Ballons des Vosges Regional Nature Park
The Ballons des Vosges Regional Nature Park (French: Parc naturel régional des Ballons des Vosges ) is a nature park in France. It was founded on June 5, 1989 and covers an area of around 300,000 hectares and a settlement area of 254,000 inhabitants. The nature park consists of a total of 208 communities. These are located in two regions of France:
- in the Grand Est region :
- Haut-Rhin department (109 municipalities)
- Vosges department (47 municipalities)
- in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region :
- Haute-Saône (36 municipalities) and
- Territoire de Belfort (16 municipalities)
In addition to the 208 founding communities, there are 4 more that are associated with the park as access points. They are:
The park administration is based in the municipality of Munster , ( 48 ° 2 ′ 24 ″ N , 7 ° 8 ′ 14 ″ E ).
landscape
The park is grouped around the southern part of the Vosges , the peaks of which reach the greatest heights of the massif, which is why one speaks of the High Vosges . The shape of the summit has been ground down by the ancient glacier movements to round peaks, which are called Belchen (French balloons ). The most important peaks are:
- Großer Belchen ( Grand Ballon ) (1424 m)
- Hohneck (1363 m)
- Tanet (1292 m)
- Kahler Wasen ( Petit Ballon ) (1272 m)
- Alsatian Belchen ( Ballon d'Alsace ) (1247 m)
- Grand Brézouard (1229 m)
- Drumont (1223 m)
- Ballon de Servance (1216 m)
- Grand Ventron (1204 m)
- Planche des Belles Filles (1148 m)
The Vosges ridge is accessed by a ridge road, the Route des Crêtes . The largely treeless landscape is not permanently inhabited, but is mainly used for alpine farming and tourism .
In the north, the Northern Vosges join, for which there is a separate nature park, the regional nature park "Vosges du Nord" .
The foothills of the Vosges to the west, southwest, south and east are largely integrated into the nature park. These areas have a much higher population density and are used in a variety of ways for agriculture and industry . The nature park's mission here is to find a constant balance between protecting the natural and cultural heritage and sustainable local development.
The Plateau des Mille Étangs is an area with ponds that were formed during the last glacial period in the northeastern part of the Haute-Saône department . This region, mostly covered with forest, is of ecological interest due to its wetlands, which are home to remarkable biotopes adapted to a cold and humid environment.