Harz National Park

Harz National Park protects part of the western Harz mountain range across the German states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, running from Herzberg and Bad Lauterberg in the south to Bad Harzburg and Ilsenburg on the northern slopes. About 95 percent of its roughly 247 square kilometers is forested, mainly with spruce and beech, and the park also contains bogs, granite outcrops and streams within the European Union's Natura 2000 network. The park in its current form dates to January 1, 2006, when the Lower Saxon Harz National Park, established in 1994, was merged with the Saxony-Anhalt Upper Harz National Park, established in 1990.