An unspoiled and varied landscape is the hallmark of the Randen area in Schaffhausen. Thanks to its dry climate and shallow soils, species-rich dry meadows and sparse forests with very special species were able to become established on south-facing slopes.

Intensive agriculture in many locations on the Swiss central plateau has resulted in the formation of monotonous cleared landscapes. This is not, however, the case in the Randen area to the north of Schaffhausen. For a long time, the dry and comparatively unfertile soils only accommodated extensive farming and this is reflected today in the relatively unspoiled state of the landscape.

The landscape of this typical Tafeljura region is characterized by a mosaic of forest and agricultural land. The weathering of the mostly fissured and highly porous limestone layers produced stony, shallow and rapidly heating soils. Species-rich dry meadows and sparse forests with heat-loving flora and fauna, otherwise native in the warmer regions of Europe, developed in these soils on south-facing slopes. The highly endangered woodlark which in the eastern Jura can only be found in Randen, is a particular speciality of the area.

Nature reserves and landscape protection areas
A large part of this area is listed, inter alia, in the following federal inventories:

• Federal Inventory of Landscape and Natural Monuments of National Importance (BLN object no 1102 “Randen”)
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• Interactive map browser displaying the object included in the BLN (available in German and French)
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Other links

• All of the federal Swiss inventories can be displayed on an interactive map using this map browser (available in German and French)
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• Detailed information on the effects of outdoor sport and leisure activities on nature (available in German and French)
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• Further information on nature and landscape in the Randen region. (in German)
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