Fairytale Forest Trail

The name might make you think of an amusement park with fairytale characters – but the Fairytale Forest is an ancient, natural deciduous forest on the way to becoming a primeval forest. It got its name from its fairytale-like trees. Gnarled oaks, mighty beeches, majestic sycamore maples, bizarre hornbeams, and numerous other tree species, along with dense bushes, tree fungi, and plenty of deadwood, give the forest a mysterious appearance. The trees, some of which are over 250 years old, are full of hollows – a true paradise for animals and, with a little imagination, even for fairytale creatures.

Scan the QR codes at the stations along the way and let yourself be guided through the circular route. Each station has a story to tell:

• Station 1: Information board / Start of the circular route
• Station 2: Oaks and coppice
• Station 3: Forest plants on limestone soil
• Station 4: Acidophilous oak-hornbeam forest
• Station 5: Birches – witnesses of a forest clearing
• Station 6: Habitat trees in commercial forests
• Station 7: Conifers and wood use
• Station 8: Landwehr wall system
• Station 9: Ancient Oaks
• Station 10: Woodpeckers in the forest
• Station 11: Old tree groups
• Station 12: Natural forest development into primeval beech forest
• Station 13: Sinkholes – Holes in the Ground
• Station 14: Deadwood is alive
• Station 15: Comparison of fairytale forest with deciduous forest