The national parks of Austria are popular with vacationers from all over Europe. Between them they cover a great variety of landscapes, ranging from mountain peaks to flat marshland. But they not only represent a cross section of Austria's ecology, they also cater well for visitors.
Harsh and Craggy
The most dramatic park is the Hohe Tauern, in the Alps, one of Europe’s largest natural parks. This harsh, craggy region supports a unique ecosystem of alpine plants and animals, including the Alps’ largest bird, the bearded vulture, which had been locally extinct until the park was created. The Krimmel Waterfalls are Austria’s highest falls. A road called the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße was created in the 1930s to combat unemployment, and it runs up the highest mountain, offering spectacular views.
Forested
The Kalkalpen Park, in Upper Austria, is mainly forested, and shelters 50 mammal species, including red deer, roe and chamois. The insect life is amazing, with around 4,000 species of beetle, 1,600 of butterflies. It also offers a safe refuge for the endangered European Black Salamander, together with Black Grouse and golden eagles. Park rangers give guided tours from the visitor centre in summer, and the park has its own hotel, the Villa Sonnwend, a historic building built in 1907.
Flat and Marshy
The Neusiedler See National Park in Burgenland is flat and marshy, with rippling reed beds, meadows and saltwater pools. As the only steppe lake in Central Europe, it attracts millions of migrating or winter overstaying birds. 320 species of birds recorded include avocets, water plover, little bittern and marsh harriers, and many storks also rear their young here. Between March and August the storks are a visitor attraction as they flap around huge, unidy nests built on specially constructed platforms on the roofs of local cottages. Visitors often stay at Podersdorf, where there are pensions, guesthouses and various boating and hiking possibilities – not to mention a fully functioning windmill.
Mountain Peaks, Alpine Meadows
Gesäuse National Park, in Styria, is spectacularly mountainous, with the River Enns running through it. The newest of Austria’s national parks, it also offers ranger-guided walks through its lakes, woods and alpine pastures. Several interesting historic buildings include the Benedictine monastery at Admont, which is also the home to a natural history museum about the surrounding area.
Microclimates
Thayatal National Park borders the Czech Republic, and is attached to the Czech Podyji Park. It is a steep, forested area built upon granite, with numerous microclimates allowing a wide variety of plants to flourish – about half of all the native species found in Austria. Its exploratory museum has a terrarium, a shop and a café.
River Meadows
Donau Auen National Park is a small park of riverside meadows which follow the Danube for thirty kilometres near Vienna. It is not as spectacular as the other parks, but provides a pleasant and not-too-strenuous day’s outing from the city. Its wildlife includes Austria’s only native turtle.
Alpine Farming
The Nockberge Park, in the province of Karinthia, is still mainly agriculturural. This gentle, lake-studded region of Alpine foothills (the name means “Dumpling rocks”) is an old fashioned landscape of small alpine dairy farms. The farmers are encouraged to continue living in the old style, and keep various ancient customs. These include sheaf riding, in which the underside of bound rye sheaves are dipped into water, and left against a wall until the water turns to ice. After supper, the village boys sit aside the rye sheaves and hurtle down into the valley below!
There's more about mountain scenery at The Tatra Mountains, Slovakia.
