UNESCO World Natural Heritage Beech Forests in Europe.
Beech forests are Europe’s original wilderness. Over time, the ancient beech forests and near-natural beech forests in Europe have shrunk to tiny remnants. For this reason, beech forests have been protected by the UNESCO Committee for humanity. Even though the Ice Age is long over, the beech tree continues to spread from its former refuge in Southern Europe to the north. This ongoing process is so unique that UNESCO added the beech forests to the World Heritage List. Those interested in the formation of the Grumsin Beech Forest and the Ice Age can find more information in the exhibition at the Geoparkzentrums in Groß-Ziethen.
When the World Heritage site was established in 2007, it consisted of six areas in Ukraine and four in Slovakia. Soon after, a steady expansion began. In 2011, five German areas were added, followed by 63 more beech forest areas in 2017 and another 15 in 2021. Currently, there are 93 forest areas (due to mergers, it is not 94 areas) in 18 countries, covering approximately 100,000 hectares. It is the only World Heritage Site worldwide that connects so many areas. It includes forests and primeval forests in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Croatia, the Czech Republic, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.
Further developments are still pending. Today, the series of beech forests bears the title: „Primeval and Old Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe“.
For more information, visit the website that provides details about all the Weltnaturerbe Buchenwälder in Europe.
World Heritage beech forests connect
cThe subareas of the World Heritage Beech Forests are not isolated but are interconnected through joint management of the World Heritage site (coordination and contakt)
and cross-border projects between regions, involving the commitment of various stakeholders (NGOs, protected areas, city administrations, municipalities, etc.). One of the first such projects was the Interreg project BEECH-POWER with partners from Germany, Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Its goal was to improve the integrated management of the UNESCO World Heritage site and enhance the quality and effectiveness of World Heritage management.
For more details, visit the website of the Stadt Angermünde.
After the BEECH POWER project, the Interreg-Projekt Gesunde Waldregionen (Healthy Forest Regions) followed, which will run until March 2026.
The city of Angermünde is one of nine project partners in total, represented in six European countries (Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany). The goal is to secure healthy forest ecosystems and ensure their contribution to human well-being.
More information is available on the website of the Stadt Angermünde.
Simultaneously, the LIFE Prognosis-Projekt ran from January 2021 to December 2024, focusing on scientific research into the ecosystem services of ancient forests. Another emphasis is on communicating the unique value of beech forests at the European, national and local levels. For example, guided tours are offered for local residents, including elementary school children.
Project partners include Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Czechia, and Ukraine.
For more details, visit the website of the Stadt Angermünde.
In addition, the city of Angermünde, in collaboration with international partners, organizes Jugendaustauschprojekte through ERASMUS+ to promote awareness of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage site and foster education for sustainable development.
