Himmelmoor, Raised bog in Borstel-Hohenraden, Germany

Himmelmoor is a raised bog in Borstel-Hohenraden, Germany, covering about 600 hectares (1,480 acres) and formerly the largest of its kind in Schleswig-Holstein. It consists of open peat flats, patches of heath, and scattered birch and pine woods, with a network of paths and several viewing platforms.

Peat was cut here for centuries, and a contract from 1919 allowed extraction to continue until the bog was gone. The digging stopped in 2018, earlier than planned, and since then parts of the bog have been rewetted to help it recover.

The name Himmelmoor comes from the old word for the open sky above the bog, and local people still use the area for walks and nature study. On some weekends, volunteers run short trips on the narrow-gauge peat railway, keeping alive a memory of the old industry.

Paths can be muddy, so wear waterproof shoes and check the weather before setting out. The terrain is mostly flat, but some sections are uneven, and the viewing platforms are reached by short walks from the parking areas.

The bog is part of the European Natura 2000 network, but its core area was left out until extraction ended. Now that digging has stopped, the open peat faces are slowly turning green again as mosses and cotton grass return.