradually descends towards Dortmund into the Ruhr.

Rivers and lakes

The best-known water feature in the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park is the

, set in the

valley between the Haarstrang in the north and the Arnsberg Forest in the south. Numerous

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

s run through the wooded valleys. These include the Ruhr and Möhne, which border the forests, as well as other water courses that feed the Möhne and Ruhr: * Biber (Möhne tributary near Rüthen) * Glenne (Möhne tributary northwest of Rüthen-Kallenhardt) **

Lörmecke 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 ...

(Glenne tributary between Suttrop and Kallenhardt) **

(Ruhr tributary near Neheim-Hüsten) * Wester (Möhne tributary near Belecke) **

Langer Bach Langer Bach is a small river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows into the Wester near Warstein. See also *List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia A list of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany: A * Aa, left tributary of the ...

(Wester tributary near Warstein) ** Wideybach (Wester tributary near Warstein) *

Heve Heve (in its upper course: ''Bache'' and ''Lottmannshardbach'') is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its source is in the Arnsberger Wald near Warstein and it discharges into the Möhnesee Möhnesee is a municipality in the district ...

(Möhne tributary, mouth at the southern end of the Möhnesee) * Ruhr (

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

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 A ''Kuppe'' is the term used in German-speaking central Europe for a mountain or hill with a rounded summit that has no rock formation, such as a tor, on it. A range of such hills is called a ''Kuppengebirge''. In geology the term also refers to ...

''; ) * 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

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 (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