A large Bavarian natural forest reserve in the Ammergauer Alps, protecting mountain mixed forest and rare snow heath pine woodland.
Naturwald Kramer
Naturwald Kramer is a designated natural forest in the Ammergauer Alps of Upper Bavaria, Germany, situated west of the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the district of the same name. Established in 2020, it covers roughly 1590 hectares of mountain forest between approximately 755 meters and just below 1950 meters in elevation, making it one of the largest and most significant forest protection areas in Bavaria.
The protected landscape spans a wide altitudinal gradient, from the valley floor near the Bundesstraße 23 up to peaks such as the Kramerspitz, Hoher Ziegspitz, and Rauhenstein. Several Loisach tributaries, including the Beistallaine, Zieggraben, Kammerlaine, Dürerlaine, Kögerlaine, and Ackerlaine, drain through its valleys, shaping both the forest mosaic and the underlying dolomitic geology.
Protected as a Natura 2000 site (Habitats Directive) and embedded within a larger Special Protection Area for birds, Naturwald Kramer falls within the larger Ammergebirge conservation framework. It represents an important example of permanently set-aside mountain forest, allowing natural forest development without timber harvesting.