The Augsburg-Western Woods Nature Park (german: Naturpark Augsburg-Westliche Wälder) is one of the two ''nature parks'' in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

. The 1988 founded park has a size of . The nature park is bordered by the rivers

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

Wertach Wertach is a small town in the Oberallgäu district, southern Bavaria, (Germany), in the German Alps. It is situated on the river Wertach, southeast of Kempten. The town was the childhood home of the writer W. G. Sebald. History Wertach wa ...

Schmutter The Schmutter is a river in Bavaria, Germany, a right tributary of the Danube. The Schmutter's source is southwest of Schwabmünchen, in the Swabia region of Bavaria. The Schmutter flows north, and for several tens of kilometers it flows par ...

Flossach Flossach is a river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Mindel and an indirect right tributary of the Danube. Geography The Flossach rises near the village of Gerum, northwest of Türkheim at an elevation of . It flows in a nort ...

and Mindel. The biggest part of it is located in

Augsburg (district) Augsburg (; Swabian German: ''Augschburg'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of Augsburg and the districts of Aichach-Friedberg, Landsberg, Ostallgäu, Unterall ...

and extends to the edge of the districts

Unterallgäu Unterallgäu is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Neu-Ulm, Günzburg, Augsburg, Ostallgäu, Oberallgäu, and the districts Ravensburg und Biberach in Baden-Württemberg. ...

, Günzburg (district) and

Dillingen (district) Dillingen is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Donau-Ries, Augsburg and Günzburg, and by the state of Baden-Württemberg (district of Heidenheim). History ...

Landscape

The gentle, hilly landscape is divided by the streams

, Neufnach and Zusam into gently undulating plateaus and flat interfluves. It is part of the Tertiary Hills between the

and the

Bavarian Alpine Foreland The Alpine Foreland, less commonly called the Bavarian Foreland,Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, pp. 585-586. . Bavarian Plateau or Bavarian Alpine Foreland (german: Bayerisches ...

. Nearly half (43%) of the region are forested and the proportion of grassland are high, too. The northern part around Welden is named Holzwinkel, the middle part around Dinkelscherben, Reischenau and the south part (south of the line

Thannhausen Thannhausen () is a town in the district of Günzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Mindel, southeast of Günzburg, and west of Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_Germ ...

Ziemetshausen Ziemetshausen is a municipality in the district of Günzburg in Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the la ...

Fischach Fischach is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest ...

Gessertshausen Gessertshausen is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the lar ...

Stadtbergen Stadtbergen ( Swabian: ''Staberga'') is a town in the district of Augsburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the outskirts of Augsburg, west of Augsburg city centre. Stadtbergen was granted town privileges in May 2007. Mayors * Ludwig ...

) are the Stauden.

Sights and attractions

Nature-Park-House near
Oberschönenfeld Abbey Oberschönenfeld Abbey (Kloster Oberschönenfeld) is a Cistercian nunnery in Gessertshausen in Bavaria, Germany. History As early as around 1186 there were Beguines, or a similar community of women, on this site. In about 1211 they formed a more ...

The Nature-Park-House, which was opened in the year 1992, is located in an adjoining building of

Oberschönenfeld Abbey Oberschönenfeld Abbey (Kloster Oberschönenfeld) is a Cistercian nunnery in Gessertshausen in Bavaria, Germany. History As early as around 1186 there were Beguines, or a similar community of women, on this site. In about 1211 they formed a more ...

south of

. In the rooms of the Nature-Park-House the exhibition ''Nature and Men in the Nature-Park'' is shown. Furthermore there is near the Nature-Park-House the last thatched ''Staudenhaus'', a little farm house in the type of construction which was typical in the ''Stauden''. This house was rebuilt at this place between the years 1974 and 1980. In the stables, unused since 1972, the Bezirk Schwaben established the Swabian Folklore and Crafts Museum (Schwäbische Volkskundemuseum) in 1984. File:Kloster Oberschoenenfeld Schwaben Ansicht West.jpg, Oberschönenfeld Abbey File:Staudenhaus 3.jpg, Staudenhaus

Further attractions and sights in the Augsburg-Westliche Wälder Nature Park

* people's observatory in Streitheim * Nemetons and former castles, built in the Middle Ages (for example the Haldenburg near Schwabegg) * Fuggercastle Kirchheim, from the 18th century, with the „Cedarhall“, one of the most beautiful

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

halls of Europe. The hall has a

coffered ceiling A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, als ...

with timber of Cedar from the

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

and 14 native kinds of wood, all in natura. *

pilgrimage church A pilgrimage church (german: Wallfahrtskirche) is a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or a church along a pilgrimage route, like the Way of St. James, that is visited by pilgrims. Pilgrimage churches are often located by the grave ...

of St. Michael in Violau and observatory from the 18th century * pilgrimage church of Maria Vesperbild near

* pilgrimage church in Biberbach * pilgrimage church of Allerheiligen near Scheppach (municipality Jettingen-Scheppach) * church of St. Thekla in Welden * many little

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

- and

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

-churches in the "Swabian Pfaffenwinkel"

Gallery

File:Aystetten westl - Rauher Forst v O.jpg File:Rothsee Zusmarshausen.jpg, Rothsee File:Wald bei Mödishofen 04.jpg File:Christoph-Scheiner-Turm-01.jpg

References

External links

Nature park website
{{Authority control Nature parks in Bavaria Augsburg (district) Dillingen (district) Günzburg (district) Unterallgäu Swabia (Bavaria) Protected areas established in 1988 1988 establishments in West Germany