Brandlberg, Regensburg

The Brandlberg Nature Reserve is a 40.77-hectare protected area in Bavaria in the Brandlberg-Keilberg district of Regensburg. The nature reserve is located north of the Danube northeast of the old town of Regensburg, west of Grünthaler Straße and Brandlbergstraße. The protected area includes the remains of the former Jurassic slopes with dry areas left after the quarrying of limestone, which began in the 19th century. Around 1980, a further expansion of the quarrying area was planned. The project was stopped after fierce public protests and a campaign by the Bund Naturschutz in Bavaria to preserve the affected biotope areas, although the lime works had tried to stop the campaign with a lawsuit before the regional court, citing old mining rights. In 1992 and 1996, parts of the disputed areas covering 13.3 hectares were placed under nature conservation. These are areas of semi-arid grassland and hedge structures on the 416-meter-high Brandlberg. A good way to access the nature reserve is the so-called Tegernheimer Geopfad, a hollow path that was inaugurated in 2009. It begins in Tegernheimer Kellerstraße and also makes Tegernheimer Schlucht accessible.

After appeals by the lime works against the ruling were unsuccessful in court, the city of Regensburg concluded an urban development contract with the lime works for further lime mining in areas outside the protected areas. Biotopes in these areas will thus be lost.