The Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park ()
at www.germany.travel. Retrieved 20 Apr 2020. was founded in and lies in the district of Lauenburg in the southeastern part of the German state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

. It is right on the border with the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the

Schleswig-Holstein Uplands The Schleswig-Holstein Uplands or Schleswig-Holstein Morainic Uplands Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen. . (German: ''Schleswig-Holsteinisches Hügelland'') is one of the three l ...

, a Young Drift moraine landscape that formed during the Weichselian glaciation of the last ice age.

Location and significance

With an area of over , the nature park is the third largest in Schleswig-Holstein and contains extensive stretches of forest. The Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park, there are 40 lakes in total, borders directly on the Mecklenburg

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

Schaalsee Schaalsee is a lake in Germany. It forms part of the border between Schleswig-Holstein (district Herzogtum Lauenburg) and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (districts Ludwigslust-Parchim and Nordwestmecklenburg). The town of Zarrentin is located on its south ...

and, together, they form a large nature reserve along the former

Inner German Border The inner German border ( or ''deutsch–deutsche Grenze''; initially also , zonal boundary) was the frontier between the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the West Germany, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West ...

. The largest lakes in the nature park are the

Ratzeburger See is a lake in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. At an elevation of 4 m, its surface area is 14.3 km2. Amidst the lake is an island upon which the City of Ratzeburg is located, accessible from the mainland via three isthmuses. The island is home t ...

and the

, which are linked together by the Schaalsee Canal that begins near

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

. Within the nature park are the district towns of Ratzeburg and Mölln as well as the Hellbach Valley. The Old Salt Road from Lüneburg to Lübeck runs through the nature park – at several places, such as Fredeburg, still as a medieval route - the

Alte Salzstraße The Old Salt Route was a medieval trade route in Northern Germany, one of the ancient network of salt roads which were used primarily for the transport of salt and other staples. In Germany it was referred to as ''Alte Salzstraße''. Salt was v ...

. The nature park is roughly bordered to the west between Berkenthin and

Büchen Büchen () is a municipality in the Lauenburg (district), district of Lauenburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is seat of the ''Amt (subnational entity), Amt'' ("collective municipality") Büchen (Amt), Büchen. Büchen is situated on the El ...

by the Elbe-Lübeck Canal. The Naturparkweg nature trail runs through the park and links it to the other four nature parks in

. The

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

between the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

s also runs through the nature park.

References

External links

Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park
{{Coord, 53, 38, N, 10, 47, E, type:landmark_dim:38000_region:DE-SH, display=title Nature parks in Schleswig-Holstein Herzogtum Lauenburg 1961 establishments in West Germany Protected areas established in 1961

Location and significance

See also

References

External links