Südliche Weinstraße Wildlife Park

The Südliche Weinstraße Wildlife Park is located in the Wasgau, a region on the Franco-German border that forms the southern part of the Palatine Forest and the northern part of the Vosges, near the village of Silz in the south of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The park is not named after the German Wine Route which passes about 6 kilometres away, but after the county of Südliche Weinstraße . The tourist attraction receives about 100,000 visitors annually.LocationThe park, which is part of the Franco-German Palatine Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve, is located in the Klingbach valley and is surrounded by hills. It lies between 200 and 350 metres above sea level and has an area of about 100 hectares. The French border is 12 kilometres away to the south.HistoryThe park was based on a planning study by the president of the wildlife enclosure section of the International Hunting Association, Heinrich Prinz Reuß. The planning laid particular value on family-oriented amenities and only used land that would otherwise have been abandoned. The then Mayor of Silz, Franz Andelfinger, became involved as the Oberamtsrat at the Südliche Weinstraße county council aiming to unite professional expertise and municipal requirements and to locate the wildlife and walking park in the parish of Silz.