Climate of the Nahe valley

Precipitation at the source of the Nahe is much higher (900mm per year) than at its mouth (up to 550mm per year). The average yearly temperature at the source is around 7 degrees Celsius, while the area of the lower Nahe averages 9.5 degrees Celsius, making it one of the warmest and driest areas of Germany.

This climate gives rise to certain plants and groups of wildflowers otherwise not seen in Germany: Felsheide, Steppenheide and Felsahornwald, as well as species usually restricted to Mediterranean habitat. Characteristic plants are Juneberry, Wild Apple and Mahaleb Cherry. Dittany, Mountain Medlar, Feather Grass, Blue Saxifrage and Hart's Tongue Fern were already described in detail in 1735 by Johann Christian Senckenberg of Frankfurt, a physician and naturalist. Some types of orchids, such as the rare Lizard Orchid (Himantoglossum hircinum) belong to the botanical gems of our latitudes. All this was known in medieval times, because Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), the most famous woman of her time, collected and described plants along the Nahe, especially medicinal plants. Viewed from today, it is remarkable that in the "Physica" by Hildegard von Bingen, there are more than 250 plant types described.

Where else do you find so many wild orchids and other botanical treasures?

The "Nature Paradise Nahe-Hunsrück" encompasses numerous nature preserves where it is legally forbidden to do anything destructive or damaging to the balance of nature. Nature preserves represent a little piece of "natural" landscape, giving the flora and fauna an undisturbed place to develop, and people —if they are careful in their dealing with it— an opportunity for relaxation and the experience of untouched nature. In the middle Nahe area it especially the microclimate of the nature preserve at the Hellberg near Kirn, at the Maasberg and the Disibodenberg near Bad Sobernheim, at the Heimberg near Schloßböckelheim, as well as at the Lemberg, the Rotenfels and the Rheingrafenstein near Bad Münster am Stein, where unique plant and animal types have been allowed to develop. The more than 800 kilometers of marked nature trails of the Nahe-Hunsrück region invite you to active relaxation.

For further information: Peitz E., Ein alter Weinberg wird Orchideen-Schutzgebiet. Die Orchidee 35(1), 1984: 31-34