A two-part landscape protection area around Hagen, framing the Wannebach valley with forest, farmland, and a historic execution site.
Landschaftsschutzgebiet Berchumer Heide, Reher Heide
Landschaftsschutzgebiet Berchumer Heide, Reher Heide is a designated landscape protection area in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, situated within the urban district of Hagen in the city districts of Berchum and Reh. Covering roughly 623 hectares and split into two separate sections, the protected area was formally designated in 1994 through Hagen's city landscape plan. The area is shaped by a distinct contrast between closed forest in the south and open agricultural land in the north, with the Wannebach valley forming a central natural spine.
It encompasses the nature reserves Unteres Wannebachtal and Oberes Wannebachtal, and abuts neighboring protected areas in the Märkischer Kreis and the Kreis Unna. The hillside known as the Rehberg, reaching 229 meters in elevation, is a notable local landmark within the protected area. Beyond its ecological value, the landscape protection area hosts elements of regional cultural heritage, including the historical Reher Galgen execution site, marked by a small earthen mound along the Schälker Landstraße.
The site's protected status is explicitly tied to preserving near-natural habitats, maintaining the visual character of the cultivated woodlands and grassland mosaic, and providing a quiet recreational landscape on the edge of an urban district. The landscape plan emphasizes the area's role as natural habitat, scenic amenity, and a green extension of Hagen's open space network.
