Priorteich / Sachsenstein

Priortich
The Priortich, April 2004
Geographical location	Walkenried , District of Göttingen , Lower Saxony ( Germany )
Places on the shore	Bad Sachsa
Data
Coordinates	51 ° 35 '14 "  N , 10 ° 35' 33"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 35 '14 "  N , 10 ° 35' 33"  E
length	400 m
width	200 m
particularities	Natural lake created by sinkholes, later enlarged

The Priorteich / Sachsenstein is a nature reserve in the small town of Bad Sachsa in Lower Saxony and the municipality of Walkenried in the district of Göttingen .

description

The nature reserve with the registration number NSG BR 003 is 315  hectares in size. It is part of the FFH area "Gipskarstgebiet bei Bad Sachsa". In the north-west and west as well as in the south and south-east it borders on parts of the nature reserve “ Gipskarstlandschaft Bad Sachsa and Walkenried ”. To the north it borders on the landscape protection area "resin". The area has been a nature reserve since March 16, 1950. The responsible lower nature conservation authority is the district of Göttingen.

The nature reserve is located roughly between Bad Sachsa and Walkenried in the Walkenrieder Zechsteinhügelland in the southern Harz Zechstein belt in the south of the Harz Nature Park . It includes the fish ponds to the southwest and west of Walkenried, contiguous beech forests and meadow areas. In the nature reserve there are near-natural streams, fens , swamp areas and swamp forests . In hillside areas Kalktrockenhangwald increased, growing on cliffs Nardus grasslands . High proportions of oaks can be found in the beech forests , which points to an earlier use as a hut forest .

History of the ponds

The ponds were created in the Middle Ages by monks from the Cistercian monastery of Walkenried as fish ponds around Walkenried. Legends tell of up to 365 ponds; at least 50 can be reliably proven.

The fish ponds are relatively shallow. Some of them have arisen from existing sinkhole lakes, which the monks have enlarged with dams, but for the most part also new systems. Often they are fed by karst springs, sometimes they get their water from nearby streams , in rare cases only from precipitation.

The ponds are located in different places in the nature reserve. Several ponds are located southwest of Walkenried at the foot of the Reseberg and Höllstein gypsum massifs. The ponds are mainly surrounded by forest. Reeds often grow in the bank areas .

The Priorteich between Bad Sachsa and Walkenried is the largest of the ponds in the nature reserve. There is an open-air forest swimming pool on its north bank.

Others

The Saxon oak at the Priorteich, April 2003

On the northern edge of the Höllstein is the natural monument "Saxon oak", an ancient oak whose age is estimated at over 850 years.

To the northwest of the Höllstein lies the Sachsenstein, a mountain made of Werra anhydrite, the prominent rock spur of which slopes down to the north, west and south-west to the Uffe valley. On this rock spur lies the Sachsenburg , which was built at the instigation of Emperor Heinrich IV and first mentioned in a document in 1073. The ruin of the castle, which was destroyed again in 1074 , was severely damaged in 1869 when the mountain was pierced for the construction of the southern Harz route , which runs through the nature reserve. Today it is designated as a cultural monument .

A special feature of Höllstein and Sachsenstein are the near-surface spring caves called “dwarf holes”, which are created under the influence of water when anhydrite is converted into gypsum . The largest known spring cave was the “forest smithy” in the Blumenberg. It is largely weathered and collapsed in 1990. There are various legends about the swelling caves.

The Sachsenstein drops steeply to the Uffetal. This steep face, which is about one kilometer long and up to 30 meters high, is designated as a natural monument of the “Sachsenstein Cliffs” and is the result of the Uffe flowing past its foot.

To the north-west of Walkenried is the Mönchswald, an old hut forest, on the edge of the nature reserve. The forest was used as pasture until 1950. Since 2010 it has been grazed again for care.

In addition to the southern Harz route between Bad Sachsa and Walkenried, other traffic routes cross the nature reserve, including two state roads . Several hiking trails run through the protected area, including a section of the southern Harz karst hiking trail . In the south of the reserve is the Sachsensteinhütte refuge , which is included as No. 166 in the system of stamping points of the Harz hiking pin.

See also

• List of lakes in Lower Saxony

Web links

Commons : Priorteich / Sachsenstein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Nature reserve "Priorteich / Sachsenstein" in the database of the Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN)
• Nature conservation in the style of a forest master - the Priorteich-Sachsenstein nature reserve near Walkenried , on karstwanderweg.de
• Priorteich , Bathing Water Atlas Lower Saxony, Lower Saxony State Health Office
• Nature reserve Priorteich / Sachsenstein , Bad Sachsa.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} The fish ponds around Walkenried , accessed on June 8, 2012, at harzlife.de
2. ↑ Der Priorteich , accessed on June 8, 2012, at harzlife.de
3. ↑ The natural monument Sachseneiche , accessed on June 8, 2012, at harzlife.de
4. ↑ Sachsenburg , accessed on June 8, 2012, on karstwanderweg.de
5. ↑ The castle ruins Sachsenstein , accessed on June 8, 2012, on harzlife.de
6. ↑ The Höllstein and the Höllsteinklippen , accessed on June 8, 2012, at harzlife.de
7. ↑ ^{a b} Der Sachsenstein , accessed on June 8, 2012, harzlife.de
8. ↑ Die Zwergenlöcher near Bad Sachsa , accessed on June 8, 2012, on harzlife.de
9. ↑ Quellungshöhlen , accessed June 8, 2012 on karst trail
10. ↑ Waldschmiede , accessed on June 8, 2012, on karstwanderweg.de
11. ↑ Die Zwerge vom Sachsenstein , accessed on June 8, 2012, on karstwanderweg.de
12. ↑ Die Jungfer vom Sachsenstein , accessed on June 8, 2012, on karstwanderweg.de
13. ↑ Sagen von Zwerglöchern , accessed on June 8, 2012, on karstwanderweg.de
14. ↑ Sachsensteinwand , accessed on June 8, 2012, on karstwanderweg.de
15. ↑ The Mönchswald , Harz hiking trail, accessed on September 30, 2019.
16. ↑ Der Mönchswald , Harzlife, accessed on September 30, 2019.
17. ↑ The nature reserve "Priorteich - Sachsenstein" , accessed on June 8, 2012, at harzlife.de
18. ↑ Topographical map southeast of Bad Sachsa , accessed on June 8, 2012, from karstwanderweg.de
19. ↑ Harzer Wanderadel: stamp point 166 / Sachsensteinhütte , on harzer-wandernadel.de