Top 20 Natural Monuments around Hochdonn

Kudensee is a municipality in the Steinburg district in Schleswig-Holstein, and also the name of the largest lake in the Dithmarschen district. The Kudensee, with an area of 38.9 hectares, has been a nature reserve since 1935 and has been expanded to 172 hectares since 1992. The lake is the last shallow-water lake in the Elbe marshes and an important European bird sanctuary. It provides a habitat for numerous bird species, including the rare bittern, and serves as a resting place for many migratory birds. The Kudensee is characterized by its extensive reed beds, remnants of marsh forest and willow bushes. The bottom of the lake consists of both soft mud and hard sand. Due to its shallow depth of a maximum of 1.2 meters, the lake has an almost uniform temperature and oxygen distribution, except when the ice is closed, which can be unfavorable for the fish. The fish species living in the lake include bream, white bream, roach, perch, ruffe, eel, pike and zander.

The Hopen burial mound field near Sankt Michaelisdonn in Schleswig-Holstein is an important archaeological site with a long history. The burial mounds mostly date from the Bronze Age (around 1800 - 1000 BC) and the pre-Roman Iron Age. The site, which originally covered extensive heathland, now consists of a few larger and many smaller burial mounds. The larger mounds are typical of the older Bronze Age and have often been enlarged by multiple reburials. The smaller burial mounds usually house urn graves containing the ashes of the deceased. Despite the cultivation and changes to the landscape since the 19th century, some of these historic sites have been preserved and offer interesting insights into burial practices and life at the time. The Hopen burial mound field is now a popular destination for hiking and cycling. Visitors can explore the remains of the mounds and learn more about the history and archaeology of the region. There are also other attractions nearby such as St. Michaelisdonn Airport and St. Michael's Church.

Very clean place with shelter and guest book

Very nice view, with a bad route

Who can claim that they were once below sea level? Great highlight!

A small piece of dry grass is the last remnant of the originally extensive heathland, which only disappeared through cultivation in the 19th century. It comprises what was once a much larger field of a few larger and many smaller burial mounds, the former of which may be of the Bronze Age, the latter predominantly of the pre-Roman Iron Age.

The Kudensee is the last surviving Dithmarscher See, which was once formed from sea bays. Today the Kudensee has a water area of around 40 hectares and is home to a large number of different marsh and water birds.

The “Herrenmoor near Kleve” can be circumnavigated on foot from Nuttelner Vierth on municipal paths. Some of the paths are also accessible by bike. Unfortunately, the railway bridge from Kleve "Achtern Barg" to Nuttelner Vierth/Nuttelner Heide Hügel was dismantled and no replacement was made for cost reasons. This slowly beginning moor development can now be experienced by the visitor on the Nutteln moor side, where a small oak plank path leads into the moor grassland areas. https://www.steinburg.de/kreisverwaltung/information-der-fachaemter/amt-fuer-umweltschutz/naturschutz/schutzgebiete-u-schuetzte-objects/nreservate/herrenmoor-bei-kleve.html