The Upper Sûre Natural Park (, , ) is a national park in the

Éislek The Éislek (), also known by its German name Ösling or Oesling, is a region covering the northern part of both the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm, within the greater Ardennes area that also covers parts of Belgium and Fr ...

region of north-western

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Environment

The heart of the park is the

Upper Sûre Lake The Upper Sûre Lake (; ; ) is a large reservoir in north-western Luxembourg. It is the largest body of water in the country. It gives its name to the commune of Lac de la Haute-Sûre, which was formed in 1979. History It was created by the ...

, the largest area of water in Luxembourg. It is primarily an area of conservation and a specially protected area for wild birds. The park has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports significant populations of

hazel grouse The hazel grouse (''Tetrastes bonasia''), sometimes called the hazel hen, is one of the smaller members of the grouse family of birds. It is a sedentary species, breeding across the Palearctic as far east as Hokkaido, and as far west as eastern a ...

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, t ...

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

European honey-buzzard The European honey buzzard (''Pernis apivorus''), also known as the pern or common pern, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Taxonomy The European honey buzzard was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in ...

s and

middle spotted woodpecker The middle spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocoptes medius'') is a European woodpecker belonging to the genus ''Dendrocoptes''. Taxonomy The middle spotted woodpecker was Species description, formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeu ...

Objectives

The objectives of the park are threefold: *To protect the natural environment and ecosystem. The main principle underlying ecosystem protection in the park is that the environment is an integral network in which each element interacts and affects the functioning of the while. This means preserving the indigenous flora and fauna as well as protecting the purity of air, water, and soil quality. *To develop economic activity, mostly forestry and low-density tourism as a means of creating employment and a high quality life. As a result, the transportation infrastructure throughout the park is excellent. To achieve this, the park provides a host of leisure activities, from nature walks to tours of cultural monuments, to water sports on the Upper Sûre Lake. More than of well maintained footpaths make this a popular spot for day trippers and a wide range of accommodation for the vacationer. A fair and festival is held in the park annually on the first weekend in July. *To preserve the

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

heritage of the area, which ranges from large numbers of

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

s and disused mills to former slate

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

and castle ruins.

References

External links

Official website of the Upper Sûre Natural Park

Awarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upper Sure Natural Park Geography of Luxembourg Forests of Luxembourg Environment of Luxembourg Wiltz (canton) Lac de la Haute-Sûre Important Bird Areas of Luxembourg Ramsar sites in Luxembourg Nature parks in Luxembourg