Hainich National Park, National park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Thuringia, Germany.
Hainich National Park is a 75 km² beech forest in western Thuringia, between Eisenach, Mühlhausen and Bad Langensalza. Near the Thiemsburg forestry house, a 530-metre treetop trail runs just below the crowns on a wooden boardwalk with metal railings, ending at a circular platform under a white canopy roof.
The park was established in 1997, converting former military training land into one of Germany's major nature reserves. This transformation came after the Cold War when the land became available for conservation.
The name Hainich is not Slavic: it comes from the Old High German "hagan", a fenced or enclosed woodland, related to the modern German "Hain" for grove. The forest's cultural draw today is the Germanischer Kultpfad near the Hünenburg and Hünenteich in the north, opened in March 2009, with replicas of sanctuaries excavated at the Opfermoor near Niederdorla.
The park is best explored on foot or by bicycle, with trails and platforms guiding visitors through different areas. Wear sturdy shoes and move at a leisurely pace since the terrain can be uneven and the forest rewards slow, careful exploration.
The park's 1,600 recorded fungi include around 300 endangered or threatened species, some found nowhere else in Thuringia. The total, counting lichen-forming species, is expected to pass 3,000. The canopy walkway at the Thiemsburg forestry house, extended to 530 metres in May 2009, was only the second such path in Germany.
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