Welcome to Bourtanger Moor Nature Park

Whether on an excursion in the early morning or a cycling trip in the evening, when the sun's first or last rays bathe the endless expanse of the moor in warm light, the world stands still for a moment. Then the raw beauty of the moor is reflected in the array of colours formed by the plant and animal life and in the partly wild, partly sparse natural features. The many different natural spaces are best explored by bicycle. Numerous seats and rest facilities invite you to relax amid the beauty of the moor.

In spring the cotton grass overspreads the moor like a carpet of white; in August the heather transforms the vast expanse into a sea of violet blossom; and in winter the countryside is covered in frost or snow.
In the dusk the moor takes on an almost mystically dramatic look, beautiful, yet dangerous. The horizon is a long way off, and an unaccustomed stillness lies over the countryside: at certain times of the day and year the moor looks almost unreal and so makes an even more unique setting for walking in.

Nature in Bourtanger Moor Nature Park changes entirely from season to season. Each nature season has its own quite special charm, which needs to be discovered within the different ecosystems on both sides of the German-Netherlands border.

For centuries nature – the moors on both sides of the border – had to be encroached on to enable settlement and create better living conditions. The moors were cultivated for agricultural use and exploited by the peat industry. On both sides of the border this "moorland region" was therefore able to develop into an area worth living in and a notable economic location. However, at the end of the 1960s people in the Netherlands part were already starting to change their thinking, followed later after three decades by those on the German side. The enormous value of the unique wetland living space for species and climate protection and for recreation and quality of life was recognised, remaining raised bog areas were preserved on a small scale and initial renaturation measures were initiated by rewetting.

Between 2015 and 2019 6.54 million euros were invested in the cross-border "Limitless Moorland" project in the German-Netherlands Nature Park. The aim of the project was to develop a cross-border moorland nature, economic and experience area on the basis of the unique landscape of this region. Through targeted measures this basis was preserved, the experience area developed and the economic power of the region strengthened.

Of all the vipers the common adder is the most widely and most northerly distributed and is even to be found north of the Arctic Circle. However, it is most commonly found in the North German lowlands (heath, wetland). Common adders are easy to identify by their jagged dorsal stripe and vertically split pupils. View these impressive reptiles close up in this video, which was made in the Bargerveen Nature Reserve.