Hainich National Park

Much of the Hainich was used as a military training area for decades and was closed to forestry, which meant the beech woods were left to develop without management; when the area was released it was made a national park in 1997, and part of it was added to the UNESCO listing of ancient European beech forests in 2011. The forest holds a high density of dead wood and cavity trees, supporting wildcats and fifteen bat species. The Baumkronenpfad, a canopy walkway opened in 2005 and extended since, runs about five hundred metres through the crowns with a tower at forty-four metres.

The landscape

• The unmanaged beech - forest left to develop through decades of military closure.
• The canopy walkway - about five hundred metres through the treetops.
• The dead wood - standing and fallen timber supporting bats and beetles.
• The wildcats - a population in the park, with an information centre on them.

When to go

May to October; the canopy walk is open most of the year and closes in storms and ice. Autumn beech colour is the strongest season. Weekends are busy.

Good to know

Wildcats are almost never seen. The canopy walk is ticketed and busy on weekends. Core zones are closed to entry.

Nearby

Eisenach lies southwest; Erfurt is east.

Key facts