The GPS Discovery Trail „Exquisite Nature – forest realms“ with its length of 5 km will lead you through a beech forest typical of the area around Bad Driburg in the Nature Park “Teutoburger Wald / Eggegebirge”. 16 information stations between Iburg and Aschenhütte will enable you to discover nature and culture. This nature reserve belongs […]

Common beeches are the dominant trees in our forests. They derive their success from the fact that the very dense canopy prevents most of the sunlight from reaching the forest floor. Young trees and most herbaceous plants are “shaded out”. Plants wanting to survive in beech forests have to be very shade-tolerant (like ferns and […]

A mountain spur lying high above Bad Driburg has been used as a refuge for a very long time. The saxons are believed to have erected a retreat, protected by a stone-earth rampart. Due to the sharp drop on the south-eastern side no further fortifications were necessary. During Carolingian times the ramparts were replaced by […]

This tower, built in 1904 and named after the then German Emperor, Karl, allows you to take in the spectacular view towards the valley of Bad Driburg. The old village centre is dominated by the neo-gothic church of St. Peter and Paul. Behind the railway lines you can see the Gräfliche Park Hotel & Spa. […]

To the left you can make out a rock formation in the beech forest. It is an escarpment of the Muschelkalk, which forms the south-easterly limits of a prominent mountain spur. The path winds its way past the spur before starting a steep ascent to the summit in 380 m. Both sides of the path […]

The ash can reach a maximum height of 40 m and therefore together with common beech belongs to the tallest deciduous trees in Europe. Only on mostly wet and temporarily dry soils it can compete with the beech. Together with oak and beech it is one of the commercially most important native trees. The wood […]

The eastern ridge of the Egge exhibits a steep escarpment (or cuesta). The limestone layers of the Muschelkalk rest on the impermeable rock layers of the Röt formation (Upper Buntsandstein). When rainwater permeates the limestone it gathers on top of the Röt and trickles to the surface forming many springs. The ditch on the side […]

Growing conditions for the common beech are optimal in Central Europe and therefore also in county Höxter. Therefore, you can experience lush beech forests with trees reaching a height of up to 40 m. Typical beech forests resemble great halls. The straight tree trunks without branches reach towards the sky like pillars in a cathedral. […]

About 240 million years ago the hill country of the river Weser was covered by a shallow tropic sea. The grey rock layers of the “Muschelkalk” – visible as a result of forest road construction – were deposited during this time. Characteristic for such a shallow sea are the fossilised shells of many marine creatures. […]

On both sides of the path you can find dense deciduous forest with young beech trees. If you look closer into the undergrowth you can spot several small earth mounds, which are witnesses to small catastrophes. They are the roots of fallen trees. These beeches were either blown over in a gale (1972) or collapsed […]