Black Forest National Park

The Black Forest National Park was created on 1 January 2014 and is the first national park in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The state parliament voted for its establishment on 28 November 2013. The national park has an area of 10062ha and is located on the main crest of the Northern Black Forest, mainly between the Black Forest High Road and the valley of the Murg. It comprises two separate areas, roughly 3.5 kilometres apart, around Ruhestein and Hoher Ochsenkopf/Plättig and is part of the Central/North Black Forest Nature Park . The park was officially opened on 3 May 2014The establishment of a national park in the Black Forest was politically controversial. It was opposed by the state's opposition parties - the CDU and FDP - by representatives of the timber industry and by some of the affected population, whilst being supported by the SPD and Greens, the conservation associations and other parts of the populations of the Northern Black Forest.