Naturpark Kyffhäuser

In northern Thuringia south of the Harz mountains, the Nature Park Kyffhäuser invites you to relax in the unique semi-natural countryside. The Kyffhäuser range of hills lends its name to the 30,500-hectare nature park, where, according to the saga, Emperor Barbarossa had his hide-out.

The nature park has a wide variety of flora and fauna species. This is home to many animals, including cranes, wildcats and fire salamanders, and plants like the pheasant's eye, several species of orchid, feather grass and the glasswort, which you normally see only on the coast.

Excursion destinations such as the Kyffhäuser Monument, Barbarossa Cave and Panorama Museum are embedded in a landscape which is unlike any other in Germany. Wetlands and salt springs abut the Kelbra reservoir. Beech forests invite visitors to hike through. Low-nutrient grasslands and steep gypsum cliffs are home to feather grasses and pheasant's eye, which otherwise are found only in the steppes of Eastern Europe or in the Mediterranean region.