Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park | |
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Nationaal Park Sallandse Heuvelrug | |
Location | Overijssel, Netherlands |
Nearest city | Nijverdal, Holten |
Coordinates | 52°20′N6°25′E / 52.333°N 6.417°E |
Area | 35 km2 (14 sq mi) |
Established | 2004 |
Governing body | Staatsbosbeheer, Natuurmonumenten |
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Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park is a national park in the Dutch province of Overijssel, located between the townships of Hellendoorn and Holten. In 2004, the Dutch Government changed the status of the area to National Park. The park is mainly managed by Staatsbosbeheer, Natuurmonumenten and the water company Vitens. In addition, several small private owners are involved in the management, as well as regional communities and stakeholders.
The National Park is located in its entirety south of the N35 (Zwolle-Almelo), and encapsulates Haarlerberg, Holterberg, Noetselerberg and Koningsbelten. The park covers an area of approximately 35 square kilometres. Its highest point is the Koningsbelt, standing 75 metres above Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP).
The Sallandse heuvelrug is a moraine, created in the second-last glaciation, Saalien, 150,000 years ago. During the Holocene forests started to develop, but after the growth of the human population, these forests had been cut. From the Middle Ages onwards the area was used for grazing by sheep and goats, and the upper layer of the soil was removed to use it as fertilizer for the crop fields. In this period, the area became a heathland because of sand-drifting. In the beginning of the 20th century the state started forestry programs, to prevent this erosion and to produce pine wood. The area is well known for its scenery because of its relatively large heathlands.
Most characteristic features of the national park are the relief and the heath lands. Cranberry growths in large numbers. We also find the last Dutch population of the black grouse (Tetrao tetrix), European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeusnightjar), and several lizard species, such as the viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara).
The management of the area encounters several serious problems. One of the problems is to keep the heath in its present condition and to prevent the growing of trees and grasses. The management organizations use sheep and cows to graze. To prevent disturbance, some parts of the park are closed for visitors and the road through the park is closed at night.
Located on the Holterberg is the Holten Canadian War Cemetery, [1] one of the largest military cemeteries in the Netherlands, in which soldiers killed during World War II are buried. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains the graves of the Canadian soldiers buried at this cemetery. The cemetery contains 1393 graves and is accessible to the public.
At Twilhaar (on the Nijverdalsche Berg), you'll find remnants of old civilisation, and a sheep pen, as well as the Memorial for Labour Camp Twilhaar. [2] This memorial was revealed in Oct 2003, along the Paltheweg, Nijverdal. The memorial is dedicated to the men transported from this camp in 1942 to camp Westerbork; almost all of them were murdered at Auschwitz.
Within the park Staatsbosbeheer has a visitor centre, within which a public observatory is located. The visitor centre is located in the municipality of Nijverdal along the N35. The visitor centre hosts a permanent interactive exhibition on the history of the Sallandse Heuvelrug. Excursions are accessible for people with mobility impairments through the use of an electro car or horse tram. Along the two-kilometre trail located close to the visitor centre, there are numerous activities for children to participate in.
The park contains numerous bushwalking, cycling, mountain biking trails, as well as riding routes. It is an important area for long distance walking and biking and there are many campsites, restaurants, and hotels.
Near Holten is a museum for natural history, Natuurdiorama Holterberg.
Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel" -- from the perspective of the Episcopal principality of Utrecht, which held the territory until 1528. The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede. The province had a population of about 1,184,000 as of January 2023. The land mostly consists of grasslands and some forests ; it also borders a small part of the IJsselmeer to the west.
Hellendoorn is a municipality and town in the middle of the Dutch province of Overijssel. As of 2019, the municipality had a population of 35,808.
Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is situated some 30 miles (48 km) south of London in the county of East Sussex, England. Rising to an elevation of 732 feet (223 m) above sea level, its heights provide expansive vistas across the heavily wooded hills of the Weald to the chalk escarpments of the North Downs and South Downs on the horizon.
Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen and is named after the town of Lüneburg. Most of the area is a nature reserve. Northern Low Saxon is still widely spoken in the region.
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Holten is a village in the municipality of Rijssen-Holten in the Dutch province of Overijssel. Holten is located in a forested area just south of the Holterberg, a 65-metre (210 ft) hill, and is part of the Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park. The National Park is the only area in the Netherlands in which the black grouse can be found. This grouse population is on the brink of extinction, so parts of the National Park are closed to the public during its breeding season.
Hooghalen is a village in the municipality Midden-Drenthe, in the Dutch province Drenthe. In Drenthe it is also called Hoal'n or Hoalen , but then people often mean the entire area, with the neighborhoods Laaghalen, Laaghalerveen and Oosthalen.
Nijverdal is a town of approximately 25,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is the commercial centre and largest town within the municipality Hellendoorn.
Mousehold Heath is a freely accessible area of heathland and woodland which lies to the north-east of the medieval city boundary of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk.
Faßberg is a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 35 km north of Celle, and 30 km west of Uelzen.
De Zoom–Kalmthoutse Heide Cross-Border Park is a cross-border park on the Belgian–Dutch border. It is a merger of two former parks, the Kalmthoutse Heide(Kalmthout Heath) in Belgium and De Zoom in the Netherlands, together extending over 37.50 square kilometres (14.48 sq mi). A very large part of the park is covered with heath.
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The Strabrechtse Heide is a natural heathland area about 1500 ha in size, located in the municipalities of Heeze-Leende, Someren and Geldrop-Mierlo, in North Brabant, the Netherlands. It is largely under the care of Staatsbosbeheer. In July 2010, around 200 hectares of the area were damaged or destroyed in a wildfire that took over a week to put out.
Dwingelderveld National Park is a national park of the Netherlands in the province of Drenthe, founded in 1991. The park covers about 37 km2 (14 sq mi) and is mainly managed by the State Forest Service (Staatsbosbeheer) and the most important Dutch private nature management organisation Natuurmonumenten. It is the largest wet heathland of Western-Europe. Dwingelderveld is also designated as a Natura 2000-area.
The Drents-Friese Wold National Park is a national park in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Drenthe, covering more than 61 km2 (24 sq mi), founded in 2000. It consists of forests, heath lands and drift-sands.
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Utrechtse Heuvelrug National Park is a national park in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It covers the southern part of the Utrecht Hill Ridge. When it was founded in 2003 the park covered 6,000 ha of heathlands, shifting sands, forests, grass lands and floodplains. In 2013 the park was extended to 10,000 ha, adding the area north of highway A12 when the ecoduct Mollebos was realized. The most striking landscape feature is the glacial ridge after which the park is named.
Cartierheide is a natural landscape area in the south of the Netherlands in province North Brabant located close to the Belgian border in the natural region called The Campine . On the other side of the border is Belgium's first national park, Hoge Kempen.
Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve is a wildlife reserve on the North Sea coast of the English county of Suffolk. It is located around the village of Walberswick to the south of the town of Southwold. The reserve was designated in 2003, combining the existing Walberswick National Nature Reserve with reserves at Dingle Marshes and Hen Reedbeds to create a 1,340 hectares reserve.
Dartford Heath Common is an area of open heathland situated to the south-west of Dartford, Kent, England, that covers around 314 acres (127 ha) of open space. Dartford Heath is classified as lowland heath and is one of only two substantial heathland blocks remaining in Kent. The heath supports a number of rare plants and invertebrates, as well as reptiles, including the common lizard and slow-worm, and rabbits.
Media related to Sallandse Heuvelrug at Wikimedia Commons