Teufelsbäder

The ponds and marshy depressions in the nature reserve, which covers an area of roughly 84 hectares (210 acres), are fed by the Teufelsloch, a karst spring in the highland forest.

They are the remains of an intensive deposition of Werra anhydrites and a representative part of the gypsum karst landscape of the South Harz.

The Großes and Kleines Teufelsbad ("Large and Small Devil's Bath") were formed by embankments and have become silted up fishing ponds.

in 1980 the Lower Saxon State Office of Soil Science drilled 145 metres into the karst cavities below the anhydrite.

The area, which has been a nature reserve since 1984, is a habitat for rare plant species and a breeding ground for numerous birds typical of such features.