Forests in Germany

Formerly Central Europe for the most part covered with dense deciduous forests. Beech, oak and lime trees played an important role. They were called virgin forests, forests with little human intervention, at most, some for daily use to get (huts and fire), to find mushrooms, berries and gather beechnuts and wild beasts to hunt. For the rest of the forest could live and die without human intervention. In these forests grew giant trees of 50 m and live animals such as bison, bears, foxes, wild cats and wolves that they feared. The wolf in fairy puts this testimony. The forest was especially helpful and scary. There lived forest spirits, trolls, witches and robbers who were hiding in dense undergrowth to regularly raid villages and robbing.

Remnants of these forests are in Germany, Poland, England, Belarus, Russia, Romania and Finland found. They are now protected National Parks that are cherished. One is the



Hainich National Park

Hainich located in the west of Thuringia (7610 ha) in the largest contiguous area of ​​deciduous trees BRD (16,000 ha).

Because the forest in part during the last 50 years had prohibited military area, the vegetation here was able to develop undisturbed. It is a mixed forest of beech, ash, elsbessen, maple, linden, etc. It is a loofboomparadijs.Twee once a year you can enjoy the magnificent colors of the forest. The "Indian summer" begins in October and the wood turns yellow, orange, red, gold and rust.

The color miracle takes place in the spring off. Among the still bare branches of beech trees bloom in February all the pink daphne (Daphne mezereum) and White Spring Snowflake (Leucojum vernum), in March the blue delivery flower (Hepatica Transylvanian electronics), the yellow star (Gagea pratensis), white wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) and purple spring flower helmet (Corydalis solida), or even bird-on-the-stool called. In April follow the yellow celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) and bosviooltjes violet (Viola reichenbachiana). May bloom the white woodruff (Gallium odoratum), lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) and wild garlic (Allium ursinum). Then walk to the beech leaves, and it gets dark in the woods.

Typical of the ecosystems of beech forests, the herb-rich vegetation. So far, 726 different species have been discovered, especially on fertile limestone soils as Hainich National Park. In the beech forests on acidic, nutrient-poor soils such as the Netherlands and the Eifel you will find a lot less.



Another special feature is that the Hainich forest wildcat still alive. Wildcats are larger and stronger than house cats. Their fur is black gray to yellowish gray and striated. The rough tail has dark rings and black at the end. Before the Romans the Nubian cat over the Alps to central Europe brought linen wildcats through the wilds of Germania. For centuries they were persecuted and hunted so few animals could survive. Approximately 20 to 30 wildcats living in Hainich, always looking for mice, birds, frogs, fish and rabbits. wildcat

boshelmbloem ever flower





The forest is also a haven for bats. 12 types of sailing at night through the forest, including two rare color bat. In addition, 165 bird species live here, including the rare black stork and many species of woodpecker.

two color bat



Philosophy of the forest:

"In a forest where old and dying trees are filled with beetles and larvae, as we have it right."



A half-jungle, the remainder



National Park Kellerbos

In the Rhenish Slate Mountains to the Edersee in Hesse, where ancient oaks and beeches grow. It is said that some of those troll-like tree giants dwarves, goblins and elves would manage mountains. Here is a Mediterranean climate, so your plants and undergrowth which can only be found in the Mediterranean home as the White Engbloem (Vincetoxicum hirundinaria), paint broom (Genista tinctoria) and paint chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria). purple engbloem



paint paint chamomile broom









The beech is also "Mother of the bos'genoemd. It is a deciduous tree that is most common in Germany. The beech up to 50 m high and 300 years old. Unlike other trees, they grow into old age even further. She has reached the peak of her life when she was 140 years old.



The older trees are, the more valuable they are to the ecosystem of the forest. They offer a home for such woodpeckers, owls and pigeons. The dead wood of beech is fertile ground for mosses, lichens, fungi, bosinsecten, forest plants and saplings.

Black Stork



The forest varies in appearance, age structure and species composition of the highly cultuurbos. It is like Kellerbos forest preserved as it formerly served as a hunting ground for kings Waldecker. It was like a forest ecosystem with very old trees develop. Many Kellerwald-beech grew all the time of Napoleon. 37% of the beech trees are older than 140 years.