Why FFH-Gebiet Wittensee und Flächen angrenzender Niederungen stands out
The site is best known for the glacial Wittensee, a kettle lake classified as the FFH habitat type 3140 (nutrient-poor to moderately nutrient-rich calcareous standing waters with charophyte algae). It is also recognized for the narrow Schirnauer Au stream corridor with rich riparian woodland, the small calcareous tufa spring in Groß Wittensee, and the calcareous fen meadow complex along the Habyer Au. Together these features form a representative lake-and-lowland Natura 2000 complex on the western Dänischer Wohld.
FFH-Gebiet Wittensee und Flächen angrenzender Niederungen history and protected-area timeline
The conservation history of the area follows the EU Natura 2000 process almost step for step. The standard data form for the FFH-Gebiet was drawn up in June 2004 by the Landesamt für Landwirtschaft, Umwelt und ländliche Räume (LLUR) of Schleswig-Holstein. In September 2004 the site was proposed as a Site of Community Importance (Gebiet von gemeinsinschaftlicher Bedeutung), in November 2007 the European Union confirmed this status, and in January 2010 the area was nationally designated under sections 32 (2-4) of the Federal Nature Conservation Act in conjunction with section 23 of the Schleswig-Holstein State Nature Conservation Act as a Besonderes Erhaltungsgebiet (special area of conservation).
The protection it now enjoys sits within a longer-standing framework of regional landscape conservation. The area is part of the Landschaftsschutzgebiet Wittensee, Hüttener und Duvenstedter Berge, established on 9 March 2001, and lies inside the Naturpark Hüttener Berge, where a dedicated association, the Verein zur Förderung des Umweltschutzes und der Landschaftspflege im Raume des Naturparks Hüttener Berge (VFUL), acts as site manager on behalf of the state. The Wittensee had already been recognised as a glacially formed geotope before Natura 2000 designation. A detailed site management plan was completed in October 2015, and the latest data form revision was released in July 2020. Schleswig-Holstein carries out a six-yearly monitoring of the site's conservation success, with the most recent results not yet published as of mid-2022.
FFH-Gebiet Wittensee und Flächen angrenzender Niederungen landscape and geographic character
The protected area sits in gently undulating countryside shaped by the Weichselian glaciation, with ground and terminal moraines of the Weichsel complex overlain by glacial sands. Elevations are modest: the highest point reaches about 16 m above sea level (NHN) at the edge of Klein Wittensee, while the lake surface of the Wittensee lies at roughly 3.8 m above NHN, giving the entire site a subtle relief.
The Wittensee is a classic glacial scour basin, a broadly rounded lake with relatively shallow margins, fed by ten small streams and drained to the south by the Schirnauer Au toward the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal. Around its shoreline narrow belts of alder-ash and softwood floodplain woodland soften the transition from water to land, while along the Schirnauer Au an almost continuous corridor of floodplain woodland runs down to the canal. The separate fen-meadow sub-area along the Habyer Au, set slightly higher and a kilometre to the west of the main unit, has a different feel: a flattened, marshy depression enclosed by wet grassland.
To the south, the landscape opens out along the southernmost extension of the site near the Schirnau district of Bünsdorf, where the Schirnauer Au crosses an historic arched weir close to where it discharges into the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, near the magnetic test facility of the Deutsche Marine at the Borgstedter See. On the northern edge, the terrain near the 'Schanze' point in Groß Wittensee marks the northernmost reach of the protected area.
FFH-Gebiet Wittensee und Flächen angrenzender Niederungen ecosystems, habitats, and plant life
Ecologically, the site is dominated by the standing-water ecosystem of the Wittensee. The lake is officially assigned to the FFH habitat type 3140, nutrient-poor to moderately nutrient-rich calcareous standing waters with charophyte algae, although long-term agricultural nutrient inputs have shifted it from an originally oligotrophic character to a mesotrophic state by around 2010. Long-term pH measurements at a central monitoring station have remained in the alkaline range since 1991. Under the EU Water Framework Directive the Wittensee currently shows only a moderate ecological status, with targets for good ecological status extended to 2039.
Surrounding the lake and the Schirnauer Au, riparian vegetation completes the moisture gradient. Priority alder-ash and softwood floodplain woodland (91E0*) lines the lake margins and the lower Schirnauer Au, dependent in part on the water backed up behind an historic weir. On slightly elevated ground above this corridor, small fragments of Waldmeister beech forest (9130) survive as woodland patches. Open water along the Schirnauer Au is enriched by streams with floating water vegetation (habitat type 3260) downstream of the Bünsdorf sewage works.
The detached Habyer Au sub-area brings a different ecological register. Calcareous fens (7230) and transition or floating bog communities (7140) create a delicate moisture-controlled mosaic, complemented by a recently mapped Molinia meadow (6410) and a very small calcareous tufa spring (7220*) near Groß Wittensee. A small proportion of the land area is classified as legal biotope in addition to its FFH status, while a substantial share of dry, productive grassland lies outside any FFH habitat attribution.
FFH-Gebiet Wittensee und Flächen angrenzender Niederungen wildlife and species highlights
Wildlife data for the site itself are limited, and no reliable population figures are available for any of the species listed in the Natura 2000 standard data form, all of which carry a 'data deficient' rating. The site nevertheless supports a meaningful set of species typical of the Schleswig-Holstein lake-and-wetland environment.
In the water bodies, two fish species of conservation interest are recorded: the spined loach (Steinbeißer, Cobitis taenia, species 1149) and the European brook lamprey (Bachneunauge, Lampetra planeri, species 1096). The otter (Fischotter, Lutra lutra, species 1355) is also listed for the area, reflecting the wetland-rich character of the catchment. Along the lake margins, shrubby and field-edge habitats host the red-backed shrike (Neuntöter, Lanius collurio, species A338).
The lake itself is regularly sampled at a deep-water monitoring station in operation since 1991, providing one of the longer hydrochemical time series for a lake of this type in the region. The combination of fish, otter, and breeding bird features, even with data-deficient ratings, is consistent with the site's broader role as a refuge within an otherwise heavily agricultural landscape.
FFH-Gebiet Wittensee und Flächen angrenzender Niederungen conservation status and protection priorities
The site's conservation significance lies in its concentration of several Annex I habitat types and Annex II species within a small, low-lying farming landscape. Standing-water, stream, fen, bog, spring, beech forest, and riparian woodland all converge here, making the protected area disproportionately valuable for habitat connectivity in the western Dänischer Wohld. The lake's western shoreline, the Schirnau valley, and the Habyer Au fen area form a key component of the state's biotope network, supplemented by secondary corridors along the northern and southern ends of the lake.
Habitat condition assessments are mixed. While most habitat types are rated in an overall 'good' state, several, including the priority alder-ash floodplain woodland and the lake itself, are rated 'unfavourable' in detailed condition. The lake's gradual nutrient enrichment over recent decades is the principal pressure, made worse by additional runoff from expanding residential developments around the shoreline. Conservation measures accordingly focus on extensive grazing, retention of natural shoreline zones, conversion of intensive grassland to extensive use near streams, and the creation of buffer strips along the Habyer Au, Brobach, Meynbek, Mühlenbek, and the middle reaches of the Schirnauer Au.
A particular management tension exists at the Schirnauer Au: the arched weir currently maintains water levels that support the priority floodplain woodland downstream, while the EU Water Framework Directive calls for free fish passage to the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal. A fish bypass has been constructed, but its effectiveness is questioned, illustrating the broader challenge of reconciling habitat and water-quality objectives within a single Natura 2000 site.
FFH-Gebiet Wittensee und Flächen angrenzender Niederungen cultural meaning and human context
The protected areas sit within a deeply rural cultural landscape in eastern Schleswig-Holstein, where small communities such as Groß Wittensee, Klein Wittensee, Haby, Sehestedt and Bünsdorf have shaped the shoreline and the stream valleys for centuries. The former water mill at Schirnau is the most visible cultural feature within the site, marked today by an arched weir (Bogenwehr) that controls the Schirnauer Au just upstream of its confluence with the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal.
Today the lake is ringed by both long-standing farms and a significant number of holiday properties along the shore, contributing to land-use pressure that the management plan now addresses through voluntary low-intensity care agreements. The site's broader setting within the Naturpark Hüttener Berge and the surrounding Landschaftsschutzgebiet reinforces a long regional tradition of combining productive land use with landscape and nature conservation.
Top sights and standout views in FFH-Gebiet Wittensee und Flächen angrenzender Niederungen
The site's standout features are the glacial Wittensee, an Annex I standing-water habitat with a long-term monitoring series; the rare calcareous tufa spring near Groß Wittensee; the Schirnau valley, where the Schirnauer Au links the lake to the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal through an arched weir and an historic mill site; and the modest but ecologically distinct fen-and-bog complex along the Habyer Au. Together these provide a compact but unusually varied example of northern German lake-and-lowland conservation.
Best time to visit FFH-Gebiet Wittensee und Flächen angrenzender Niederungen
The site is largely a working agricultural and residential landscape rather than a formal visitor destination, and seasonality is best considered in ecological rather than travel terms. Spring and early summer are the most productive periods for observing wetland vegetation around the Wittensee and along the Schirnauer Au, when floating water plants are actively growing and the floodplain woodlands are in full leaf. Autumn tends to highlight shoreline vegetation patterns and riparian colour along the lake and stream corridors, while winter reveals the openness of the lake and the broader Dänischer Wohld skyline.
