Naturschutzgebiet Schannenbacher Moor, Protected wetland in Lautertal, Germany

Naturschutzgebiet Schannenbacher Moor is a 16-hectare reserve south of Schannenbach on the west flank of the Krehberg, in Lautertal, Bergstraße district. The Gronauer Straße divides it into a smaller northern part and the main bog to the south; about a quarter is covered by near-natural forest. Wet meadows and reed beds hold remnants of the former fen vegetation.

The 16-hectare site was designated a nature reserve in 1975, when it still held remnants of a groundwater-fed fen with a peat-moss plant community (Oxycocco-Sphagnetum). Drainage, wastewater discharge and more intensive farming in the surrounding area later caused most of that community to disappear. In 2003 the moor was included in the EU Natura 2000 network as part of the FFH area "Gronauer Bach mit Hummelscheid und Schannenbacher Moor" (6318-306).

The name Schannenbacher Moor links the bog to the hamlet of Schannenbach in Lautertal. The wet meadows and reed beds are kept open by extensive farming, and the reserve is part of the cross-border Natura 2000 site "Gronauer Bach mit Hummelscheid und Schannenbacher Moor" (FFH area 6318-306), added in 2003. Look for the large burnet saxifrage, whose flowers feed the caterpillars of the scarce large blue butterfly.

Visitors can explore the area on marked paths while observing the plant life in its natural state. Sturdy shoes and weather-appropriate clothing are recommended as the ground is often wet and boggy.

The Grüne Besenmoos, a moss forming small cushions on the bark of old trees, grows here and is recorded tree by tree; it is regarded as an indicator of near-natural woodland. The endangered Sumpfschrecke, a marsh grasshopper, also survives in the bog.