The Aukrug Nature Park is a nature park

Nature park

A nature park is a landscape protected by means of long-term planning, use and agriculture. These valuable landscapes are preserved in their present state and promoted for touristic purposes....

 in north Germany with an area of 380 sqkm. It lies in the centre of the state of Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...

 in the region of Holstein

Holstein

Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....

 (districts of Rendsburg-Eckernförde and Steinburg). It is sponsored by an association formed by the 2 districts.

Location

The nature park lies near Neumünster

Neumünster

Neumünster is an independent town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, which has a total of four independent towns.-Current Situation:Neumünster station is major railway junction with lines running in six directions, including the important Hamburg-Altona–Kiel and Neumünster–Flensburg lines.Near...

 only a few kilometres west of the A 7 motorway. Two landscape forms occurin the park: the flat and pure loamy ground moraine landscape and the considerably more subdivided push moraine landscape

Push moraine

A push moraine or pushed moraine is in geomorphology a moraine that forms when the terminus advance of a lowland glacier pushes unstratified glacial sediment into a pile or linear ridge in front of it. A push moraine is identified by its ability to push sediment upwards from its original...

, that rises to about 80 metres above NN.

Municipalities

The area of the nature park includes all or part of the following 42 boroughs and municipalities:
Hamweddel

Hamweddel

Hamweddel is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Embühren

Embühren

Embühren is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

 (Teilbereich), Brinjahe

Brinjahe

Brinjahe is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Stafstedt

Stafstedt

Stafstedt is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Luhnstedt

Luhnstedt

Luhnstedt is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Jevenstedt

Jevenstedt

Jevenstedt is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 8 km south of Rendsburg.Jevenstedt is the seat of the Amt Jevenstedt....

 (Teilbereich), Brammer

Brammer

Brammer is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Bargstedt, Oldenhütten

Oldenhütten

Oldenhütten is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Nienborstel

Nienborstel

Nienborstel is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Remmels

Remmels

Remmels is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Nindorf, Heinkenborstel

Heinkenborstel

Heinkenborstel is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.The location of Heinkenborstel is south of the municipality of Bargstedt, but north of Mörel, and east of Nindorf, Rendsburg-Eckernförde....

, Tappendorf

Tappendorf

Tappendorf is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Rade b. Hohenwestedt, Mörel, Gnutz

Gnutz

Gnutz is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.The location of Gnutz is south of the nearby municipality of Bargstedt or Nortorf, but north of Aukrug, and west of Timmaspe....

 (Teilbereich), Hohenwestedt

Hohenwestedt

Hohenwestedt is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 23 km south of Rendsburg, 25 km west of Neumünster and 40 km southwest of Kiel....

 (Teilbereich), Aukrug

Aukrug

Aukrug is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 13 km west of Neumünster, and 35 km southwest of Kiel.-Overview:...

, Grauel

Grauel

Grauel is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Meezen

Meezen

Meezen is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Ehndorf

Ehndorf

Ehndorf is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

 (Teilbereich), Arpsdorf

Arpsdorf

Arpsdorf is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

 (Teilbereich), Nortorf

Nortorf

Nortorf is a town in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 13 km northwest of Neumünster, and 25 km southwest of Kiel.-Geography:...

 (Teilbereich) im Kreis Rendsburg-Eckernförde and

Silzen

Silzen

Silzen is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Poyenberg

Poyenberg

Poyenberg is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Hennstedt, Wiedenborstel

Wiedenborstel

Wiedenborstel is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.-Geography:The village is located approximately 12 km north of Kellinghusen, and 10 km west of Neumünster, in the center of Naturpark Aukrug.-Demography:...

, Sarlhusen

Sarlhusen

Sarlhusen is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Peissen (Teilbereich), Hohenlockstedt

Hohenlockstedt

Hohenlockstedt is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 8 km northeast of Itzehoe.Hohenlockstedt is part of the Amt Kellinghusen....

 (Teilbereich), Lockstedt

Lockstedt

Lockstedt is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Oeschebüttel

Oeschebüttel

Oeschebüttel is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Rade, Fitzbek

Fitzbek

Fitzbek is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Willenscharen

Willenscharen

Willenscharen is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Rosdorf, Störkathen

Störkathen

Störkathen is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Mühlenbarbek

Mühlenbarbek

Mühlenbarbek is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

 (Teilbereich), Kellinghusen

Kellinghusen

Kellinghusen is a town in the district of Steinburg in the Bundesland of Schleswig-Holstein.- Geography :Kellinghusen is located northeast of Itzehoe on both sides of the Stör River. The federal highway Bundesstraße 206 passes Kellinghusen in the south. Kellinghusen is connected with the...

 (Teilbereich), Schlotfeld

Schlotfeld

Schlotfeld is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

 (Teilbereich), Winseldorf

Winseldorf

Winseldorf is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

 (Teilbereich) im Kreis Steinburg.

Landscape

The landscape is characterised by moraine

Moraine

A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...

s, wood

Wood

Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

s, heath

Heath (habitat)

A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...

 and a large number of pond

Pond

A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...

s. The most important rivers in the nature park are the Stör

Stör (Elbe)

Stör is a river of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

 and its many tributaries in the centre and the smaller Bünzau

Bünzau

Bünzau is a river of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

 with its tributaries, the Buckener Au

Buckener Au

The Buckener Au is a headstream of the Bünzau in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is roughly 4 km long.The Buckener Au rises southwest of Hohenwestedt. Near Innien it is united with the Fuhlenau to form the Bünzau....

, Fuhlenau

Fuhlenau

Fuhlenau is a river of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

 and Höllenau

Höllenau

Höllenau is a river of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Schleswig-Holstein...

. Its highest point is the Itzespitze

Itzespitze

The Itzespitze is a low hill on the L121 between Aukrug and Hennstedt .At 83.4 metres, it is the highest elevation in the district of Steinburg and in the Aukrug Nature Park.- Origin of the name :...

 (83.4 m).

Nature conservation

The near-natural woodlands and their springs, streams and ponds which are typical of the nature park provide habitats for many endangered animal and plant species. These include the Black stork

Black Stork

The Black Stork Ciconia nigra is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread, but rare, species that breeds in the warmer parts of Europe, predominantly in central and eastern regions. This is a shy and wary species, unlike the closely related White Stork. It is seen in...

, the Eagle Owl, many species of bat

Bat

Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

, the Red Kite

Red Kite

The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...

, the Common Spadefoot Toad and the Alpine Newt

Alpine Newt

The Alpine Newt is a newt of the Salamander order Caudata in the class of Amphibians.-Description:...

. Unique in Schleswig-Holstein are the wild-growing Wolf's Bane

Wolf's Bane

Wolf's Bane is the nineteenth book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever and now illustrated by Brian Williams.-Gameplay:Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes are determined randomly before play...

 meadows.

Since 2002 Heck cattle

Heck cattle

Heck Cattle are a hardy breed of domestic cattle. They are the result of an attempt to breed back the aurochs, which became extinct in 1627, from modern aurochs-derived cattle...

 have been kept in order to control certain areas.

In 2001 the Aukrug Nature Conservation Circle (Naturschutzring) was founded with assistance from the Schrobach Stiftung. This merger of various conservation organizations is intended to bring together the different interests of land users in the region and enable effective conservation work to be carried out. This approach has since become known as the Aukrug Way nationwide. In the first year of its existence the Nature Conservation Circle was able to set up or carry out several projects, including the re-watering of the Viertshöher Moor.

Places of interest

• the Reher Kratt nature reserve
• the nature trail through the der Lehrpfad durch das Naturschutzgebiet Störkathener Heide nature reserve
• the Peissener Loch, an unusual geological feature
• the Erholungswald, a recreational wood, on the Boxberg hill
• the soil educational path in the Bredenhoper Gehölz wood near Mörel
• the Tönsheide Forest
  Tönsheide Forest
  The Tönsheide Forest is a nature reserve near the village of Aukrug east of Neumünster in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein.The nature reserve has an area of and lies east of Aukrug specialist hospital. Its consists of large areas of near-natural woodland with scattered with areas of...
  
   nature reserve
• the circual walk through the Viertshöher Moor in Böken

Tourism

The region caters well for tourists and has a comprehensive network of bridleways, cycleways and trail

Trail

A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...

s. The Cheese Road goes through the southern part of the reserve. For walkers the Nature Park Way links the 5 nature parks in Schleswig-Holstein.
On the A 7 there is an information board which describes the landscapes and points of interest along the motorways by the nature park.

Sources

• Amtsblatt Schleswig-Holstein 1998 S. 684 Erklärung über den Naturpark Aukrug im Kreis Rendsburg-Eckernförde

External links

• Aukrug Nature Park