A protected wetland of former Neckar river loops in the Hessian Rhine plain.
Altneckarlachen von Alsbach, Hähnlein und Bickenbach
The Altneckarlachen von Alsbach, Hähnlein und Bickenbach is a nature reserve in the southern Hessian Rhine plain, covering a 89.24-hectare mosaic of silted-up former river loops, shallow water zones, reed beds, wet meadows, and black-alder swamp forest. Located in the municipalities of Alsbach-Hähnlein and Bickenbach in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, it preserves a characteristic cross-section of the ancient course of the Neckar, known as the Altneckar, that once carried waters from the Odenwald into the proto-Rhine.
The reserve was formally designated on 28 August 1990 under Hessian nature protection law and is classified as an IUCN Category IV Habitat and Species Management Area. It is also part of the larger EU Birds Directive site known as the Hessische Altneckarschlingen, giving it additional importance for bird conservation in the region. The protected landscape includes four named waterbodies, the Waldlache, Fasanenlache, Schächerlache, and Hainlache, together with the gentle heights of the Weilerhügel.
Its ecological value lies in the combination of low-moor soils, fluctuating groundwater levels, and active rewetting management that maintains reed belts, shallow marshland, and grazing meadows. The site supports breeding waterbirds, amphibians, fish, bats, and one of the more species-rich large-moth communities recorded in the Hessian Ried.
