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Prënzebierg

In November 1991, the Prënzebierg nature reserve, which incorporates the former open-cast mining area of the “Giele Botter”, was classified as a protected area.

Today, the 254 hectares of the Prënzebierg constitute one of the 6 core areas of our biosphere. 

Together with the Natura 2000 habitat areas around the Prënzenbierg, 1156 hectares of nature are strictly protected. The best way to discover the “Giele Botter” is of course on foot, by taking one of the hikes offered there. There is a 7.7 km long “Discovery Trail” and a “Geological Trail”.

Since a few weeks, the latter has been welcoming visitors with completely revised explanatory panels, which give a brief overview of the history of the Minett over a distance of 2.5 kilometres.

In 1870, the first concession in the Prënzenbierg area was granted. Open-cast mining of iron ore with large machines took place mainly after the end of the Second World War. In 1977, open-cast mining was finally abandoned.

What was left was a place that was reclaimed by nature in the years and decades following this episode of industrial exploitation. Today there are, among others, garter snakes and great crested newts, more than 170 different butterfly species and 21 of the 36 orchid species known in Luxembourg. It is noteworthy that the first orchids in the “Giele Botter” nature reserve were identified as early as 1974, at a time when the site was still being exploited.

In the immediate vicinity of the Prënzenbierg core area are also the Minett Park Fonds-de-Gras and the ancient Celtic oppidum of Titelberg, which was one of the most important settlements in the whole region until the foundation of Trier by the ancient Romans.

In this German-language brochure, published by the Nature Administration, the core area “Prënzebierg” of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere is presented on 100 pages with an in-depth overview of its history, biodiversity, maintenance and even its name.

 
 
 
© Marc Weis