Port-Cros National Park

The French National Park of Port-Cros (French: Parc National de Port- Cros ) was decreed on 14 December 1963 by President Pompidou. The area around the island of Port -Cros is located ten kilometers off the French Côte d' Azur, east of Toulon and Hyères.

Geography, biodiversity, nature conservation

The National Park of Port-Cros includes nearly completely Asked nature reserve of Port- Cros and the offshore islets Bagaud, Gabinière and Rascas including a 600 m wide marine protection belt around the coastline, a total of 700 acres of land and 1288 ha surrounding water areas. The National Park is the first national park in Europe, combines the terrestrial and maritime zones. Since 1971, a 1000 -hectare area are on the neighboring island of Porquerolles and the resident state Department of Marine Botany ( Conservatoire Botanique National de Porquerolles Méditerranéen ) under the administration of the National Park. The 30 living permanently on the island residents are also subject to the strict conditions imposed by the National Park Service as the arriving by ship day visitors. Swimming is allowed at exactly three beaches. Smoking or keeping of dogs is largely in part strictly prohibited and punishable significant penalties.

According to the Botany Institute on Porquerolles there on Port -Cros approximately 530 native plant species, including some which are only found on the island. Since the area is no longer used for agriculture since 1890, she is almost completely covered with forest, mainly with beach pines and arbutus.

The endangered Mediterranean monk seal is to be reintroduced in the National Park.

Port- Cros has great appeal for amateur ornithologists. Of the 114 bird species that are constantly spotted in Port- Cros, hatch 21 on the island, including several species of falcons, swifts, hoopoe, Blue Rock Thrush, nightingales, warblers and goldfinches Provence.

There are several species of gecko, a small, predominantly crepuscular lizard. The European half-finger Gecko is also found along the mainland coast. The home on the island European Journal finger gecko and the Disc- Sardinian, a particularly large frog species do not occur on the French mainland.

History

The island whose natural beauty and threatened to fall victim to the early 1920s, a hotel building, was designed by the owner's family to the French state overwritten with the condition that the town set up a national park and entertain all the future. In the decades before here were regularly renowned artists such as André Gide and Paul Valéry for their summer vacation. The former, to the guest house remodeled mansion, Maison d' Hélène, is still today the only approved hotel. Formerly known former French President François Mitterrand was a regular in the Maison d' Hélène and once also brought the then Chancellor Helmut Kohl with.