Natural regions of Germany

This division of Germany into major natural regions takes account primarily of geomorphological, geological, hydrological and pedological criteria in order to divide the country into large, physical units with a common geographical basis. Political boundaries play no part in this, apart from defining the national border.

In addition to a division of Germany by natural regions, the Federal authorities have also produced a division by so-called landscape areas (Landschaftsräume) that is based more on human utilisation of various regions and so has clearly different boundaries.

The natural region classification of Germany, as used today by the Federal Office for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz or BfN) and by most state institutions, is largely based on the work in producing the Handbook of Natural Region Divisions of Germany between the years 1953 to 1962. This divided the present federal territory (then West and East Germany) into 86 so-called major landscape unit groups (Haupteinheitgruppen) each with a two-digit number between 01 and 90. These in turn were subdivided into up to ten, in some cases more, major landscape units (Haupteinheiten), each with a three-digit number. The handbook was accompanied by 1:100,000 scale mapping and, in the updated 1960 map, the major landscape unit groups were bundled together into major regions (Großregionen).

As a result, a regional classification of Germany emerged with five (since 1976: six) primary landscape regions (naturräumliche Großregionen 1. Ordnung), divided into 18 (since 1964: 19) secondary landscape regions (naturräumliche Großregionen 2. Ordnung). The major unit groups form, in effect, the third or tertiary level, of landscape regions and the major units form the fourth level. Many secondary landscape regions only have one major unit group (Mecklenburg Coastal Lowland, Harz, Thuringian Basin, Upper Main-Upper Palatine Hills, Southern Alpine Foreland), others group well-known major regions together (Rhenish Massif, South German Scarplands); others are entirely new groupings.

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