The beech forests of Germany are a continuous running gag in my family. Both my father and my uncle pick this site when they want to point out that something is fishy about world heritage sites. Now, you need to know that neither of them knows much about world heritage sites. But they do know a bit of beech trees, having run a tree nursery specialising in German beech trees for most of their adult lives. And they aren't really impressed about this site, at least the German component. And I think I get why.

The designated areas in Germany are all National Parks, but .. Germany is densely populated. You simply won't find huge, rugged areas of virgin forests in Germany. It's limited patches of forest, intercut by roads or trails and close to villages. Civilization is never that far off and it makes it hard to appreciate the OUV of the German component.

So far, I have managed to see three forests in Germany: Kellerwald, Hainisch and Jasmund. If I was to pick, I would single out Jasmund for the best visiting experience due the iconic scenery of Cape Arkona, the white cliffs of Rügen. Forest wise though, none of the national parks impressed me.

Getting There

The Kellerwald visitor center is accessible via rail from Vöhl-Herzhausen. Major town nearby is Kassel.

From Bad Langensalza or Eisenach, you can take an infrequent bus to the Hainich visitor center. Next major town nearby is Erfurt.

Jasmund National Park can be reached via Sassnitz. In season, there are plenty of busses. Out of season you should be able to manage to get there, too, but I couldn't find a connection. In any case, you should walk one way along the coast.

While You Are There

Being a Europe spanning series of sites, means that you can combine them with plenty of other sites. Frankly, I would assume that you tick this site off on the go.

In Germany, Hainich is probably the most combinable being located in Thuringia with Eisenach, Weimar and Naumburg nearby. Visiting Jasmund, you will pass through Stralsund. Kellerwald has the Bergpark Kassel-Wilhelmsruh nearby. And you can go on to both the Ruhr or Frankfurt and on from there.