Ninety eight official nature parks (German: Naturparks) have been established in Germany under section 22, paragraph 4 of that country's Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG). They comprise about 25 percent of the total land area of Germany and are brought together under the Association of German Nature Parks. Parks that overlap into neighbouring countries are led by Europarc. The oldest is Lüneburg Heath Nature Park, whose core area was established in 1921 as a nature reserve; by 2007 it had expanded to more than four times its original area. The largest nature reserve in Germany, with 3,750 square kilometres (1,450 sq mi) is the Nature Park of the Central and Northern Black Forest and the smallest is Siebengebirge with an area of 48 square kilometres (19 sq mi).
The 14 national parks of Germany, under paragraph 24 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act, are not listed here. See List of national parks of Germany.