National park 
Kellerwald-Edersee

In the Waldeck-Frankenberg district south of the Edersee, the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park was founded, the first national park in Hesse.

The idea for these gates was conceived by the "Regional Association." The gates are intended to guide visitors from the villages to the main entrances of the national park. The wooden gates are manufactured in the national park's own workshop.

In 2007, the presence of wildcats was confirmed in the national park for the first time in more than 50 years. Since then, the continued spread and development of the wildcat population in the national park has been monitored.

The Kellerwald National Park Center presents an interactive exhibition about the national park, complete with a 4D cinema experience, in its extraordinary architecture. Since then, additional interactive elements have been integrated into the exhibition.

These businesses represent a strong connection between nature conservation and the tourism industry, as well as sustainable regional development. They serve as hosts, use local products, are highly knowledgeable about the national park, and provide all the assistance you need.

With the certificate from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Hessian Kellerwald-Edersee National Park is the first in Germany to receive this prestigious award from the World Conservation Union since March 10, 2011.

With this facility, which opened on April 8, the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park has another attraction. The information center, which is closely linked to the Edersee Wildlife Park, offers visitors impressive insights into the ecosystem of Central Europe's beech forests.

On June 25, 2011, the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized core areas of the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park, along with four other German beech forest areas, as World Heritage Sites in Paris. The official name is "Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Ancient Beech Forests of Germany."

The path was created as part of the accessibility improvements in the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park as a direct, barrier-free wheelchair access to the Quernst Church. This approximately 60-meter-long path now also provides direct access to the church for wheelchair users.

With this newly built viewing platform at Hagenstein, wheelchair users and families with strollers now have the opportunity to enjoy the unique view of the lower Eder Valley.

In addition to an accessible visitor platform in the Rosengrund, a visitor platform for approximately 2015 people was built near the Quernst Church in 20. It serves as a wildlife observation platform and will be used in the future for guided ranger tours during the deer rut.

Since 1 January 2016, the National Park Office, as a special authority of the state, has been directly subordinate to the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. The National Park Office is located in Bad Wildungen.

On 10 July 2017, the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) decided in Krakow to expand the existing site 'Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Ancient Beech Forests of Germany' by 63 sub-areas in 10 countries and to rename it 'Ancient Beech Forests and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe'.

Hessian Environment Minister Priska Hinz ceremoniously opened the "KellerwaldUhr" (Cellar Forest Clock) in Frankenau on Friday, October 13. This new facility explores the changing relationship between humans and forests over time. The "KellerwaldUhr" information center is also an ideal starting point for a hike into the pristine realm of the beech trees.

This means that the large protected area joins 22 other national parks, nature parks and biosphere reserves that have already been included in recent years in the cooperation of the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), the German Transport Club (VCD) and Deutsche Bahn.

The area of ​​the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park will increase by 1950 hectares to a total of 7688 hectares, which corresponds to approximately one-third of the increase. The expanded areas of the national park stretch along the northern shore of Lake Edersee.

In the national park's anniversary year, the focus is on the protected area's 20-year history. As a sign that there's something special to celebrate in Hesse's only national park, the national park owl has dressed up and is wearing a festive red ribbon. It will be present throughout the year.

The Kellerwald-Edersee National Park and Nature Park will jointly operate the partner network in the future and jointly recognize their partners. In a participatory process between the two protected areas and their partners, the existing National Park partners have expressed their support for becoming Nature Park partners as well. This dual partnership will allow for meaningful synergies to be leveraged.