Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park

The Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park offers an unforgettable natural experience. The impressive scenery is shaped by deeply romantic rocky landscapes, copper beech forests and mystical moors.

Welcome to Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park

In 2015, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, together with Saarland, established the first national park in Hunsrück, the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park. Germany's youngest national park is located between the towns of Idar-Oberstein, Birkenfeld, Hermeskeil, Morbach and Nonnweiler. The total area of the protected area is around 10,000 hectares. Vast beech forests, rare moors, stony Rosselhalden as well as arnica and bristly grass meadows make up the special features of the national park. The most important purpose of protection is process conservation according to the motto "Let nature be nature".
The Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park lets nature take over. Step by step, untouched wilderness returns. It plays an important role in preserving ancient beech forests, which are considered highly endangered in Europe. Half of the national park area is forested with beech. The red beech, a rather rare species worldwide, grows here in particular.
In addition to nature, special cultural treasures also make the region unique: the Celtic ring wall in Otzenhausen, medieval castle ruins, old charcoal-burning sites and gemstone mines as well as rich flora and fauna with one of the largest wildcat populations in Europe.
Those who want to experience nature and learn interesting facts about the National Park will be interested in the tour offers. The guided ranger and adventure tours start at the Erbeskopf National Park Gate or at another ranger meeting point in the National Park. Information (dates, locations, topics) on the free or chargeable tours is available on a daily basis at www.nationalpark-hunsrueck-hochwald.de.
Erbeskopf National Park Gate:
The exhibition at the Erbeskopf National Park Gate uses staging and interactive exhibits to transport visitors to the diverse landscapes and species-rich habitats of the National Park. Four core themes are presented in multimedia form. Projections and experiment stations provide insights into nature and its inhabitants.
The national park exhibition is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. Admission is free.
With this exhibition, the former Hunsrück House has become the first of three planned gates in the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park. An exhibition in the outdoor area extends the offer. Further National Park gates with exhibitions will be built at the Celtic ring wall in Otzenhausen and at the Wildenburg near Kempfeld.

Source: DataHub Rheinland-Pfalz