Stenumer Holz

“Stenum” stands for Steinheim, which means place of stones. The forest is called Stenum Forest because of the many mighty granite boulders that were carried here from Scandinavia during the Saale Ice Age. They are now protected as natural monuments. The area is predominantly characterized by near-natural oak and beech forests on historically old forest sites with surrounding hedgerows. An outstanding event for the current situation is the almost complete deforestation of the Stenumer Holz and reforestation within a few decades, which took place around 200 years ago. The oaks from the pastoral forest were unsuitable for further forestry use in the opinion of the forester at the time and had to be removed. A single 500-year-old oak tree remained and is now also a natural monument under the name “Dicke Eiche”. The subsequent replanting led to the tall, straight-stemmed oaks that now dominate the Stenumer Holz.

According to the Federal Nature Conservation Act, a nature reserve is a legally designated area in which special protection of nature and landscape is required for the conservation or restoration of ecosystems, for scientific reasons or because of their rarity, uniqueness or beauty. Actions that could lead to changes or even damage to the nature reserve are prohibited.