Fröschau and Kisselwiesen
The Fröschau and the Kisselwiesen are meadows and arable land in the Kraichbach lowlands near Reilingen in Baden-Württemberg . With an extension of around six hectares, they form the largest contiguous meadow area on the lower Kraichbach .
The Kraichbach originally ran in numerous meanders in the Baden Rhine Plain . These have left behind stream meadows with low and moorland as well as wet meadows. The former course of the brook is marked by gallery forests made of willow , alder and poplar . Reilingen is surrounded by such former Kraichbach meanders from the north and south-east. This also includes the Reilinger See . The Fröschau and the Kisselwiesel are on the southeast side of Reilingen and border the district of St. Leon-Rot . The former Wersau Castle forms the geographical center . In connection with the founding of this castle, the drainage of the Kraichbach lowlands near Reilingen began in the High Middle Ages. Due to the straightening of the Kraichbach and the discontinuation of the traditional mill economy, the water level of the Kraichbach fell significantly in the 20th century, which endangered the wet meadows.
The low moor Fröschau lies in the old river bed of the Kraichbach and is a moor area covered by humus-rich soils in the 1980s, in the core area a moor, whose subsoil is only brought to the surface by molehills.
The Kisselwiesen were originally water meadows that were drained as part of a hydraulic engineering measure by the Reich Labor Service in the 1930s. The trench system that is still visible today is evidence of this. Natural rewetting is no longer possible today due to the lowering of the water level in the Kraichbach. In particular, the over a hundred years old willow stands are at risk from drainage.
Due to the drainage of the Kraichbach lowlands, the Fröschau and Kisselwiesen meadows have not been classified as nature reserves. However, there are still remnants of grassland communities from smooth oat meadows , including meadow bedstraw , pippau and cranesbill .
Niedermoor Fröschau
Kisselwiesen
former irrigation ditch
White willows
Felling of poplars (March 2013)
The mole brings out the moor
