A protected Swabian Alb landscape encircling the municipality of Westerstetten, preserving dry valleys, juniper heath, and traditional cultural countryside.
Westerstetten Landscape Protection Area
The Westerstetten Landscape Protection Area is a designated protected landscape in the Alb-Donau district of Baden-Württemberg, in southern Germany. Set on the Swabian Alb, it forms a ring of protected countryside around the municipality of Westerstetten, linking parts of the Lone valley with side dry valleys, surrounding karst plateaus, and extensive connected woodlands.
The designation focuses on preserving the characteristic blend of natural landforms and centuries-old cultural landscape elements typical of the Schwäbische Alb. Field hedges, dry stone walls, juniper heath, lean grasslands, traditional orchards, and isolated trees shape a mosaic of habitats that the protected area is committed to safeguarding.
Although modest in international profile, the protected landscape carries meaningful value at the regional scale. It maintains a regionally important recreation space, supports ecological connectivity with the adjacent Natura 2000 site of Kuppenalb bei Laichingen und Lonetal, and protects the scenic, largely undeveloped character of an area that would otherwise face ongoing pressure from land use change.
