Europaschutzgebiet Oberes Donau- und Aschachtal

Between Hofkirchen in Bavaria and Aschach in Upper Austria, the Danube flows through one of its longest through valleys. The river has dug up to 300 metres deep into the subsoil. Original hillside forests covering a total area of 72 square kilometres are grouped together in Upper Austria as the "Upper Danube and Aschach Valley European Nature Reserve".

On the slopes of the "Donauleiten" and in the side valley of the Aschach, which flows in from the south, forests grow that are extremely rare in Europe in this composition. The protected area includes 450 hectares of mixed ravine and slope forests and 750 hectares of oak-hornbeam forests. The upper slope regions are mostly dominated by beech forests. Near Passau, in the municipality of Freinberg, the last remaining alluvial forests in this region are also protected. These extensive, near-natural forests are an invaluable refuge for rare animal species such as the black stork, eagle owl and stag beetle. Strict protection means that this habitat is protected from commercial utilisation and can gradually develop back into a primeval forest. A paradise that also gives people the chance to relax and experience nature, for example when hiking on the network of paths of the Donausteig, which gently opens up the region with the stages of the main route and its circular paths.