Rhineland Nature Park

The nature reserve Rhineland - to 2005 Kottenforst -Ville - is established in 1959 and 1045 km ² large nature park between the Rhine Valley and the Valley of Erft west of the cities of Cologne and Bonn. He is one of the largest protected areas of North Rhine -Westphalia and also includes re-cultivated parts of the Rhenish lignite mining area.

• 3.1 General
• 3.2 Awards

Location and natural spatial structure

The nature reserve extends from northwest to southeast over over 60 km with a width up to 30 km and touches three counties. His biggest area fraction associated with the located in the North Rhine -Erft, which is adjoined to the south of the district of Euskirchen. The southeast part of the left-bank part of the Rhein- Sieg district, which surrounds the city of Bonn. The western section forms a Erfttal between Euskirchen and Bedburg.

Of its total area about half forest and half are landscape protection areas; 9% are under nature protection. Cities, which lie mostly in the area of ​​the Park, are Bedburg, Bergheim, Bornheim, Kerpen, Frechen, Hürth, Brühl, Erftstadt, Zuelpich, Euskirchen, Rhine river and Mecke home.

Kottenforst

The southeastern part of the nature park forms of Kotte forest with an area of ​​about 40 km ². It is a largely flat, mostly wooded area southwest of Bonn Cologne above the bay.

The Kottenforst is crisscrossed by a spider web -like way system, which is focused on the former castle duke pleasure in Röttgen. These corridors was in the 18th century Elector Clemens August of Bavaria I. Creating for the purpose of coursing. As a monument in the hunts, the hunters house has been preserved.

Ville ( with foothills )

The Ville is a up to 170 m above sea level. NHN high ridge in the central part of the natural park between Cologne and Bonn. By heaping of overburden created new surveys: the now highest elevation in the Ville is with 205.8 meters the Glessen height. The ridge is forested largely and clearly distinguishes itself eastward with a penchant waste from 60 to 100 m from the bay side from Cologne. To the west, to the Valley of Erft and Voreifel the terrain transition, however, is much fuzzier. The Ville is geologically a prominent Horst; the Cologne Bay and Voreifel have sunk to different depths. More specifically, this is a semi- Horst, as the Rhine, has eroded to the Südostabdachung the Ville, the actual promontory a cut bank. Parts of the promontory, as the nature reserve around the Brühl Castles Augustus and Falkenlust, although the promontory is used otherwise intensively for agriculture, part of the nature park.

The northern section of the Ville is marked as part of the Rhenish lignite mining area by the former brown coal mining and subsequent reclamation. In the area Erftstadt, Brühl, Bornheim and Hürth about 40 large and small lakes are developed, which are now used for swimming, diving, fishing and recreation (Ville - Lakeland ). In 1920, Adolf Dasbach had begun in Hürth be the first with the reforestation of its mining area with black locust, beech, pine, red oak and larch.

Northern foothills

The northern part of the natural park several finger-like spurs to the places Pulheim, Bergheim, Bedburg and Kerpen. To Kerpen are five nature reserves. This riparian forest and wetland forest areas (with lots of lily of the valley ) are as insular biotopes in and on the edge of the Erft floodplains. The larger wetland forest area of ​​the northeast adjacent to the Nature Park guarantor forest to the Hambach mine in Lower trim will fall victim to the lignite mining. The Erftaue with their castles to be particularly neat. Thus, a 5 km long avenue of lime trees is planted between Gymnich Castle, Gymnicher mill and castle Türnich.

Ville- Lakeland

For the rest holes of various lignite mines emerged about 40 lakes and ponds of various sizes.

The nature park and the city of Cologne / Bonn region

The nature reserve Rhineland serves the cities of Cologne and Bonn as a recreational area. The distance to the outskirts of Cologne is only a little more than 10 km. It can be considered a third party Cologne greenbelt. Just as the two green belt Cologne are connected by green corridors, this green axes be continued up to the Nature Park. The green axis south is passed through the open field corridors between Ville and the Rhine with the scattered nature reserves to Brühl to Bonn. The green axis connects West as green axis Rhine -Erft the Great Forest and the sports facilities in Köln- Frechen Muengersdorf with King village and the reclamation regions at mid- Ville. The green axis connecting the north of Cologne greenbelt with the northern parts of the park and the green spaces between Bergheim and Grevenbroich.

History of the park

Generally

The history of the park began in 1959 with the establishment of the Kottenforst from the Kotte forest and the adjacent Rheinbacher forest. This was after the Seven Mountains Natural Park of the second Nature Park in North Rhine-Westphalia and one of seven in the Federal Republic of Germany. The idea of ​​natural park was only recently been promoted in 1956 by conservationist and philanthropist Dr. Alfred Toepfer in Bonn. 1965 was founded by the adjoining counties and cities, the Regional Association of the Rhineland and the Rhine Braun AG of recovery Parksville. In 1967, the vegetated areas of the recreation park with the nature park were summarized for Kottenforst Ville under the sponsorship of the district of Cologne. In 1978, on the Association Kottenforst Ville was founded with the members Bonn, Rhein -Sieg, Euskirchen, Rhein -Erft, City of Cologne and the Rhine as the successor to Brown RWE Power for the sponsorship. In 1986 the present boundaries of the park were established by the State of North Rhine Westphalia. 2005 was renamed to the Rhineland Nature Park decided by the Association meeting, which took effect on 12 December of the same year. It is hoped that this improves the local allocation of the park and a simpler tourism marketing. Since 2006, the Nature Park is planning a collaboration with the Natural Park of Ria Formosa near Olhão in the Algarve in Portugal.

Awards

In the competition on a competition under the Natural Park of the Year 2009 for the North Rhine- Westphalian 14 natural parks, the park was in May 2008 together with the Teutoburg Forest Nature Park / Eggegebirge win a first prize and a project funding of € 435,000 each.

Flora and Fauna

In the Venusberg on the Dottendorfer avenue are numerous old " head Book ". The earlier breast height for fast firewood extraction " beheaded " Book took with increasing growth in an extremely bizarre growth form, giving them the nickname "Ghost Book " earned. The many wet places of the Kottenforst sprout lilies and anemones. Otherwise there besides the usual spruce plantations a mixed forest.

At the purposes of the Fauna-Flora -Habitat Directive strictly protected animals of the agile frog is found in an isolated island deposits in the nature park. He is in Germany on the Red List. Locations of are so far the areas with waterlogging in Kotte forest and natural shallow lakes in Brühl.

Touristic development

The nature park is accessed by the following tourist routes that touch or cross the Nature Park:

• Erft cycle path from the source at Holzmülheim to its confluence with the Rhine at Neuss
• Energy Trail Schloss Paffendorf to Grevenbroich and the Hambach mine
• Romans channel trail, Nettersheim forth to Cologne, which crosses the Park between Kottenforst and Hürth
• Kaiser- route from Aachen to Paderborn, leads to the Erft along
• Water castles route also affects the locks on the Erft
• Experience Trail Rhine -Erft leads from Cologne in the green axis on West Frechen to the Kerpener nature reserves
• Villeweg Birkhof in Brühl to the station Kottenforst at the Voreifelbahn (22 miles)
• Kottenforst route from the station Kottenforst than Western Round - route to Heimerzheim and back ( 30 km) and as eastern circular route to Meckenheim and Villip (32 km), two shorter also handicapped- round courses of 7 and 13.5 km are also signposted

The following trails are recommended with the car or public transport Guests should:

• Lakes Round ( 17.7 km ), around Liblarer lake, Lake Bleibtreu and Heider mountain lake, straddling the Luxemburger Straße. Bus 979 (Cologne Hbhf line 18 to Hermülheim ) Abzw Brühl- heath, or Liblarer See
• Klüttenweg ( 16.8 km ) circular route through the oldest reclaimed mines between Walberberg ( Berggeistsee ) and the Swisterberg tower at Weilerswist. Motorway Phantasialand Street
• Otto Maigler round (10.2 miles), around the Otto Maigler lake between Alt- Hürth and Berrenrath. Bus 978 (Cologne Hbhf ) or 960 ( Frechen ) to Hurth -Burbach city bus 711 to God to help, parking there and at the swimming pool (with costs in the season ) and at Burbach Monastery

Attractions

Outside the cities:

• The Roman Eifel aqueduct is on the Ville back in large parts still available.

• Stations: The reception hall of the station Kottenforst is located far away from villages on the Voreifelbahn Bonn- Euskirchen is a big handsome half-timbered building.
• The Emperor station in Brühl- Kierberg at the Eifelbahn (Cologne - Euskirchen - Gerolstein -Trier ) 1875 sumptuously designed so that Kaiser Wilhelm I could leave from there to visit troops in the Eifel.

Information centers

Information center and management of nature reserves are located in the natural park center " Himmeroder Hof" in the Rhine river. In the northern part of the park Gymnicher mill between Gymnich and Türnich will be expanded into an information center for the mill culture of the northern Rhine country; there is also information about the park. The nature park has an informative web site.

The information center lignite at RWE Power in Schloss Paffendorf on the edge of the Park, whose trail is part of the lignite - vegetation in the castle park to the road of garden design between the Rhine and the Meuse, informed in his exhibitions and his subjects Street, Street of energy, even on the reclamation of the Rhenish lignite mining area, which includes part of the natural park.