Lake @museum.de

Here in the Königshain mountains, something really beautiful was created after the granite works closed: a recreational area that is second to none. Because we don't just have a forest. We have these wonderful granite rocks that stand between the trees like ancient giants and we have large and small ponds and lakes that are home to animals that we have long forgotten in the cities.

Hmm, people have done something right. Namely nothing at all. Or, well, they helped nature to spread out in the former quarries. Our old fox and owl families have always been there, of course. We're not afraid of humans, we're quick enough to escape them time and time again. But there are smaller animals that need their peace and quiet. They've all come back now.

You could watch them. Grasses and what people call weeds - they're there in a flash. They grow out of cracks and in places where nobody goes. And the rainwater is also quick to arrive. All possible holes were quickly filled to the brim, because water cannot seep away well in the stone floor.

Sometimes people have also helped. In this small lake here, they laid out extra sheeting to keep the water in the stone basin. The shores are now home to common toads, newts and many colorful dragonfly species. There are also slow worms, endless mosquitoes for the birds to feed on and other insects that are snatched up by bats at dusk. So there's a lot going on here.

Do you even know what newts are?

Tell us then. Our visitors may never have seen one before.

Well, newts taste a bit like fish.

Pssst, Eulalia, not that! People don't eat newts. They want to know how they live.

I see. Well, newts look like salamanders, but they're amphibians, which means they live on land and in water. Just like frogs and toads.

They spend the winter on land. In spring, they return to the water to have their babies. The female newts lay their eggs in the water. Small larvae develop from these. They look a bit like the little frog children, the tadpoles.

Yes, and because newts have very sensitive skin, they need a stable habitat. The fact that they have settled here means that the forest here is healthy. And there are no major fluctuations in the ecosystem.