Taunus Nature Park

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Taunus Nature Park
Naturpark Taunus
Grosser-feldberg-taunus014.jpg
Panorama of the High Taunus from the Eastern Hintertaunus
LocationZweckverband „Naturpark Taunus“

Hohemarkstr. 192
61440 Oberursel

http://www.naturpark-taunus.de
Nearest city Frankfurt, Gießen, Limburg, Wetzlar, Wiesbaden
Coordinates 50°11′N8°18′E / 50.19°N 8.30°E / 50.19; 8.30
Area1347.75 km²
Established30 May 1962
Weil valley Weiltal Weiltalblick.jpg
Weil valley
Grosser Feldberg 2008 03 05 Grosser Feldberg Taunus.jpg
Großer Feldberg

The Taunus Nature Park (German : Naturpark Taunus) (until December 2012 called the High Taunus Nature Park or Naturpark Hochtaunus [1] ) is a nature park in Central Germany with an area of 134,775  hectares (1347.75 km2) in the Central Upland range of the Taunus. It is one of two Hessian nature parks in the Taunus and the second largest nature park in Hesse.

Contents

Location

The Taunus Nature Park stretches across the counties of Hochtaunuskreis, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Main-Taunus-Kreis, Wetteraukreis and Gießen. Its boundaries are identical with these counties except that, in the west, it is bounded by the A3 motorway, in the north roughly by the Lahn valley (but extends between Runkel and Weilburg over the Lahn into the Westerwald) [2] and in the east by the A5 motorway. In the south it ends where the Main-Taunus Foreland between Frankfurt am Main and Wiesbaden begins. The park borders in the west on the Rhine-Taunus Nature Park.

The nature park covers the eastern half of the natural region of the High Taunus. This is where the main ridge of the Taunus runs with the highest peak in the range, the Großer Feldberg (881.5 m). Also part of the park and north of this ridge is the much larger Eastern Hintertaunus. Another part of the park is the Anterior Taunus, a narrow strip south of the ridge that descends to the Rhine-Main Plain. The original name of the park, "High Taunus", was thus not really accurate.

Fauna

The High Taunus is sparsely settled and densely covered by coniferous forest. In the Eastern Hintertaunus, deciduous woods dominate. Characteristic of the Taunus with its rolling to high mountain relief are extensive scattered orchards, which occur mainly in the Anterior Taunus and on the eastern slopes facing the Wetterau.


Sights

Falkenstein Castle on its hill as seen from a viewpoint at the foot of Altkonig mountain. DSC06266 Lipstempel Blick auf Burghain Falkenstein.jpg
Falkenstein Castle on its hill as seen from a viewpoint at the foot of Altkönig mountain.

Various

Viewing towers

View from Atzelberg Tower along the main ridge of the Taunus with Eichkopf mountain on the right side in the middle. Behind it (from the right): Altkonig, Grosser Feldberg (with Kleiner Feldberg in front of it), Glaskopf, Huhnerberg and Windhain Eichkopf vom Atzelberg aus gesehen.jpg
View from Atzelberg Tower along the main ridge of the Taunus with Eichkopf mountain on the right side in the middle. Behind ít (from the right): Altkönig, Großer Feldberg (with Kleiner Feldberg in front of it), Glaskopf, Hühnerberg and Windhain

There are several observation towers in the nature park on prominent mountains and hills:

(Name, Height in metres (m) above sea level (NHN), Location; Height from [3] unless otherwise stated; alphabetically sorted)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taunus</span> Mountain range in Germany

The Taunus is a mountain range in Hesse, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is Großer Feldberg at 878 m; other notable peaks are Kleiner Feldberg and Altkönig.

The Hochtaunuskreis is a Kreis (district) in the middle of Hesse, Germany and is part of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Neighbouring districts are Lahn-Dill, Wetteraukreis, district-free Frankfurt, Main-Taunus, Rheingau-Taunus, Limburg-Weilburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oberursel (Taunus)</span> Town in Hesse, Germany

Oberursel (Taunus) (German: [oː.bɐ.ˈʊʁ.zl̩](listen)) is a town in Germany and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. It is located to the north west of Frankfurt, in the Hochtaunuskreis county. It is the 13th largest town in Hesse. In 2011, the town hosted the 51st Hessentag state festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schmitten im Taunus</span> Municipality in Hesse, Germany

Schmitten im Taunus is a municipality in the Hochtaunuskreis in Hessen, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weilburg</span> Town in Hesse, Germany

Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Königstein im Taunus</span> Town in Hesse, Germany

Königstein im Taunus is a health spa and lies on the thickly wooded slopes of the Taunus in Hesse, Germany. The town is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Owing to its advantageous location for both scenery and transport on the edge of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region, Königstein is a favourite residential town. Neighbouring places are Kronberg im Taunus, Glashütten, Schwalbach am Taunus, Bad Soden am Taunus and Kelkheim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wehrheim</span> Municipality in Hesse, Germany

Wehrheim is a municipality in Hesse, Germany some 30 km (20 mi) north of Frankfurt am Main.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steinbach (Taunus)</span> Town in Hesse, Germany

Steinbach is a town in the Hochtaunuskreis that borders Frankfurt am Main to the east. Other neighbouring towns are Oberursel, Kronberg im Taunus and Eschborn. It is in the German state of Hesse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glashütten (Taunus)</span> Municipality in Hesse, Germany

Glashütten is a small municipality in the Hochtaunuskreis. This community in the Taunus, which is made up of the three formerly independent communities of Glashütten, Schloßborn and Oberems, lies in the Hochtaunus Nature Park, not far from Königstein im Taunus, Germany.

The Taunus Railway in the High Taunus is a railway route between Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof and Brandoberndorf via Bad Homburg, Usingen and Grävenwiesbach. It was operated from 1993 to 1995 by the Frankfurter Verkehrsverbund as the T-Bahn and subsequently by the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund as line 15. It is listed in table 637 of the Deutsche Bahn timetable. The Friedrichsdorf–Brandoberndorf line, which has the infrastructure number of 9374, forms part of the old Friedrichsdorf–Wetzlar line, which was known as the Taunusbahn. The line is owned by the Verkehrsverband Hochtaunus. The infrastructure is managed by HLB Basis AG on behalf of the VHT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altkönig</span>

The Altkönig is the third highest mountain of the Taunus range in Hesse, Germany, reaching a height of 798.2 m above sea level (NHN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steinkopf (Taunus)</span>

The Steinkopf near Ober-Rosbach in the county of Wetteraukreis and Pfaffenwiesbach in the county of Hochtaunuskreis in the German state of Hesse is a hill, 518 m above sea level (NHN), in the eastern Taunus and the easternmost Taunus eminence over 300 m. It has an isolation of 10.170 km and a prominence of 173 m and is thus one of the five independent summits in the Taunus. The Steinkopf is a landmark visible from a long distance especially for the immediately adjacent region of Wetterau to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nassau Nature Park</span>

The Nassau Nature Park is a 561.71 km² nature park in the southwestern Westerwald and northwestern Taunus in Rhineland-Palatinate. It was designated in November 1963 and expanded in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkenstein Castle (Taunus)</span>

Falkenstein Castle, also called New Falkenstein (Neu-Falkenstein), is a ruined hill castle at 450 m above sea level (NHN) in the eponymous climatic spa of Falkenstein, a quarter of Königstein im Taunus in the county of Hochtaunuskreis in the German state of Hesse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Taunus</span> German major natural region unit

The High Taunus is the name of a major natural region unit in the Hessian Central Uplands range of the Taunus mountains and forms the area immediately around the main ridge of the Taunus. It should not be confused with the term Hochtaunus, in the sense used in the name of the county of Hochtaunuskreis which is only the eastern part of the Feldberg massif. The High Taunus separates the Anterior Taunus in the south from the Lower Taunus in the north and includes the majority of the highest mountains and hills of the Taunus. The eastern part of the natural region lies within the Taunus Nature Park and its western part in the Rhine-Taunus Nature Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limburg Basin</span>

The Limburg Basin is one of the two large intramontane lowland areas within the Rhenish Massif in Germany, the other being the Middle Rhine Basin. It forms the central part of the natural region of the Gießen-Koblenz Lahn Valley between the Weilburg Lahn Valley Region and the Lower Lahn Valley on both sides of the Lahn around the town of Limburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grävenwiesbach station</span>

Grävenwiesbach station is the station of Grävenwiesbach on the edge of the Hochtaunuskreis in the German state of Hesse. It is located on the southern outskirts of the town centre. Previously, the station was a junction station that served trains running on the Weil Valley Railway to Weilburg via Weilmünster, on the Taunus Railway to Bad Homburg and on the Solms Valley Railway to Wetzlar.

References

  1. ↑ Artikel Kein Hoch vorm Taunus – Der Naturpark Hochtaunus heißt ab sofort Naturpark Taunus… aus Frankfurter Neue Presse (FNP), auf www.fnp.de vom 3. Dezember 2012
  2. ↑ ADAC-MaxiAtlas Deutschland 1:200.000
  3. ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
  4. ↑ zur Höhe des Großen Feldbergs siehe in dessen Artikel den Abschnitt Höhe

Literature

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