The Bavarian Rhön Nature Park (''Naturpark Bayerische Rhön'') straddles the junction of the German states of
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
,
Hesse
Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
and
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
. 70 km
2 of the total 125 km
2 area of the
nature park has been recognised by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
as part of the
Rhön Biosphere Reserve.
The organisation for the promotion of the Bavarian Rhön Nature Park (''Zweckverband Naturpark Bayerische Rhön'') was founded in 1967. On 26 November 1982 the regulation for the ''Naturpark Bayerische Rhön'' was issued and, in 1997, the ''Zweckverband'' became the Society for the Bavarian Rhön Nature Park and Biosphere Reserve (''Naturpark und Biosphärenreservat Bayer. Rhön e.V.'').
Landscape
The nature park lies between the
Spessart
Spessart () is a ''Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg (Spessart), Geiersberg at 586 metre ...
,
Vogelsberg
The Vogelsberg () is a large volcanic mountain range in the German Central Uplands in the state of Hesse, separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda (river), Fulda river valley.
Emerging approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsber ...
,
Thuringian Forest
The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German language, German ) is a mountain range in the southern parts of the Germany, German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorg ...
,
Haßberge and
Steigerwald forest. It is characterised by
mixed forests, streams of flowing water,
moors, grassland and arid habitats.
Wasser Mountain, the highest peak of
Rhön Mountains
The Rhön Mountains () are a group of low mountains (or ''Mittelgebirge'') in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end o ...
at 3,117 feet (950 metres), is in the nature park.
See also
*
List of nature parks in Germany
Nature parks in Germany () 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 Germany and are broug ...
*
Rhön Biosphere Reserve
References
External links
Bavarian Rhön Nature ParkRhön Biosphere Reserve
Nature parks in Bavaria
Rhön Mountains
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