UNESCO-Biospharenreservat Schaalsee

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Schaalsee Biosphere Reserve – Haven for migratory birds Until 1989, the Mecklenburg Schaalsee area was in the inner border region of the two Germany states and thus largely inaccessible. In the shadow of the border, between Schwerin, Hamburg and Lübeck, however, a lakeland area, unique for Central European circumstances, developed. Its centrepiece is the 72 m deep Schaalsee lake, which has many animal and plant species rarely seen elsewhere. Due to the uniqueness and beauty of the landscape, the efforts to conserve biodiversity and the successes in regional development, the area around the Schaalsee lake in Mecklenburg received international recognition as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in January 2000. Biosphere reserves provide opportunities for people and nature. As part of a worldwide network of particularly valuable cultural landscapes, they are model regions for sustainable development.