Rothaarsteig-WaldRäume

The Rothaarsteig leads through different forest areas along its entire route. If you walk with your eyes open, you will sometimes see dense forest, sometimes completely bare areas. Sometimes you will see Christmas tree plantations, elsewhere you will see many tall spruce trees. There are heathland areas or meadows and there are places where the forest is growing back with completely new, young trees. Some forests belong to private individuals who look after them, others are managed by cities and districts. In all these different forest areas, people have been trying out different ways of dealing with forests and nature in a sustainable way for 200 years. You could say that the Rothaarsteig is a kind of laboratory for sustainability in the forest.

They try things out: What can you replant on areas that have been stripped bare by the bark beetle? What grows on a piece of forest if nature is left completely alone? Which plants will grow on their own?

You can observe all of this in different places along the Rothaarsteig. We would like to explain to you what happens there and what there is to see. We put up boards in exciting places that give you a clue. There is a QR code on them that you can scan with your smartphone. You will then find explanatory texts that give you the most important information. If you like, you can also watch a video about it. Or you can listen to a podcast to find out even more about the topic. The videos and audio stories were created by Klaus-Peter Kappest. He is a photographer and author and has been very familiar with the Rothaarstieg for many years.

Our project is called Rothaarsteig-WaldRäume. You can find an overview of the various stations here.