Berghauser Matten, Nature reserve in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Berghauser Matten is a 151-hectare nature reserve on the Schönberg above Ebringen, designated in 1996 and managed under reserve number 3.225. It lies mostly on Ebringen's land, with small parts in Wittnau and Sölden, along the road to Wittnau. Its slopes cut through Triassic, Jurassic and Tertiary layers, giving rise to dry grassland, orchards, poor meadows, wetlands and beech woods.
The reserve was designated on 24 September 1996 under protection number 3.225 and covers 151 hectares. It was created largely on the former French military training ground of Ebringen, which had belonged to the Schlageter-Kaserne; the municipality of Ebringen bought the land from the federal government with support from Baden-Württemberg, adding parcels such as Oberer Kienberg, Eisenhut, Langhard, Bergmatten and Gräblematten. Military use had left much of the area undisturbed.
The reserve lies on the former French military training ground of Ebringen, attached to the Schlageter-Kaserne; the long military use left much of the terrain undisturbed. South of the Kienbergsattel stood the village of Berghausen, whose parish church is documented in a papal bull of Lucius II from 1144/45. The chapel of St. Trudpert, built in 1748, stands beside a small hermitage, and a seven-station Way of the Cross has led there from Ebringen's cemetery since 1751.
The area is open to visitors and welcomes walking and nature observation, with various paths leading through different parts of the landscape. Sturdy footwear is recommended as some trails can become muddy depending on the season.
The reserve holds the world's largest known occurrence of Rogers' gold hair moss (Rogers Goldhaarmoos), a rare moss found among its dry grasslands and beech woods. The site also shelters the praying mantis and the stag beetle, insects rarely seen this far north.
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