Lorraine Regional Natural Park ( French: ''Parc naturel régional de Lorraine'') is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

of pastoral countryside in the

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of northeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in the historic region of

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

. The park covers a total area of . The parkland is split in two non-contiguous parcels of land between the cities of

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and Nancy, and spans the three

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a '' département'' in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. Its prefecture and largest city is Nancy and it borders the departments of Meuse to the west, Vosges to the south, ...

, and

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

. According to the

World Database on Protected Areas The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the largest assembly of data on the world's terrestrial and marine protected areas, containing more than 260,000 protected areas as of August 2020, with records covering 245 countries and territori ...

, it is an IUCN category V area. Ancient ruins and modern monuments are common throughout the area. The land was officially designated a

regional natural park A regional nature park or regional natural park ( or PNR) is a public establishment in France between local authorities and the Cabinet of France, French national government covering an inhabited rural area of outstanding beauty in order to protec ...

in 1974. The park is crossed by the LGV Est high speed rail line, with large viaducts.

Flora and fauna

Animal species found in the park include badger, European wildcat, fox, polecat, roe deer, weasel, wild boar, and wolf, as well as a large variety of birds. Forests are composed of

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

and hardwoods such as maple, cherry and whitebeams. Sessile and pedunculate oaks are often accompanied by

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

. There are also ash trees, lime trees, alders, birches and aspens.

Member communes

There are 193 communes within the parkland boundaries. * Albestroff • Ancy-sur-Moselle • Andilly • Ansauville • Apremont-la-Forêt • Arnaville • Assenoncourt • Avricourt • Azoudange *

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, ...

• Bayonville-sur-Mad • Beaumont • Belles-Forêts • Belleville • Beney-en-Woëvre • Bernecourt • Blanche-Église • Boncourt-sur-Meuse • Bonzée • Bouconville-sur-Madt • Boucq • Bouillonville • Bourdonnay • Broussey-Raulecourt • Bruley • Bruville • Buxières-sous-les-Côtes * Chaillon • Chambley-Bussières • Charey • Château-Voué • Combres-sous-les-Côtes * Dampvitoux • Desseling • Dieue-sur-Meuse • Dieulouard • Domèvre-en-Haye • Dommartin-la-Chaussée • Dommartin-la-Montagne • Dompierre-aux-Bois • Donnelay • Dornot * Écrouves • Les Éparges • Essey-et-Maizerais • Euvezin • Euville * Fénétrange • Fey-en-Haye • Flirey • Frémeréville-sous-les-Côtes • Fresnes-en-Woëvre •

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

* Gelucourt • Génicourt-sur-Meuse • Geville • Gézoncourt • Girauvoisin • Givrycourt • Gondrexange • Gorze • Gravelotte • Griscourt • Grosrouvres • Guéblange-lès-Dieuze • Guermange * Hagéville • Hamonville • Hampont • Han-sur-Meuse • Hannonville-sous-les-Côtes • Hannonville-Suzémont • Haraucourt-sur-Seille • Haudiomont • Herbeuville • Heudicourt-sous-les-Côtes * Insviller * Jaulny • Jezainville • Juvelize * Lachaussée • Lacroix-sur-Meuse • Lagarde • Lagney • Lahayville • Lamorville • Laneuveville-derrière-Foug • Languimberg • Lidrezing • Limey-Remenauville • Lindre-Basse • Lironville • Loudrefing • Loupmont •

Lucey Lucey is an Irish people, Irish, United Kingdom, British, United States, American and Canadians, Canadian surname. Lucey has two distinct possible origins: of Normans, Norman origins derived from Latin personal name ''Lucius''; of Gaels, Gaelic ...

* Maidières • Maizières-lès-Vic • Mamey • Mandres-aux-Quatre-Tours • Manoncourt-en-Woëvre • Manonville • Marbache • Mars-la-Tour • Marsal • Martincourt • Mécrin • Ménil-la-Tour •

• Minorville • Mittersheim • Montauville • Morville-les-Vic • Mouilly • Moussey • Moyenvic • Mulcey •

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

* Nancy • Nébing • Nonsard-Lamarche • Norroy-lès-Pont-à-Mousson • Novéant-sur-Moselle • Noviant-aux-Prés * Obreck • Ommeray • Onville * Pagney-derrière-Barine • Pagny-sur-Moselle • Pannes • Pont-sur-Meuse • Prény • Puxieux * Rambucourt • Ranzières • Réchicourt-le-Château • Rembercourt-sur-Mad • Rening • Rezonville •

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

• Richecourt • Rogéville • Ronvaux • Rorbach-lès-Dieuze • Rosières-en-Haye • Rouvrois-sur-Meuse • Royaumeix • Rupt-en-Woëvre * Saint-Julien-les-Gorze • Saint-Julien-sous-les-Côtes • Saint-Maurice-sous-les-Côtes • Saint-Médard • Saint-Remy-la-Calonne • Saizerais • Sanzey • Saulx-lès-Champlon • Seicheprey • Seuzey • Sommedieue • Sotzeling • Sponville * Tarquimpol • Thiaucourt • Thillot • Tomblaine • Torcheville • Tremblecourt • Trésauvaux • Trondes • Tronville • Troyon * Val-de-Bride • Valbois • Vandelainville • Varneville • Vaux • Vaux-les-Palameix • Vic-sur-Seille • Viéville-en-Haye • Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel • Vignot • Vilcey-sur-Trey • Ville-sur-Yron • Villecey-sur-Mad • Villers-en-Haye • Villers-sous-Prény • Vionville * Waville • Wuisse * Xammes • Xivray-et-Marvoisin • Xonville * Zarbeling • Zommange

References

External links

Official park website
{{Authority control Regional natural parks of France Geography of Meuse (department) Geography of Meurthe-et-Moselle Geography of Moselle (department) Protected areas established in 1974 Geography of Grand Est Tourist attractions in Meurthe-et-Moselle Tourist attractions in Meuse (department) Tourist attractions in Moselle (department) 1974 establishments in France

Flora and fauna

Member communes

See also

References

External links