Why Spätwürmeiszeitliche Terrassen zwischen Burnau, Prestenberg, Vorderreute, Buch und Krumbach stands out
The protected area is most notable for its preservation of late Würm glacial terraces, a series of flat, stepped landforms created by meltwater rivers and shifting stream channels at the end of the last ice age. Within the context of the Upper Swabian hill country, these terraces offer a compact but instructive record of late glacial river history and fluvioglacial landscape formation. The site is also valued as a representative example of the small, geologically focused Landschaftsschutzgebiete that complement the larger nature reserves of the Bodensee region.
Spätwürmeiszeitliche Terrassen zwischen Burnau, Prestenberg, Vorderreute, Buch und Krumbach history and protected-area timeline
The protected landscape was formally designated on 25 January 1963 through a regulation issued by the Landratsamt Tettnang acting as the lower nature conservation authority. Its establishment was part of the broader post-war wave of conservation designations in Baden-Württemberg, when many small but scientifically meaningful glacial and cultural landscapes were placed under protection as Landschaftsschutzgebiete. The selection of this specific area reflects a long-standing regional interest in preserving the late Würm glacial terraces as a record of the final stages of the last ice age in the Upper Swabian hill country.
Spätwürmeiszeitliche Terrassen zwischen Burnau, Prestenberg, Vorderreute, Buch und Krumbach landscape and geographic character
The terrain is defined by a series of flat, step-like terraces that step gently across the Upper Swabian hill country. These landforms are the legacy of late Würm glacial meltwater, which reshaped the valleys with shifting braided streams as the ice sheet retreated. Today the terraces appear as broad, level surfaces separated by low scarps, creating a subtle but clearly readable staircase in the land.
The area sits at roughly 527 meters above sea level and falls naturally within the Oberschwäbisches Hügelland, a region of smoothly rolling hills, glacial deposits, and shallow glacial valleys. To the northeast, the Schwarzach river, a tributary of the Schussen, marks the boundary with Landkreis Ravensburg and gives the surrounding landscape a quiet valley character. Between the terraces and the river, smaller slopes and edge habitats help frame the protected system. The combination of open terrace flats, low scarp edges, and nearby stream valley gives the area its compact but geologically expressive appearance.
Spätwürmeiszeitliche Terrassen zwischen Burnau, Prestenberg, Vorderreute, Buch und Krumbach ecosystems, habitats, and plant life
Although the core value of the protected area is geological, its terrace landforms support the ecological character typical of this part of Upper Swabia. The flat terrace surfaces, low scarps, and edges next to the Schwarzach valley give rise to a mosaic of grassland, hedgerow, small woodland patches, and stream-side habitats that is characteristic of the Oberschwäbisches Hügelland.
The landscape protection status helps maintain this mosaic by limiting land use changes that would otherwise erase the subtle relief of the terraces. In ecological terms, the area functions as a small but representative piece of the glacial terrain that defines Upper Swabia, and its protection indirectly preserves the habitat patterns that depend on that terrain.
Spätwürmeiszeitliche Terrassen zwischen Burnau, Prestenberg, Vorderreute, Buch und Krumbach conservation status and protection priorities
The central purpose of the protected landscape is the conservation of geomorphologically significant late Würm glacial terraces. By maintaining these features in their natural shape, the designation protects an unusually clear local record of glacial river history that would otherwise be vulnerable to agricultural leveling or development. As a Landschaftsschutzgebiet within the Bodenseekreis network, it contributes to a broader regional effort to preserve the glacial and cultural landscape elements of Upper Swabia alongside neighboring sites such as drumlins, end moraines, and lake-edge protection areas.
Top sights and standout views in Spätwürmeiszeitliche Terrassen zwischen Burnau, Prestenberg, Vorderreute, Buch und Krumbach
The protected area's most distinctive feature is its compact system of late Würm glacial terraces, step-like landforms that document the final phase of the last ice age in the Upper Swabian foreland. Their preservation within a small 22 hectare landscape protection area, combined with the scenic context of the Schwarzach valley and the gentle hills of the Oberschwäbisches Hügelland, makes the site a quietly characteristic example of how glacial history continues to shape the Bodensee region's everyday landscape.
