Dreiborn Plateau

The plateau is bisected in an east to west direction by the B 266 federal road along the Sauerbach stream, on which is located the so-called Heilsteinquelle ("Healing Stone Spring"), rediscovered in 1863 and probably used as early as Roman times.

The woods were not managed for almost 60 years, whilst the terrain was used as a military training area, and, as a result, large tracts have reached a natural state similar to that of ancient forests in which old and dead trees have not been cut or cleared.

The preservation of this natural forest as a habitat for, in some cases rare, species of animal like the European wildcat, and the establishment of specially protected zones around breeding colonies of cormorant, grey heron and black stork are aims that the National Park authority has set itself.

The open terrain of the plateau, which was used for agriculture and sheep-grazing before the establishment of the training area in 1946 and was thus a cultural landscape, is dominated today by the broad grasslands of the Ginster, which is a popular tourist attraction during its blossom time in May.

The National Park authority is still working out whether and to what extent this open countryside can and should be preserved as a former cultural landscape, in order to maintain the views and to enable visitors to see red deer that are active during the day at specially selected sites, such as observation platforms.