Hainich - National Park and World Heritage Site

Hainich National Park offers unusual perspectives. On the canopy walkway visitors can walk through the tree tops. The 500-meter (1,640-feet) walkway helps visitors gain an overview of the 75 square kilometers (29 square miles) of park - as well as a glance into the habitat of birds and bats.

Flowers shoot up everywhere in Hainich as soon as spring arrives. The early bloomers also benefit from the nutrients left by the foliage that dropped during the preceding autumn. But most of all the calcium-rich soil in Germany's biggest beech forest is fertile ground for lots of different plant species, like this Liverwort.

The Holewort is also in full bloom. The colorful forest floor plant can be found everywhere in the in the Thuringian basin nature preserve. The entire area of the Hainich National Park along with other primeval beech forests in the Carpathians and Germany were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.

Bird song can be heard again following the quiet winter months. This is the season when the Black Woodpecker is on the lookout for a mate whom he attempts to attract with his pecking. It is one of seven woodpecker species that live and breed here. The Hainich National Park is home to an impressive 189 bird species.

Visitors can explore Hainich forest in many ways - be it by bike, on foot or even in a horse-drawn carriage, there are 17 different themed tours on offer. There is much to see and smell all year round. Particularly from April to June when the paths are surrounded by blooming wild garlic, enchanting visitors with their distinctive scent.

Hainich forest is protected and is to be left to develop undisturbed - so there is no farming, and even dead wood is never cleared away. The ecosystem is supposed to regulate itself, making it a primeval forest that offers a habitat and feeding ground to rare animal and plant species.

Ground beetles greatly profit from dead wood in the forest. They specialize in locating rotting wood, which offers them protection and a place to lay their eggs. A huge habitat, Hainich National Park is home to over 500 endangered beetle species. A little sensation was rediscovering this beetle, called the Reitters-Strunk-Saftkäfer, which had long been believed to be extinct in Germany.

Apart from preserving important habitats in the ancient forest the National Park also tries to teach environmental awareness. Visitors are told why sensitive ecosystems are important in the hope of making them more environmentally aware. The main focus is on young visitors, who come here on a school trip or those who are regularly in the park as part of the junior ranger program.

In the wild cat settlement Hütscheroda, on the edge of the National Park, visitors get the chance to observe four types of native wild cats. Some 30 cats roam freely in Hainich forest. The shy animals need an extensive territory. They are also prime examples for the success and importance of linking habitats of endangered animal and plants species.

Hainich National Park is always a worth a visit, but particularly during the fall when the beech forest gradually transforms into a colorful paradise. Those wanting to enjoy this nature experience should choose one of the many active tours on offer. On a bike tour or a fairy tale walk the forest can be observed as it slowly goes to sleep.