Saxon Switzerland National Park
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The Saxon Switzerland National Park is a National Park in the german Free State of Saxony next to the capital city of Dresden. It covers two areas of 93,5 km² in the hearth of the German part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains which is literally called the Saxon Switzerland.
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[edit] Location
The National Park is the centre of a natural area of almost 710 km². This region is called the Saxon Switzerland National Park Region and is cultivated by humans at many places. Some smaller towns and villages like Bad Schandau or Königstein in the district of Sächsische Schweiz are part of this region.
The core area of the National Park has a quiescent area of 40% and is covered almost completely by forest. The National Park which grants highest natural protection in Germany was established in 1990.
[edit] Landscape
The Saxon Switzerland is an intensive fissured and rocky canyon landscape. The highest peak of the National Park is at 556 metre above sea level but only in short distance to the valley of the Elbe river at 110 to 120 metre. It offers a couple of different habitats and microclimate zones due to its strong vertical division. The National Park still hosts some forms of forrest without human intervention which is an exception in central Europe. The special forms of mountain forest and gorge forest are endangered in Europe generelly. Because of the saboulus soil and the fissures many places in that area are dryer than normally in the temperate zone and are offering rough condition.
[edit] Tourism and sports
The National Parks is in some case in conflict with tourism and sports. One objective is to rise the inviolate area to 75% which means to limit the areas of hiking and climbing. Today there are some 400 km hiking paths, 49,9 km biking paths, and 755 climbing location with around 12.600 possibilities of climbing routes.
