Zwillbrocker Venn, Nature reserve in Vreden, Germany
Zwillbrocker Venn is a nature reserve at the German-Dutch border featuring peat bogs, marshes, and heathlands that provide habitat for numerous bird species. The landscape developed following the destruction of larger highland moors and shows how these rare ecosystems recover over time.
The area was protected in 1938 and preserved the remnants of a much larger highland moor system. Establishing this protection zone responded to decades of exploitation and landscape conversion that would have otherwise erased these habitats entirely.
The reserve is part of a cross-border protection program that preserves moorlands and heathlands between Germany and the Netherlands. Visitors can experience how this landscape type connects people and animals that otherwise live on different sides of the border.
The reserve is best explored on foot using a 6-kilometer circular trail with two observation platforms and a viewing tower for birdwatching. Resting benches are distributed along the path to allow regular breaks during your exploration.
The reserve hosts an unusual flamingo colony found nowhere else in northern Germany. These tropical birds return each spring to breed and hunt among native waterfowl in the moorland.
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