Franconian Switzerland-Veldenstein Forest Nature Park (german: Naturpark Fränkische Schweiz-Veldensteiner Forst) is a
nature park
A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...
in North
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 nature park was established in 1995 and it covers an area that is almost coextensive with 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 ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring fl ...
major unit of Northern
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 Meyne ...
, the park being slightly larger.
With an area of it is the second largest nature park in Bavaria after the
Altmühl Valley Nature Park
The Altmühl Valley Nature Park (german: Naturpark Altmühltal) is a nature park, 2,962 km² in area, in the south German state of Bavaria. The area of the park is almost coextensive with that of the natural region major unit of the Southern ...
. The park's sponsors are the Franconian Switzerland-Veldenstein Forest Nature Park Society (''Verein Naturpark Fränkische Schweiz-Veldensteiner Forst''), founded in 1968, with its head office in
Pottenstein.
The park covers much of the regions of
Franconian Switzerland
Franconian Switzerland (german: Fränkische Schweiz) is an upland in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the River Pegnitz in the east and the south, the River Regnitz in the west and the River Main i ...
and the
Veldenstein Forest
The Veldenstein Forest (german: Veldensteiner Forst) lies in the east of the Franconian Switzerland-Veldenstein Forest Nature Park between the towns of Pegnitz and Plech.
Its name is derived from Veldenstein Castle, a large, well preserved, med ...
from which it derives its name.
File:Kremmeldorf Maintal 6117039.jpg, Cultural landscape
File:Festung Rothenberg mit Schnaittach 03092016.jpg, Festung Rothenberg
File:Burgstall Spies02.jpg,
File:2016 Felsgruppe Alte Küche 01.jpg,
File:Burglesauer-Tal-5164068-PS.jpg,
File:474R087 - Druidenhain 2.jpg, Druidenhain
File:Nordöstliche Felsgrotte in der Weißen Hülle (A 232) 06.jpg, Cave-systems
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 ...
External links
Franconian Switzerland Nature ParkFranconian Switzerland-Veldenstein Forest Nature ParkFrankenweg RunSights and tourist destinations in the nature park
{{Authority control
Nature parks in Bavaria
Franconia