The Oberhagen is a wooded area covering around 13 hectares, which has been placed under nature protection mainly due to its rich occurrence of protected plant species. The rare Turk's cap lily (up to 2,000 specimens; the most north-western occurrence) is particularly noteworthy here.
Oberhagen is also of enormous historical importance: iron ore has been mined here since the Middle Ages - two deep pits still bear witness to the mining era. Oberhagen is home to one of the most important mining monuments in the Sauerland, the collapsed pits and the shafts of the former Rom mine, which are up to ten meters deep and fenced off for safety reasons.
Limestone was quarried on the western side until operations close to the town center had to be terminated for safety reasons in the 1970s. In 2005, Oberhagen once again became the focus of local attention when plans were made to remove more than 30 meters of the eastern quarry wall. This was intended to expand the area for a proposed shopping center on the former quarry site. This plan met with resistance - including the founding of the "Oberhagen Initiative" in 2006 - and was abandoned.
Especially in the spring months, this small grove unfolds its flowering splendor (visitors are asked to be considerate).
