Thinking outside the box: The Bislich Island

Pack your backpack, take a deep breath – and then just set off! 
The Naturpark Hohe Mark is a true water wonderland. Of course, there's the Lippe, the Stever, and the beautiful lake panorama around Haltern am See. A dream in itself. But far to the west, if we look beyond the obvious, where we see the Niederrhein Beyond the borders, a completely different league of nature experience awaits: the Rhine at Bislich Island.

Here, the landscape reveals its grand, powerful side. Bislich Island vividly illustrates how a mighty river shapes the landscape – and how humankind has left its mark over the centuries. The Rhine was never still here, but constantly in motion: sometimes the main channel, sometimes a side channel, sometimes wildly meandering, sometimes tamed. Even Frederick the Great had a significant impact, ordering the straightening of the Rhine in 1788. What remained was a tranquil old Rhine channel – and a floodplain landscape that is now among the last large, near-natural floodplains of its kind in Germany.

The Xanten Old Rhine, stretching over five kilometers, winds its way right through the nature reserve – the heart of Bislich Island. Softwood forests of willow, ash, and elm alternate with sandy and gravelly banks along the flowing Rhine, and reed beds and muddy banks along the tranquil Old Rhine. And because the Rhine overflows its banks every year, the landscape is constantly changing. A true natural spectacle – live and in color.