The Harz National Park is a legally protected area of international importance. As in national parks around the world, nature here is allowed to develop largely free from human influence. Our motto is: “Let nature be nature.” Beech and spruce forests, subalpine dwarf shrub heaths, moors, and rock biotopes provide refuges for over 10,000 partly rare animal and plant species. Even the lynx feels at home again in this legendary mountain wilderness. You too can help protect these special habitats by following the rules.
Forest transformation in the Harz National Park
"The forest landscape in the Harz National Park has changed dramatically in recent years. The gray silhouettes of dead spruce trees tower into the sky or lie – sometimes wildly piled on top of each other – on the ground or at the sides of roads. This sight is initially disconcerting for many locals and visitors. But even though there are currently many dead trees to be seen, this forest is more alive and dynamic than it has been for a long time. Initiated by storms, climate change, and a small insect—the bark beetle—a new wilderness is emerging here, more species-rich, diverse, and robust than before. True to the national park's motto, “Let nature be nature,” nature is allowed to develop independently in large parts of the national park, and we have the unique opportunity to observe it on its journey from a former timber forest to a wild natural forest.
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