Lanni und Captain am Baumkronenpfad im Nationalpark Hainich

Lanni und Captain am Baumkronenpfad im Nationalpark Hainich

Primeval forest in the middle of Germany
The Hainich is a mountain range in western Thuringia in the triangle between the towns of Eisenach, Bad Langensalza and Mühlhausen. With an area of 130 km2, it is the largest contiguous area of deciduous forest in Germany. Its southern part (75 km2) was designated a national park on December 31, 1997.

The Hainich offers a special kind of natural spectacle. Magnificent deciduous trees, dominated by the copper beech, push their way into the light. Rare animals raise their young. Orchids grow in the shade of dense treetops. The Hainich is part of the Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal Nature Park.

Under the protection of a restricted military area, forests with beech as the dominant tree species were able to develop here for decades, as they would naturally occur on a large scale in Central Europe without human influence. At around 50 km2, the national park has the largest area of unused deciduous forest in Germany. Here, nature is left to its own devices.