High Ward
Hohe Ward is the name of a forest area that extends between the Münster district of Hiltrup and the Münsterland villages of Albersloh and Rinkerode . Together with the Davert , it forms a belt around the city south of Münster, which is strongly characterized by forest. The majority of the Hohen Ward is located in the urban area of Münster, small forest plots in the south and southeast belong to Albersloh and Rinkerode in the Warendorf district .
Location and geology
The Hohe Ward is not a natural area , but an orographically delimited area. It represents the surroundings of the central section of the Uppenberger Geestrück , which is bounded by Emmerbach and Werse and which in turn represents the central part of the narrow and natural area spanning Münsterland gravel sand range. To the southwest of the Geestrücke, the Hohe Ward extends as far as the B 54 and has shares in the far west of the Davert lowland . To the northeast it has a share of the Wolbeck plain .
Davert (541.12), Geestrücken (541.13) and Wolbecker Ebene (541.14) are in turn partial landscapes of the Münster plain (541.1), which belongs to the main unit 541 Kernmünsterland .
The Münsterländer gravel-sand pull was created from a channel that was initially formed by water flowing under glacier ice. It was later backfilled with the sand and gravel transported with the meltwater and finally raised significantly higher than the rest of the area. Geologically, it is a so-called Os .
Forest and its inhabitants
Today the High Ward is mostly wooded; the forest is predominantly owned by the city of Münster , the Münster municipal utilities and the Heidhorn Foundation. The highest driest areas are mostly planted with pines , but the lower areas are also covered with deciduous forest. The hurricane Kyrill may be preceded on 18 January 2007 destroyed a large part of the pine stands, so that the conversion of the once monotonous forests in varied deciduous forests accelerated. The basis here are the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council , which operates a system for the certification of sustainable forestry .
Only small remnants of the formerly widespread dry sandy grassland and heather vegetation now bear witness to times with less forest. A large population of the field cricket and the spotted cadaver, for example, is to be regarded as a relic in the High Ward .
use
Today the area is mainly used for drinking water and as a recreational area, especially by residents of the city of Münster. For this purpose, some areas for those seeking relaxation, such as infiltration and well systems, have been closed, but an extensive network of hiking and riding trails has also been developed. The Hohe Ward waterworks have been producing water for the municipal utilities since 1906.
Sand mining has been practiced here in many places in the past. Among other things, the Hiltruper See , also called Steiner See, was created in this way. However, for reasons of groundwater protection there is a strict bathing ban in this body of water, and the last sand excavations have long been closed.
Instructive
The “ Hohe Ward nature trail ” provides information on numerous special features of the area . The starting point is at the parking lot on the “Zum Hiltruper See” street near Westfalenstraße. 15 information boards along the 13 km long nature trail also allow you to explore in sections. A detour leads to Haus Heidhorn , the seat of the NABU nature conservation station in Münsterland .
Archaeological finds from the sand pits, some of which can be seen in the LWL Museum of Archeology , point to an early settlement of the area.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Geographical land survey: The natural spatial units on sheet 97 - Münster (Sofie Meisel 1960, west of the sheet) - Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Bad Godesberg → maps
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 53 ′ 0 ″ N , 7 ° 41 ′ 0 ″ E