The Bode river near Braunlage, © Nationalpark Harz / Siegfried Richter
© Nationalpark Harz / Siegfried Richter

Na­tion­al Parks


Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) has some true natural treasures, of which the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Wadden Sea and the forests and mountains of the Harz mountains are the most important. They are under special protection as national parks in Niedersachsen.

The two national parks represent the variety of natural landscapes in Niedersachsen, and their differences will appeal greatly to all fans of the great outdoors.
The North Sea coast of Niedersachsen is home to the Wadden Sea with its salt marshes, dunes, beaches and sandbanks, which serve as a nesting, feeding and resting spot for sometimes very rare species of bird and provide a habitat for many sea creatures, including seals.

The Harz Mountains National Park is the exact opposite of this, and not just in terms of its location. The dense forests, rocky mountainsides and babbling brooks of this low mountain range in the south of Niedersachsen are home to lynx and grouse.
However different they may be, one thing unites Niedersachsen’s two national parks: their belief in “letting nature be nature”.
 

Ranger guided tour, © Nationalpark Harz / dietrichkuehne.com
© Nationalpark Harz / dietrichkuehne.com

Harz Mountains National Park

The Harz mountains are one of the most northerly outposts of low mountains in Germany. Wind and rain do their worst here before passing over summits like Wurmberg, the largest mountain in Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) at 971 metres.


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Niedersachsen Wadden Sea Germany, © Nationalparkverwaltung Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer / Norbert Hecker
© Nationalparkverwaltung Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer / Norbert Hecker

Wadden Sea National Park: UNESCO World Heritage Site

The effect of the tide’s ebb and flow has created a very special coastal landscape that stretches from the Netherlands, along the coasts of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) and Schleswig-Holstein, all the way to Denmark: the Wadden Sea.


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Where are the National Parks?