Unteres Odertal National Park

Germany’s Only Floodplain National Park
The Lower Oder Valley National Park is Germany’s only floodplain national parkand is one of the country’s most species-rich habitats. The heart of the national park is the floodplain landscape of the Lower Oder Valley. Here, there are large polders that are regularly flooded. This has allowed typical floodplain habitats and species to be preserved. In addition to the floodplain landscape, the park features near-natural mixed deciduous forests and flower-rich dry grasslands on the adjacent slopes. The Lower Oder Valley National Park is 50 kilometers long, up to five kilometers wide, and covers an area of over 10,000 hectares. It lies on the western bank of the Oder River and stretches from Hohensaaten in the south to Staffelde in the north.

A Park Rich in Biodiversity
With its river oxbow lakes and regularly flooded floodplains, the Unteres Odertal is a paradise for waterfowl, serving as a breeding, resting, and wintering ground. More than 145 bird species breed in the national park; in spring and fall, visitors can observe the migration of thousands of geese, ducks, whooper swans, and cranes. The Oder is famous for its fish fauna; over 45 fish species inhabit the river, which in many areas remains quite close to its natural state. This biodiversity is due to the varied landscape—shaped by the Ice Age and the Oder River—and the transition zone between Atlantic and continental climates. Plant species such as the pheasant’s eye and feather grass reach their westernmost limits here.

Pure Wilderness
The designation as a national park has one key goal: to let nature be nature. The cultural landscape is disappearing across large areas, and a “touch of wilderness” is returning to the Unteres Odertal. The goal is to restore the floodplain landscape to its natural state and to establish a safe flooding regime that corresponds to a near-natural river floodplain. The protected area is part of the European ecological network Natura 2000.

German-Polish National Park AreaUnteres Odertal National Park is also the first large-scale cross-border protected area shared with Poland. The natural landscape of the Unteres Odertal, with its unique flora and fauna, connects Germany and Poland. The Unteres Odertal National Park, the Unteres Odertal Region Landscape Conservation Area, and the Polish landscape conservation parks (Park Krajobrazowy) Dolina Dolnej Odry and Cedynia together form the Unteres Odertal Network of Protected Areas. The national park administration and the administration of the West Pomeranian landscape conservation parks work closely together on the protection and further development of the area.