The Bavarian Forest is a wooded, low-mountain region in nothern Bavaria, Germany that is about 100 kilometers long. It runs along the Czech border and is continued on the Czech side by the Bohemian Forest. Along the Czech border, the mountains in the area between the Lusen and the Großer Falkenstein were rededicated in 1970 by the State of Bavaria with initially 130 km² to the Bavarian Forest National Park, the first national park in Germany, and in 1997 the state forest region between Großer Rachel and Großer Falkenstein was expanded to 240 km². The park includes several areas with dense vegetation, small lakes and rain bogs, which are slowly developing into a native forest, and ranges from about 700 m up to the high altitudes around 1450 m.
