Wienerwald
The Wienerwald (English: "Vienna Woods") is a wooded promontory of the Alps in eastern Lower Austria, located at the border between the Mostviertel and the Industrieviertel, two of the four quarters of Lower Austria. Its foothills reach far into the city limits of Vienna. Its north is part of the Alps's sandstone zone, while its south is part of the Northern Limestone Alps. In the east, its border is the thermal line, which forms a geological break line to the Basin of Vienna. The forest in the north consists largely of beeches, oaks and hornbeams, whereas in the south conifers, mostly pines and firs add to the botanical mix. In the latter region the natural park Föhrenberge (fir mountains) is located.
The highest elevation in the Wienerwald is the Schöpfl at 893 m above sea level, on which the Leopold Figl observatory is located. Even though the Wienerwald is a landscape conservation area, it is threatened by urban sprawl. It is an important recreational area, in which, on the territory of the city of Vienna, the Lainzer Tiergarten (so-called zoological garden of Lainz, an extensive park populated by boars and other animals of the forest) and the Schwarzenbergpark were created during the 19th century. The natural park of Sandstein-Wienerwald is located near Purkersdorf.
The Wienerwald has probably been populated since the 8th century. Under the influence of the Avars, a Slavic population settled here after the Völkerwanderung, which may account for village names such as Döbling, Liesing or Gablitz. The Wienerwald was a princely hunting ground, but begining with the 16th century, it gained importance also for forestry. From 1840 onwards, the industrial development encouraged increased settlement of the area. In 1870, plans were brought forward to mostly clear the forest, but this caused widespread public resistence, in which Josef Schöffel was one of the most important figures.
In 1987, the governors of the states of Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland signed the so-called Wienerwald declaration to protect nature in the region.
Important rivers in the Wienerwald are the Wien, the Schwechat and the Triesting.
There are also some natural caves, such as the Dreidärrischenhöhle ("cave of the three madmen").
External links (in German)
- Project Biosphere park Wienerwald (http://www.biosphaerenpark-wienerwald.at/)
- Municipality of Wienerwald (http://www.wienerwald.org)
- Natural Park of the Föhrenberge (http://www.naturparke.at/index2.html?foehren/home.html)
- Natural Park Sparbach (http://www.naturparke.at/sparbach/home.html)
- Natural Park of Sandstein-Wienerwald (http://www.purkersdorf-online.at/naturpark/)
- Network Wienerwald (http://www.netzwerk-wienerwald.at/)
de:Wienerwald
Categories: Geography of Austria | Vienna | Alps