Superb walking trails in Germany's Saxony forests

By Detlef Berg Nov 3, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Dresden - The Tharandt forest south-west of Dresden has a long history and offers some of the best walking trails to be found in the federal German state of Saxony.

Although virtually at the gates of the Saxony capital, the forest covers around 6,000 hectares with approximately 190 kilometres of signposted trails.

Elector August of Saxony first commissioned a hunting lodge to be built here between 1554 and 1558. The monarch hoped that being surrounded by nature would help him forget his worries and concerns.

The lodge was later converted into a small hunting castle during the reign of Elector Augustus the Strong. The building is currently undergoing extensive renovation ahead of housing Saxony's Institute for Nature and the Environment although the beautiful stone bridge over a romantic boating pond gives a clear indication of how idyllic this place once was.

The surrounding area can be easily explored with the help of specially designed forest experience trails, including senses and adventure trails. The path to the Triebisch valley doesn't involve any steep ascents and houses a 'Treasure Island' with sculptures and a balancing beam for children to play on.

The Wood trail explores the different types of trees that have been planted in the Tharandt forest, showing their unique properties and uses, such as in mining, charcoal production and house construction in nearby Dresden.

In fact, so much wood was taken from the forest that it was seriously depleted by 1800. The crisis led to the creation of a model system for sustainable forestry.

Johann Heinrich Cotta, who moved his private school to Tharandt in 1811, introduced the concept of only felling the same amount of trees that nature was able to replace.

His school became known as the Royal Saxon Forestry Academy in 1816 and is the second oldest such academy in the world after the one in St Petersburg, which was founded in 1808.

Cotta was a pioneer of modern forestry and over 8,500 students have passed through his school's doors since it opened, leaving with knowledge about matters such as long-term seeding, establishment of forested areas, and tree-cutting based on mathematic practices.

Tharandt's historic arboretum (the Forstbotanischer Garten Tharandt) also came into existence in 1811 and now consists of around 34 hectares of forest, all of which are accessible to the public.

Nearly 2,000 different species of trees can be seen here, 240 of which are indigenous to Central Europe. There is also a forestry path which is specifically designed to explain the history of forestry science.