Elm-Lappwald Nature Park

The nature park has an area of about 470 square kilometres (180 sq mi) and lies within the districts of Helmstedt and Wolfenbüttel.

The last ice age ( the Weichselian glaciation) around 12,000 years ago deposited a layer of loess up to 3 metres thick in the southern part of the Helmstedt Bowl and in the entire Schöppenstedt Basin, on which fertile black and brown earths were formed.

A thick deciduous vegetation developed in the time after the ice age and covered the whole area of the present-day park.

The area of the present-day nature park was already permanently settled in the 6th century BC, as evinced by the megalith graves.

The greatest loss of woodland occurred during the time of the great clearances (900 to 1200 AD), when the natural landscape was "brought under cultivation".

A key factor in the early development of Helmstedt (already established by 952) was its location on the trade route from Brunswick to Magdeburg, the present B 1 federal highway.

Amongst the varied landscapes of the natur park are large areas of forest, moors, springs, lakes, heathland, salt meadows and chalk downs, rich in plant species.