Regional Nature Park of the Vosges du Nord in numbers
- 84,941 inhabitants;
- 111 villages, 2/3 of which are in the Bas-Rhin region and 1/3 are in the Moselle region;
- 127,666 hectares of which 83,525 are forest and which make up almost 66% of the area of the park. The park is a sea of forests!
- 15,955 hectares of protected space: 1 national nature reserve, 1 regional nature reserve and 8 Natura 2000 sites, 1,200km of waterways;
- 581m: Grand Wintersberg, the highest point in Vosges du Nord;
- 2,350 hectares of orchards;
- 2,600km of marked walking and hiking routes to do on foot, on horseback, on a mountain bike or a normal bike, 1,700km of which were created by the Club Vosgien;
- 40 chateaux classified as historic monuments.
- 28 museums and facilities;
- 122 historical monuments;
- 5 Maginot Line sites;
-1 citadel.
The Vosges du Nord region boasts a whole host of heritage, natural and cultural sites. It has formed the basis of the classification of the area as a Regional Nature Park since 1975.
What is a Regional Nature Park?
A Regional Nature Park is a collaborative project for sustainable development, which aims to protect and preserve natural and cultural heritage. A Regional Nature Park is established thanks to the locals and representatives of a rural area. It is a place everyone can benefit from.
The many duties of a Regional Nature Park are defined in a charter which is revised every 15 years. A duty to conserve and promote biodiversity in local cultivation and know-how. A duty to contribute to social and economic development by using natural resources. A duty to improve the quality of life by ensuring that planning and construction projects are carried out in an environmentally-friendly way A duty to inform the public and to raise awareness, to encourage people to rediscover the area.
In order to carry out these duties, the Park has a team of technicians who work on improving the area for inhabitants, as well as local elected representatives It also carries out experimental, exemplary, innovative and educational projects.
There are 54 Regional Nature Parks in France in 2019. This represents 4,300 communities, 2,200 park officials, 4 million inhabitants, 8.7 billion hectares and 15 regions or 15% of French territory.
Find out more at https://www.parcs-naturels-regionaux.fr/en
The Vosges du Nord-Pfälzerwald transboundary biosphere reserve
Two neighbouring national biosphere reserves, Vosges du Nord, created in 1998, and Pfälzerwald in 1992, decided to collaborate and the Vosges du Nord-Pfälzerwald biosphere reserve was officially recognised by UNESCO in December 1998.. It is the first transboundary biosphere reserve in Europe. It covers an area of 3,105km², 1,800 km² of which is in German territory and 1,305km² of which is in French territory. with a total of around 337,000 inhabitants.
The area of the "Vosges du Nord-Pfälzerwald” biosphere reserve is characterised by the same recurring geological features and a common natural heritage, which makes cooperation and cohesion between the two areas very advantageous. Most of the landscape is made up of temperate forest land which covers more than three quarters of the reserve, which straddles the France-Germany border and is Western Europe’s largest uninterrupted woodland area. The urban areas of the reserve are very small, encouraging the conservation of the environment. Inhabitants of the reserve share similar languages, cultures and traditions.
Find out more at: http://www.unesco.org
To find out more about the Regional Nature Park of the Vosges Du Nord go to: www.parc-vosges-nord.fr
Facebook: www.facebook.com/parcvosgesnord
21 rue du Château BP 24 F-67290 LA PETITE PIERRE
Telephone: +33 (0)3 88 01 49 59
contact@parc-vosges-nord.fr