A reclaimed ironstone open-pit turned mosaic of ponds, heaths, and pioneer forest along the Salzgitter ridge.
Tagebau Haverlahwiese
Tagebau Haverlahwiese is a nature reserve (Naturschutzgebiet) in the city of Salzgitter in Lower Saxony, Germany. It protects a former open-pit ironstone mining site that operated between 1937 and 1967, on the southwestern slope of the Lichtenberge, part of the Salzgitter ridge (Salzgitterscher Höhenzug).
The roughly 206-hectare reserve is largely coincident with a 116.7-hectare EU Habitats Directive (FFH) site designated for the northern crested newt (Kammmolch). After mining ended, the area was restored in stages through the 1980s and has since developed into a richly varied landscape of open biotopes, a mining lake, pioneer woodland, dry calcareous grassland, reedbeds, saline flushes, and mixed deciduous forest along the pit slopes.
The reserve has been protected since 30 June 2016 and is administered by the city of Salzgitter as the lower nature conservation authority, with overall oversight from the Lower Saxon Agency for Water Management, Coastal Defense, and Nature Conservation (NLWKN). It is most valued for its mosaic of dry and wet habitats on former industrial land, which now supports regionally rare amphibians, dragonflies, and salt-tolerant plant communities.
