The Bergstraße-Odenwald Nature Park () is a

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes are pres ...

in southern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

with an area of 3,500 km² that lies between the rivers

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

Main (river) The Main () is the longest tributary of the Rhine, one of the major List of rivers of Europe, European rivers. It rises as the White Main in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern Bavaria and flows west through central Germany for to meet the Rh ...

and

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar ...

. In the south it overlaps in places with the Neckar Valley-Odenwald Nature Park on the territory of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

. In the east it meets the Bavarian Spessart Nature Park at the River Main. The nature park covers parts of the states of Baden-Württemberg,

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 ...

and

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 ...

Sights

Messel Pit The Messel Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Hesse, central Germany, dating back to the Eocene Epoch (geology), epoch (about 47 Ma). Its geographic range is restricted to the Messel pit. There it unconformably overlie ...

, *

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (; or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms, Germany, Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ru ...

, *

Kühkopf-Knoblochsaue Kühkopf-Knoblochsaue is a (nature reserve) of European standard, located in the Groß-Gerau (district), Groß-Gerau district, Germany. It is the largest nature reserve in Hesse, part of the Hessian Ried between the river Rhine and the Hessische ...

, Stockstadt am Rhein * Odenwald Limes * Felsenmeer near Reichenbach, Lautertal (Odenwald) * Obrunn Gorge between

Höchst im Odenwald Höchst im Odenwald (officially ''Höchst i. Odw.'') is a municipality in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Höchst lies 25 km east of Darmstadt, in the northern Odenwald at elevations between 175 and 400&nb ...

and Rimhorn *

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

Heidelberg Castle Heidelberg Castle () is a ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demolition in the 17th and 18th c ...

* Lösswand von Haarlass in

, the first scientific description of which by Karl Cäsar von Leonhard in 1824 led to the introduction of the term

loess A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits. A loess ...

* Katzenbuckel – at 626 metres, the highest point in the Odenwald * Odenwald Open Air Museum in

Walldürn Walldürn is a town in the Neckar-Odenwald district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and t ...

- Gottersdorf * Eberstadt Stalactite Cave near Buchen (Odenwald) * Bergstraße Nature Conservation Centre near

Bensheim Bensheim () is a town in the Kreis Bergstraße, Bergstraße district in southern Hessen, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße Route, Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhi ...

* Marie in der Kohlbach Pit, a visitor mine, near Hohensachsen * Anna Elisabeth Pit, another visitor mine, near

Schriesheim Schriesheim (; South Franconian: ''Schriese'') is a town located in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis and the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. Geography Schriesheim lies on the Bergstraße, at the western ed ...

Gallery

References

External links

Official website of the nature park

Location and extent within Bavaria (OpenStreetMap)
{{Authority control Geoparks in Germany Nature parks in Baden-Württemberg Nature parks in Bavaria Nature parks in Hesse Odenwald Franconia

Sights

Gallery

See also

References

External links