Flickering dots in endless spaces - the Milky Way alone houses more than a hundred billion stars. To experience the beauty of the sky, you do not have to travel to remote islands or remote high mountains. Also in Germany there are places for fascinating views upwards.
photo gallery
7 pictures
Astrotourism: Look and marvelFour regions are designated as star parks in this country by the American non-governmental organization International Dark Sky Association. This means that the parks in Brandenburg, in the border triangle of Thuringia-Hesse-Bavaria, in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria are certified as regions. But excellent star views also allow other particularly dark areas.
An overview of the heavenly addresses:
Free admission: Sternenpark Westhavelland
Germany's first star park is located about 70 kilometers west of Berlin in Brandenburg between the state border with Saxony-Anhalt and Friesack. It covers the entire 1380 square kilometer natural park. In the approximately 40 square kilometer core zone between Gülpe and Nennhausen you can see cranes and wild geese flying in the sky during the autumn.
After sunset, stars, comets or even the space station ISS will make their way there. The Sternenpark has identified nine observatories for amateur astronomers on its homepage. Guided tours and photo courses can be found on the Nature Park website.
New locations: Sternenpark Biosphere Reserve Rhön
In the biosphere reserve the Sternenpark Rhön opens the window into the universe for the center of Germany. The scattered villages in the triangle of Thuringia-Hesse-Bavaria are located in valleys, so not only the six previously designated Sterneguckplätze offer a good view of the sky.
On the Hohe Geba there is a viewing platform with four platforms, on which telescopes can be connected to a power supply. In September, the first sky scenes with couch, information board and movable star map are inaugurated.
Official guided tours are available throughout the year at the Volkshochschule Fulda. The star guides of the Sternenpark Rhön association are also available for individual guided tours, for example in Fulda, the largest city in the Sternenpark, which thanks to some measures against light pollution may now be called "the first star city in Germany".
Island of Darkness: Sternenpark Nationalpark Eifel
The Astronomer Harald Bardenhagen calls the 110 square kilometer Sternenpark Nationalpark Eifel an "island of darkness" - because it lies in populous North Rhine-Westphalia and is surrounded by bright cities and even an airport.
But especially on the southern edge of the area around the village of Hellenthal-Udenbreth, the starry-specialized photographer Bernd Pröschold has identified very good places for the year-round stargazing.
Half an hour away, Bardenhagen operates an observatory and the Astronomy Workshop "Stars without Borders". It offers guided star walks. Bardenhagen has designated five observation sites, which are to be followed by further initiatives within the framework of the initiative "Unterm Sternenzelt - Eifel bei Nacht".
Disability-friendly: Sternberg St. Andreasberg in the Harz
In the early Bronze Age, the Brocken in northern Germany was considered the central reference point for the observation of the sky. The disc of Nebra testifies to this. But today, illuminated buildings make it difficult to observe the stars from the highest mountain in the Harz National Park. The best place for sky-gazers there is therefore the restaurant St. Andreasberg with its outdoor area at Rehberg.
The entire area at the border of the national park is barrier-free. In the observatory, visitors can learn in planetarium projections, for example, what we know from heaven. The blind can experience the celestial bodies thanks to a so-called speaking sky disc and tactile models, among others of asteroids.
Skyspot hotspot: Sternenpark Winklmoos-Alm
With 3000, in very clear nights even up to 6000 visible stars scores the Sternenpark Winklmoos-Alm at Reit im Winkl as a German hotspot of the sky observation. In summer and autumn, the Milky Way is recognizable in detail.
The alpine area in the Chiemgau Alps also spreads an impressive mountain panorama at an altitude of 1200 meters. There, the astronomer and physicist Manuel Philipp introduces weekly into the world of stars between May and November.
An alternative are the guided tours for the naked eye on the 40 km distant ridge Ratzinger height at Chiemsee. On the alp, three stars and a circular walk during the day offer a good mountain view and at night the best seats as well as a comfortable position for independent star gazing.
And also...
Where it is darkest, the stars are brightest. But good conditions do not only satisfy the Sternenparks. The astronomer and head of the German section of the International Dark Sky Association, Andreas Hänel from Osnabrück, has measured the darkest sky over Germany on the island of Spiekeroog .
According to the Cologne photographer Bernd Pröschold, the North Frisian island of Pellworm is statistically the darkest place. But on both islands holidaymakers are staring at the stars. Other regions such as the Palatinate Forest or the Swabian Alb are in the process of creating an infrastructure with squares, paths, offered equipment and designated hotels for stargazers.
The Mecklenburg Parkland near Rostock is planning an astrology trail with six telescope observation stations by 2020. Almost next door, the nature park Nossentiner Schwinzer Heide has selected ten locations that will also be available to stargazers next year.
People's observatories and independent star guides also provide insights into the universe, while individual open-minded hoteliers provide their terraces and meadows, in some cases sky observation instruments, in low-nightlight surroundings.
