Creuzburger Werratal-Hänge, Special Area of Conservation in Wartburgkreis, Germany

The Creuzburger Werratal-Hänge is a protected conservation area featuring steep limestone cliffs with diverse vegetation zones across sloped terrain. The site combines several nature reserves in one larger protected zone with varied plant life on the hillsides.

In December 1999 a standard data form was compiled, recording four habitat types in the forests and eight in the open land for reporting to the European Commission. In September 2000 the Thuringian environment ministry proposed the three reserves Lienig, Klosterholz und Nordmannssteine and Ebenauer Köpfe together as a Natura 2000 site. Four of the recorded habitat types are classified as priority types.

The area lies in a designated reserve for tourism and recreation in the Südwestthüringen regional plan, where the region's traditional cultural landscapes are to be developed while keeping their characteristic forms of use. In this part of the Werra valley the focus is on experiencing the natural and cultural landscape, with walking, cycling and water sports on offer.

The protected slopes lie in three sub-areas between Creuzburg and Mihla, at elevations of 198 to 376 m, within the Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal Nature Park. The regional plan designates the area as a reserve for tourism and recreation, with walking, cycling and water sports on the Werra. Access is via the slopes of the canyon-like valley; the steep rock faces of the Ebenauer Köpfe and Nordmannssteine are not for climbing.

Four habitat types in the site are classified as priority habitats, for which the European Community bears particular responsibility because they are threatened with disappearance without strict protection rules. These are the gorge and slope mixed forests, the limestone pioneer grasslands, the orchid-rich dry limestone grasslands and the limestone cliffs.