Section
Six:
Access
to Nature and Landscapes for the Purpose of Recreation
Article
56 Access of the General Public
For purposes
of recreation the Federal Laender shall permit access, on roads and trails, to
land used for agriculture and forestry, as well as to plots of land which are
not in use, at the individual’s own risk. The Federal Laender may provide more
extensive rules and regulations. They may also restrict access to areas where
there are important reasons, in particular in order to protect nature and
landscape, fields and farming, the interests of persons seeking rest and
relaxation, or in order to prevent significant damage, or to protect other
interests of landowners deserving protection; the Federal Laender may also deem
other uses to be equivalent to access either entirely or in part. Any
permit-free use of surface waters is governed by Articles 23 and 24 of the
Federal Water Act (Wasserhaushaltsgesetz) and the water laws enacted by
the Federal Laender.
Article
57
Allocation of Public Land for Purposes of Recreation
(1) The
Federation (Bund) shall earmark adequate portions of appropriate land in
its ownership or possession which because of its particular features is
suitable for the general public’s recreation, such as
1. land on river banks and at lake and sea
shores
2. land with beautiful parts or components of
landscape
3. land facilitating access to otherwise
inaccessible, or not adequately accessible, forests, lakes and beaches
and make it available
for purposes of recreation if and to the extent to which this is compatible
with sustainable use and the other aims and objectives of nature conservation
and landscape management and does not conflict with any other public purpose
for which it may have been earmarked already.
(2) The
Federal Laender shall lay down rules and regulations on the allocation of
public land for recreational purposes within their own area of responsibility
as well as for application at the levels of municipalities, associations of
local governments and other persons under public law, by applying paragraph 1
above mutatis mutandis.