A small protected hilltop landscape above Schorndorf, preserving a Keuper landmark and traditional orchard meadows.
Ottilienberg Landscape Protection Area
Ottilienberg is a small landscape protection area (Landschaftsschutzgebiet) on the southern outskirts of Schorndorf in the Rems-Murr district of Baden-Württemberg, in southwestern Germany. The protected area covers the entire summit region of the Ottilienberg, a rounded, geomorphologically prominent hill often described as a Keuper Zeugenberg, or outlier hill, that stands out from the surrounding terrain.
The site lies within the natural region of Schurwald and Welzheimer Wald, a hilly part of the broader Swabian Keuper-Lias landscape, and borders built-up areas of Schorndorf directly. Some developed plots are even located within the protected perimeter in the northern part. The area’s protection objectives focus on safeguarding the cultural-historic significance of the landscape, the function of the hill as a local recreation space, and the continued use of traditional orchard meadows that strongly define its character.
Ecologically, Ottilienberg is notable for its oak-dominated woodland patch on a Kieselsandstein, or silicified sandstone, knoll, along with additional woody features that shape the local landscape. The protected area also lies close to larger conservation networks, including the EU Bird Directive area of orchard and vineyard landscapes between Geradstetten, Rudersberg and Waldhausen, and the Schurwald FFH (Habitats Directive) site.
