UNESCO Biosphärenreservat Flusslandschaft Elbe-Brandenburg
In the extreme northwest of Brandenburg in the Prignitz region lies the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve River Landscape Elbe-Brandenburg, to which about 70 river kilometres of the Elbe River belong. Despite continuous human intervention, the Elbe is one of the few rivers in Central Europe that are still close to nature. Luminous sandbanks, flood channels, old arms and gnarled remains of old alluvial forests characterise the picture of this only sand stream in Germany.
Extensive flood plains, meadows and pastures, extensive, quiet forests, small rivers, moors and inland dunes offer habitats in extremely dry as well as humid and wet areas.
The Elbe river landscape is an internationally important resting and migration area for numerous bird species. For cranes, Nordic geese and lapwings, the wide glacial valley is the train guideline and an important resting and feeding area. In the winter, the calls of up to 4,000 Singschwäne sound far over the Brandenburg Elbaue. In autumn and spring several thousand resting cranes and tens of thousands of Tundrasaat and Blässgänse offer a fascinating natural spectacle.
West Prignitz is the land of the storks. With well over 100 pairs breeding in the biosphere reserve alone, this is the largest stork population in the Federal Republic of Germany. The "European stork village Rühstädt" is particularly well-known with about 30 breeding pairs per year, but also in the Lenzerwische in the villages Mödlich and Kietz several white stork pairs raise their young every year. From time to time you can even spot a few black storks. Sky blue coloured moor frogs and red-bellied toads are only two of twelve amphibian species that can be observed next to 36 butterfly species. Well hidden on the banks, the Elbe beaver builds impressive castles.
The rich Elbtalaue is a true paradise for cyclists. Embedded in the area-wide junction signposting, which signs 1100 km of cycle paths in the Prignitz, there is much to discover. Along the stops nature; on the international Elbe Cycle Path or around the Rambow Moor the diversity can be experienced intensively. A number of Prignitz villages with brick and half-timbered houses and the Elbe towns of Wittenberge and Lenzen offer attractive places to rest, explore and enjoy culture.
A special highlight is the young floodplain wilderness near Lenzen. Here, about 420 hectares of flood area were returned to the Elbe. A true lighthouse project that makes it possible to experience the compatibility of flood protection and nature conservation. This largest dike relocation in Germany to date surprises with a species-rich scenery of alluvial forest and park-like pasture landscape with rare birds, in which wild horses of the breed "Liebenthaler Wildlinge" graze comfortably.
Extensive flood plains, meadows and pastures, extensive, quiet forests, small rivers, moors and inland dunes offer habitats in extremely dry as well as humid and wet areas.
The Elbe river landscape is an internationally important resting and migration area for numerous bird species. For cranes, Nordic geese and lapwings, the wide glacial valley is the train guideline and an important resting and feeding area. In the winter, the calls of up to 4,000 Singschwäne sound far over the Brandenburg Elbaue. In autumn and spring several thousand resting cranes and tens of thousands of Tundrasaat and Blässgänse offer a fascinating natural spectacle.
West Prignitz is the land of the storks. With well over 100 pairs breeding in the biosphere reserve alone, this is the largest stork population in the Federal Republic of Germany. The "European stork village Rühstädt" is particularly well-known with about 30 breeding pairs per year, but also in the Lenzerwische in the villages Mödlich and Kietz several white stork pairs raise their young every year. From time to time you can even spot a few black storks. Sky blue coloured moor frogs and red-bellied toads are only two of twelve amphibian species that can be observed next to 36 butterfly species. Well hidden on the banks, the Elbe beaver builds impressive castles.
The rich Elbtalaue is a true paradise for cyclists. Embedded in the area-wide junction signposting, which signs 1100 km of cycle paths in the Prignitz, there is much to discover. Along the stops nature; on the international Elbe Cycle Path or around the Rambow Moor the diversity can be experienced intensively. A number of Prignitz villages with brick and half-timbered houses and the Elbe towns of Wittenberge and Lenzen offer attractive places to rest, explore and enjoy culture.
A special highlight is the young floodplain wilderness near Lenzen. Here, about 420 hectares of flood area were returned to the Elbe. A true lighthouse project that makes it possible to experience the compatibility of flood protection and nature conservation. This largest dike relocation in Germany to date surprises with a species-rich scenery of alluvial forest and park-like pasture landscape with rare birds, in which wild horses of the breed "Liebenthaler Wildlinge" graze comfortably.