Harz National Park
Harz National Park | |
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![]() View from the Brocken summit | |
Location | Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany |
Coordinates | 51°47′N 10°34′E / 51.783°N 10.567°E |
Area | 247 km2 (95 sq mi) |
Established | 1990, 1994, 2006 |
Governing body | Nationalparkverwaltung Harz Lindenallee 35 38855 Wernigerode |
Harz National Park is a
In its current form, the park was created on January 1, 2006, by the merger of the Harz National Park in Lower Saxony, established in 1994, and the Upper Harz National Park in Saxony-Anhalt, established in 1990. As the former inner German border ran through the Harz, large parts of the range were prohibited areas, that apart from the fortifications had remained completely unaffected for decades. Today the park covers parts of the districts of Goslar, Göttingen and Harz.
Rare animals of the Harz National Park include the white-throated dipper, the black stork, peregrine falcon, the European wildcat and especially the Eurasian lynx. The last lynx in the Harz Mountains had been shot in 1818, but in 1999 a project for reintroducing was established. Since 2002 several wild lynxes gave birth. An attempt to return the western capercaillie (Auerhuhn) however did not succeed.
Geography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Torfhaus_im_Harz_IMG_4575.jpg/220px-Torfhaus_im_Harz_IMG_4575.jpg)
The 24,700 hectares of the Harz National Park cover about 10 percent of the total area of the Harz. The park lies in the western part of the Harz (see Upper Harz) and stretches from Wernigerode and Ilsenburg in the north to Herzberg and Bad Lauterberg in the south. Near its perimeter the park terrain is about 230 m above sea level (NN) in the north and 270 m above NN in the south and climbs to 1,141.1 m above NN at the summit of the Brocken.[1]
Several rivers have their sources in the national park, including the
History
The present, pan-state Nationalpark Harz was formed on 1 January 2006 from the merger of the old park of the same name in Lower Saxony and the High Harz National Park (Nationalpark Hochharz) in Saxony-Anhalt. Since the merger the head of this major nature conservation area has been Andreas Pusch.
The Upper Harz National Park was established as part of
The Lower Saxon part of the park was opened on 1 January 1994 after four years of preparation. Its founding father was Dr. Wolf-Eberhard Barth. Although a combined national park project was discussed soon after reunification by both states it was another twelve years before the parks were merged.
The Harz National Park belongs to the European
In 2005 the national park was included in the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas.
Currently the national park employs 188 staff, of which 59 work in the national park head office in Wernigerode or its outpost in Sankt Andreasberg OT Oderhaus. The 40 employees of the national park warden service, who are also known as rangers, conduct guided tours and look after tasks in connexion with environmental training, include the maintenance of information posts and national park buildings. (as at: 31 December 2007) [3]
Ecology
Flora
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Scharfenstein_2.jpg/220px-Scharfenstein_2.jpg)
The natural forests of the High Harz consist mainly of
Currently 82 percent of the forest consists of spruce stands. Only 12 percent of the trees are beeches. The remaining 6 percent are species such as oak, rowan or birch (as at December 2007).
There are various vegetation zones in the Harz National Park. In the sub-alpine area above 1050 metres is the "
The Harz is home to the Brocken anemone (Pulsatilla alpina subsp. alba), which grows in Germany only on the plateau of the Brocken. Its survival has however been especially endangered since German reunification by the onset of tourism. The Brocken Garden, a botanical garden on the summit of the Brocken, deals mainly with the protection of plant species and restoration of the summit area.[7]
Especially valuable for nature conservation, are the raised bogs formed by the restoration of former marshland. The conditions are favorable for this, as the bogs in the park are less impacted by human use than the bogs of the Lower Saxony plain. When wood became scarce in the Harz, the locals tried to take advantage of the peat bogs. This proved unprofitable due to the low
Fauna
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Luchsstein.jpg/170px-Luchsstein.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Lynx_lynx.jpg/220px-Lynx_lynx.jpg)
The
Another reintroduction project was the capercaillie, which died out in the Harz in 1920–1930. Its reintroduction began in 1978. Over the years about 1,000 birds have been reared and set free. In spite of the number of birds the population was not assessed as stable. Due to the lack of success, the project was closed in 2003.[10]
The Harz is now one of Germany's most important habitats for the
In addition to lynx and wild cat, red deer and roe deer are also important species in the Harz National Park.
The most common
Ecological problems
Recently, the Harz National Park has suffered from bark beetle outbreaks as well as acid rain and other environmental problems. The
In the so-called natural development zone of the Harz National Park, which surrounds the core area, bark beetle measures are taken where necessary, and plantations are established where in order to encourage the natural development of the forest. To protect these beech and oak groves, national park wildlife management is required. Accusations that private or state hunts had taken place in the park turned out to be unfounded.[12]
Zoning
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Rimg0832.jpg/140px-Rimg0832.jpg)
The Harz National Park is recognised by the
The Harz National Park counts as a developing national park. Currently 60,3 per cent of the area of the park is designated as a natural biodiversity or core zone. The aim is to cross the 75 per cent threshold by 2020.
38,5 per cent of the park area is currently still a nature development zone. Here measures in lines with the forest development concept are carried out. The aim is to transfer the largest possible area of this natural development zone into the natural biodiversity zone.
A proportion of the park counts as a utilisation zone. This covers areas that are important for tourism or are historico-culturally significant, such as the Brocken summit or mountain meadows. Here conservation measures will also be applied in future.[13]
Furthermore, within a 500 metre wide strip on the edge of the national park, measures are being put into effect that will protect the adjacent areas.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Nationalpark Harz: Wir über uns
- ^ EUROPARC Deutschland: Verbandsphilosophie Archived 2008-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on 31 March 2008
- ^ Auskunft der Nationalparkverwaltung Fachbereich 1 in March 2008.
- ^ Auskunft vom Fachbereich 2 Forschung und Wissenschaft der Nationalparkverwaltung im März 2008
- ^ a b Nationalpark Harz: Waldentwicklung
- ^ Nationalpark Harz: Wälder
- ISSN 0940-7960
- ISSN 0945-9529
- ^ Nationalpark Harz: Moore
- ISSN 0049-6650
- ^ Gemeinsames Faltblatt von Nationalpark Harz und NABU Sachsen-Anhalt zur Borkenkäferfrage im Nationalpark Harz:[1]
- ^ Pressemeldung des Nationalparks Harz: Keine „DDR-Staatsjagd unter dem Brocken“
- ^ Nationalpark Harz: Gebietsgliederung
External links
- Official site (in English)
- Official tourist-site (in English)
- Lynx project site (in German)