When you enter Wechselburg Castle Park, you can hardly escape the magic of nature. Rare tree species such as the tulip tree, trumpet tree and cake tree ensure this. "There are trees from all over the world in the park, people have always experimented with planting here," says Tomas Brückmann, spokesman for the Landesstiftung Natur und Umwelt (LaNu). It is the largest owner of the 18-hectare park in the district of Central Saxony and ensures that nature conservation is maintained. It enjoys special status as a fauna-flora habitat and bird sanctuary.
Habitat for around 20 bird species and rare animal species
The oldest trees already have 200 years "on their bark". The park is home to extensive areas of oak and beech trees, alluvial forest and meadows. Another special feature is the occurrence of ostrich ferns. The area provides a habitat for around 20 bird species such as the tree falcon, black woodpecker, kingfisher, red kite and red-backed shrike. Otters and bat species such as the greater mouse-eared bat and the pug bat also have their roosts here.
With the demolition of an old building, the park regained another area that is now used as a butterfly meadow, for example for the protected "Spanish flag". "Insects have become rare," says Brückmann. Frequent mowing would irretrievably destroy the butterflies' habitats. This is why LaNu called for a participatory campaign years ago. Under the slogan "Doll's houses wanted - flowering meadows for Saxony's butterflies", owners of meadow areas were given tips on how they can preserve the butterflies' habitats with gentle mowing.
