Bienwald

The Bienwald (coord|49|01|44|N|08|08|38|E|type:landmark) is a large forested area in the southern Pfalz region of Germany near the towns of Kandel and Wörth am Rhein. The western edge defines the eastern extent of the Wissembourg Gap, a corridor of open terrain between the Bienwald and the hills of the Pfälzer Wald. In the northwest, the forest is bounded by the so-called "Cattle Line" (German: "Viehstrich"), running from Schweighofen to Kandel. In the north, the forest reaches as far as Hatzenbühl and Rheinzabern. The eastern boundary largely runs along the bank of the Rhine from Jockgrim to Hagenbach and Berg (Pfalz). The southern boundary follows the valley of the Lauter River along the border of France and Germany. The bulk of the forest belongs to the municipality of Wörth am Rhein. At its greatest dimensions, the Bienwald is approximately 17 kilometers (10.6 miles) broad along its east-west axis and 11 kilometers (6.9 miles) in extent along its north-south axis. The forest has an area of some 163 square kilometers (64 square miles). Approximately one-third of the forest is deciduous woodland with the remainder coniferous. The forest has an elevation of 100 meters above sea level by the Rhine, and rises to 150 meters above sea level in its western extremeties.

The sole town inside of the Bienwald is Büchelberg, which lies inside a clearing in the forest and is administratively part of the town of Wörth am Rhein.

On August 13, 1793, a battle of the War of the First Coalition took place in the Bienwald. Austrian troops under Marshal Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser pushed the French Army back and frustrated the relief of Mainz. In March 1945, during World War II, the U.S. VI Corps and the French First Army assaulted German Siegfried Line fortifications in the Bienwald and penetrated German defenses in the forest during a week of heavy combat. The forest is still marked by trenches and bunker ruins from World War II. There are also older French earthworks ("redoutes") in the southwestern parts of the forest where it borders the Lauter River and the Mundat Forest (French: "Forêt du Mundat").

The proposed construction of a multi-lane controlled access highway through the forest is disputed. The proposed highway would connect the French A35 Autoroute and the German A65 Autobahn.

European wildcats have taken up residence in the Bienwald in the last few years, often using the ruins of destroyed bunkers for shelter.

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