Where is the Palatine Forest?
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The Palatinate Forest (, ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The forest is a designated nature park () covering 1,771 km and its highest elevation is the Kalmit (673 m).
Palatinate Forest
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In the southern Palatine Forest, the German part of the Wasgau, the Palatine Watershed begins on the French border in the area of the Erlenkopf hill (473 m above NHN), where it is a continuation of the watershed in the northern Vosges. Always generally running from southwest to northeast it initially heads eastwards past Eppenbrunn and Pirmasens over the Großer Schiffelskopf () and reaches the region of Gräfenstein Land. From there it runs up the Hortenkopf () in the central Frankenweide. Several kilometres it passes through the hamlet of Johanniskreuz (), one of the highest settlements in the Palatine Forest. The watershed then reaches the area west of Waldleiningen in the Lower Frankenweide.
Palatine Watershed
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In addition to beech, the oak is another characteristic tree of the Palatinate Forest, albeit botanically speaking they are mainly sessile oak rather than English oak. It is the main tree species of larger, sometimes centuries-old, stands in the regions around Johanniskreuz, Eschkopf and Weißenberg and may also be found further south between Fischbach and Eppenbrunn, where, as well as the plateaus of the central Palatinate Forest, it prefers sunnier slopes (west to south-east facing slopes). But in the rest of Palatinate Forest, it is on the increase and usually forms, together with beech, often very natural, primeval, mixed forest (natural forest), which enjoys special protection as a core zone of the Palatine Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve (see biosphere reserve). In addition, from a forestry point of view the oaks of the Palatinate Forest are a particularly high priority because the wood veneer produced from them is recognized worldwide as being of unique quality.
Despite the decline in its share of the total tree population from 44 to 34 percent in 2008, the pine continues to be a dominant species of the low mountain range. This is due to the historical background, especially in the Haardt area, where they once heavily dominated the scene with 60 to 70 percent share of the forest. It is traditionally planted on dry, sunny, south-facing slopes. Like oak and beech it is an autochthonous member of the forest community, although for the purposes of reforesting devastated areas (see forest history) pine species from other regions have been introduced and mixed with indigenous species. In Waldleiningen in the mid-Palatinate Forest and on the peaty soils at Bitche in the French part of the biosphere reserve "relict" pine forests have survived, in which the character of the original pine forest can be vividly seen.
Palatinate Forest
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Walking routes in the Palatine Forest fall into two categories. The first are longer walking routes, most of which are maintained by the Palatine Forest Club (), or "PWV", and which are linked to the national and international network of long distance paths. The second category are those local circular walks and themed walking routes, some of which are of wider regional importance, and which are maintained by municipal authorities. The Palatine Forest, as part of the Palatine Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve, is an important conservation area. As a result, the Palatine Forest, the bunter sandstone landscape of the Palatine Forest Nature Park, the castles in the Dahner Felsenland and the cross-border paths into Alsace and the Vosges make the region particularly popular with ramblers and walkers.
Walking routes in the Palatine Forest
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The Palatinate Forest can be divided into three areas.The Palatinate Forest is a major (3rd level) natural region within the Palatine-Saarland Scarplands (a 2nd order major region) and runs south as far as the Col de Saverne, i.e. far into French territory, where it continues as the Vosges ridge. This often goes unrecognized as a result of the French border; hence the French southern part of the natural region is often, wrongly, counted as part of the North Vosges.
Palatinate Forest
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The Palatine Watershed, the drainage divide between the Rhine (Upper Rhine) and Moselle (Middle Rhine) comes from the Sickingen Heights in the west and reaches the northern Palatine Forest immediately west and south of the city of Kaiserslautern where it turns southeast. From Johanniskreuz it runs initially southwards – passing the Eschkopf and Mosisberg to the west – and then bends southwest in the area of the Hortenkopf; in this direction it continues via Gräfenstein Castle, Lemberg and forester's lodge, "Forsthaus Hohe List", before finally leaving German soil at the "Erlenkopf" southeast of Eppenbrunn (see map). It follows various ridges that are interconnected and separate the river system of the Schwarzbach from all the other drainage systems mentioned here.
Palatinate Forest
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The Palatinate Forest Nature Park () lies in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany and borders on France. The nature park covers an area of and some 76% of its area is under the woods of the Palatinate Forest, the largest contiguous forest region in Germany. Together with a part of northern Alsace it forms the Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve and has an impressive Bunter sandstone landscape.
Palatinate Forest Nature Park
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The Palatine Forest Mountain Bike Park () in the Palatinate Forest is a mountain bike trail network in Germany, in the centre of the biosphere reserve of the Palatinate Forest-North Vosges. The network was opened in April 2005.
Palatine Forest Mountain Bike Park
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The Palatine Forest Club () is a hiking club in the former Bavarian Palatinate, i.e. the southern part of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland county of Saarpfalz-Kreis. In 2011 it had 221 local branches with around 27,000 members.
Palatine Forest Club
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The Upper Palatine-Bavarian Forest (), (no. D63 or 40) is a natural region in Germany in the northeast of Bavaria. It mainly comprises the low mountain ranges of the Bavarian Forest and Upper Palatine Forest which are up to 1456 m high and border on the Bohemian Massif immediately inside the Czech Republic's southwestern border with Germany.Neighbouring main unit groups are:
Upper Palatine-Bavarian Forest
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The name "Pfälzerwald" was first used in 1843 - when the Palatinate was part of the Kingdom of Bavaria - by foresters in the centrally-located municipality of Johanniskreuz, who used it to refer to the woods of the bunter sandstone region of the Palatinate. Its use was extended when, in 1902, the Palatinate Forest Club ("Pfälzerwald-Verein" or PWV) was founded, Fritz Claus, one of the pioneers of the PWV, in particular, strove to promote the name. A more precise, scientifically-based definition of the Palatinate Forest as an independent natural region was introduced in 1911 by Daniel Häberle, a Palatine geographer and local historian.
Palatinate Forest
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On 20 July 1982 the Palatinate Forest Nature Park Association ("Verein Naturpark Pfälzerwald") was founded as a support organization. The members of the association are those counties and independent towns whose territories are covered by the nature park as well as the Palatinate regional association, various rambling and sports clubs and environmental organizations. Many social organisations are involved in the work of the nature park, ensuring the independence of academic and regional individual interests. The association's goal is to develop the nature park and its eponymous biosphere reserve equally and to maintain its uniqueness and beauty as well as its national recreational value. Since 1997, the head office of the association has been in Lambrecht.
Palatinate Forest