| Mecklenburg Elbe Valley Nature Park | |
|---|---|
| Mecklenburgisches Elbetal | |
 Location | |
| Location | Ludwigslust-Parchim, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany |
| Coordinates | 53°20′10″N 11°01′12″E / 53.336°N 11.02°E[1] |
| Area | 426 km2 (164 sq mi) |
| Established | 1990 |
The Mecklenburg Elbe Valley Nature Park (German: Mecklenburgisches Elbetal) is part of the UNESCO biosphere reserve of Elbe River Landscape. At over 400 river kilometres long, the Elbe River Landscape Biosphere Reserve runs through the five German states of: Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein. It lies in the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The nature park was created in 1990 and legally established by act of state in 1998. It has an area of 426 km2 (164 sq mi).
Characteristic is the original riparian landscape of the Elbe stream with its tributaries, the Schaale, Sude, Krainke, Rögnitz, Löcknitz and the Müritz-Elde Waterway. One feature is the areas of inland dunes with sandy calcareous grassland, woods and heaths as well as the steep sides of the Elbe valley near Boizenburg and Rüterberg (Dömitz), whose observation towers offer panoramic view of the Elbe water meadows.
The nature park lies on the right bank of the Elbe near Elbe km 502-511 and 555-565 and between the state borders of Schleswig-Holstein and Brandenburg. Within the region are the villages of Boizenburg, Lübtheen and Dömitz.
Places of interest are the Lübtheen Reedbed Educational Path, the Dunes Educational Path in the nature reserve near Klein Schmölen, the educational path on the Rüterberg clay pit and another one in the Dammereeze Landscape Park. Of cultural-historical importance is the fortification in Dömitz and unique is the First German Tile Museum (Erstes Deutsches Fliesenmuseum) in the tiled town of Boizenburg/Elbe.
Since 1 January 2009 the nature park management has been aligned with the Schaalsee Biosphere Reserve in order to run it better as a biosphere reserve.[2]