About St. Peter, St. Märgen
St. Peter, St. Märgen
St. Peter, St. Märgen is a designated protected landscape (Landschaftsschutzgebiet) in the High Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, encircling the villages of St. Peter and St. Märgen in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district. Covering around 6719 hectares, it lies across two natural regions of the Central Black Forest and protects a representative, sparsely settled cultural landscape where large forest tracts alternate with traditionally managed grasslands and historic farmsteads.
The area's western edge is defined by narrow, steep-sided valleys, while the central villages sit on broad plateau terrain and the northern parts rise above 1000 metres. This altitudinal range, combined with brooks, wet meadows, hedgerows and individual old trees, creates a varied and visually rich countryside that the protection ordinance specifically aims to preserve. WWF and SPA networks overlap with the protected area, including the Kandelwald, Roßkopf und Zartener Becken Habitats Directive site and the Mittlerer Schwarzwald bird protection area, while the stricter Zweribach and Häuslematt nature reserves lie outside the landscape protection designation.
Recognized for its ecological balance, recreational value and the cultural identity of its dispersed farm settlement pattern, St. Peter, St. Märgen exemplifies the long-established relationship between human land use and natural scenery in the High Black Forest. Designated on 16 June 2003, it remains an important unit in the regional system of protected landscapes that help maintain the character of the Black Forest as both a natural and cultural landscape.
