Hildesheimer Wald - Sonnenberg

The Hildesheimer Wald – Sonnenberg is a nature reserve south-west of Hildesheim on the northern sandstone ridge of the Hildesheimer Wald. It covers 221 hectares and forms part of the larger 1 247-hectare EU bird-protection area of the same name. To the north it borders the Marienrode monastery landscape conservation area. The reserve was placed under protection in November 2025 by the city of Hildesheim. The reserve protects remnants of the old cultural landscape shaped by coppice-with-standards management. Its woods are mainly lime-rich oak-hornbeam stands dominated by pedunculate and sessile oaks with many veteran trees. Beech woods occur in places, and scattered conifer plantations break the canopy. In the south a section is left to natural forest development. Along the valley floors small streams flow through spring zones and narrow flood-plain woods. At the edges of rides and clearings damp tall-herb and acid grassland strips support wild flowers such as sage-leaved germander, common and smooth hawkweed, wavy hair-grass, sweet vernal grass, perforate St John’s-wort, tormentil, round-leaved bellflower and honeysuckle. The reserve shelters a wide range of protected and priority species. Breeding birds include honey buzzard, red kite, black, grey and middle spotted woodpeckers, woodcock and red-breasted flycatcher, while the black stork feeds here. Mammals present include the European wildcat, hazel dormouse and bats such as the brown long-eared, Natterer’s and greater mouse-eared species. The reserve is almost entirely surrounded by further woodland of the Hildesheimer Wald, with only a road and a hospital site marking its edges.