Hagener Au und Passader See

Hagener Au and Passader See form a protected area covering roughly 525 hectares in Schleswig-Holstein with flowing streams, lakes, wetlands, and woodlands. The site combines several distinct habitats that support different plant and animal communities across the landscape.

The area received formal protection status under European Union law in 2004 as part of the Natura 2000 network. This designation established legal frameworks to safeguard the ecological functions of the habitats and their dependent species.

Local communities have shaped this landscape over generations through agriculture and settlement. The villages scattered throughout reflect how people have learned to live alongside the water and forest in this region.

Access to the area is easiest from the surrounding villages that border the protected zone. Visitors should know this is not a managed recreation site but a conservation area with restrictions to protect habitats.

Passader See gets its name from an old settlement and now serves as a refuge for uncommon animals like European otters and spined loach. The lake and stream form an interconnected system that channels wildlife movement across the region.