Fertő / Neusiedler See cultural landscape

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Fertő / Neusiedler See cultural landscape
UNESCO world heritage UNESCO World Heritage Emblem
Neusiedler Lake satellite.png
Satellite photo of the landscape around Lake Neusiedl
National territory: AustriaAustria Austria Hungary
HungaryHungary 
Type: Culture
Criteria : (v)
Reference No .: 772
UNESCO region : Europe and North America
History of enrollment
Enrollment: 2001  (session 25)

The Fertő / Neusiedler See cultural landscape ( English Fertö / Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape ) is a cross-border UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Austrian Burgenland and the Hungarian Győr-Moson-Sopron County .

The area was declared a World Heritage Site in 2001. It includes the Neusiedlersee, its bank areas and the places on the bank. The World Heritage Zone corresponds to the Austrian National Park Neusiedler See-Seewinkel and the Hungarian Fertő-Hanság Nemzeti Park including their peripheral zones.

Location and landscape

The Fertő / Neusiedler See cultural landscape is bounded in the west by the Leithagebirge and the Ödenburg Mountains - both foothills of the Eastern Alps - and runs towards the Pannonian Plain . In the north it is closed by the Parndorfer Platte .

An exact demarcation is due to the different under protection degree not easily possible and the associated regional, national and international rules and regulations. Since the cultural landscape should represent and protect a living region , such a delimitation is not necessary.

The center of the cultural landscape is the Neusiedler See with its bank landscapes typical of the steppe lake, such as the wide reed belts . The Neusiedler See is one of the few steppe lakes in Europe and is only shallow. The lake itself has an area - depending on the water level - of an average of 320 km². The catchment area of ​​the lake is 1,120 km². The main extent in north-south direction is 36 km, the width between 6 and 14 km. The height of the curvature of the earth between Neusiedl am See and Mörbisch is 9.6 m, so that you cannot see from one end to the other.

At the southern end of the lake you can find the Hanság , those low moor landscapes , of which only a part is left today, as the moor was drained through a canal and moat system in the past centuries. The cultural landscape also includes the numerous vineyards which, due to the Pannonian climate , have developed on the slopes of the Leithagebirge up to the lakeshore and make Burgenland a well-known wine region .

Geologically, the area lies on a fault line. This is why there are around twenty mineral water springs in the region, such as the St. Bartholomäus spring in Illmitz . It was found in 1930 at a depth of 188 m, when people were actually only drilling for pure spring water. In Illmitz there are two other sources: the sulfina and the gastrin . The largest mineral water in Europe is said to be located under Lake Neusiedl, but it is currently not being used.

and display information about the image
View from the Rust vineyards to the east over the lake

National park communities

AustriaAustria Neusiedl am See district HungaryHungary Sopron district
Andau (Mosontarcsa) ,
Apetlon (Mosonbánfalva) ,
Frauenkirchen (Fertőboldogasszony) ,
Gols (Gálos) ,
Halbturn (Féltorony) ,
Illmitz (Illmic) ,
Mönchhof (Barátfalu) ,
Neusiedl am See (Nezsider) ,
Pamhagen (Pomogy) ,
Podersdorf am See (Pátfalu) ,
Sankt Andrä am Zicksee (Mosonszentandrás) ,
Tadten (Tetény) ,
Wallern in Burgenland (Valla) ,
Weiden am See (Védeny) 		Sarród (Schrollen) ,
Fertőd ,
Fertőszéplak (Schlippach) ,
Hegykő (Heiligenstein) ,
Fertőhomok (Amhagen) ,
Hidegség (Kleinandrä) ,
Nagycenk (Großzinkendorf) ,
Fertőboz (Holling) ,
Balf (Wolfs) ,
Fertőrákos (Kroisbach)

(In brackets the corresponding name in Hungarian or German)

Flora and fauna

The very rare and long confused Klein-Salzmelde ( Suaeda prostrata ) grows in the Seewinkel.
The South Russian tarantula digs tubes in the ground and lurks in them for prey.

A subdivision of the national park according to habitats results in:

  • the Neusiedler See with its reed belt,
  • the periodically drying salt varnishes,
  • Hay meadows,
  • Hut pastures and
  • small-scale sand habitats.

The reed belt of Lake Neusiedl and the Lacken (shallow, salty, episodically drying waters ) are an internationally important breeding and resting place for migratory birds that migrate from the north to the south and vice versa in spring and autumn. Breeding birds of northern areas such as ruff , dark water strider or dunlin use the shallow bank zones to renew their energy reserves for the further migration.

Of the approximately 320 bird species recorded here, around 120 breed in the area. The nests of the white stork on the roofs of the villages are striking . In spring and summer, gray geese raise their young in the meadows, pastures and salt lakes. Their Nordic relatives, the white- fronted goose and the bean goose , provide perhaps the most spectacular natural spectacle of the year in autumn and winter - the goose floor when arriving and departing from the sleeping area. The special features include, for example species such as avocets , plovers , black-tailed godwit , great bustard , spoonbill , cormorant or silver and purple herons but also imperial eagles that nest in the various habitats of the protected area. Of the mammals, the European ground squirrel is particularly interesting. In 2007 the golden jackal , which presumably lived here until the beginning of the 20th century and was then exterminated, was detected for the first time.

In addition to numerous, sometimes very rare butterflies ( Easter butterfly , Viennese night peacock ), grasshoppers and other insect species, over 40 species of dragonflies can be found in the Neusiedlersee area . Among the amphibians , the occurrence of the fire-bellied toad and the Danube crested newt - both Annex II species of the Habitats Directive - deserves special mention. More occurring amphibian species are green toad , common toad, spadefoot , Tree Frog , Agile Frog , Balkan Moor Frog , Pool Frog and edible frog and the smooth newt . On the pastures in the Seewinkel , old domestic domestic animal breeds such as the Hungarian steppe cattle or the white donkey are being cultivated again. In this way, the pasture areas are protected from encroachment or fouling. The salt soils occurring in the Seewinkel ( Solontschak and Solonetz , called Zick in the regional dialect ) offer particularly adapted flora suitable growth conditions. Halophytes as the salt cress , the samphire or flowering in autumn Pannonia salt Aster are among the special features from a botanical point of view.

Residents and economy

The inhabitants of this area have their origins in three major ethnic groups: the Teutons , the Slavs and the Finno-Ugric peoples .

The main sources of income for the residents are tourism , viticulture and commuting to the greater Vienna area (only a few families still live from reed farming and fishing today).

History of the region

The oldest traces of settlement in the Hanság can be traced back to the 6th millennium BC. Several Neolithic settlements were found on the southern shore of the lake .

There are also finds from the early 4th millennium that can be assigned to the Balaton-Lasinja group . At this time copper was already being processed. Remnants of the Baden culture were also found near Fertőrákos and Sopronkőhida . The remains of a forge are evidence of settlement activities up to the end of the Copper Age.

The region experienced a heyday in the Bronze Age . The Amber Road running west of the lake , which led from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic , was of great importance .

It was mentioned by Pliny that the settlement area of ​​the Noriker extended to Lacus Peiso and the wasteland of the Boier , although it is disputed whether Lacus Peiso is Lake Neusiedl or Lake Balaton .

In the 5th century, the Huns occupied the area. Charlemagne conquered the area in the Avar campaign of 795, but the Franks and Bavarians soon lost it again. In the 11th century the area was divided into the two counties of Sopron and Moson. From the 13th century German-speaking settlers began to migrate again.

The region was badly affected by the first Turkish siege of Vienna in 1529. The legend of the Turks in the Purbach chimney also dates from this time . In Langen Turkish War of the year 1594 fell Győr , and the area remained four years occupied. Much was destroyed again in these years.

Many of the burgher houses still preserved today date from the 18th century, when Ference Rákóczi's War of Independence was over.

Monument to the Pan-European Picnic on the Hungarian side of the border

The 20th century was marked by the separation of Austria and Hungary. In 1920 Burgenland was separated from Hungary. Both parts of the separate area were severely affected by the Iron Curtain erected after the Second World War . Sopronkőhida and St. Margarethen became famous for the “ Pan-European Picnic ” in 1989, when the barbed wire was cut there and the border was reopened.

Development to UNESCO World Heritage

The protection of the Fertő / Neusiedler See cultural landscape has its roots in the collaboration in the creation of the first transnational national park of the two states Austria and Hungary recognized by the IUCN .

Creation of the national parks

Hungary

Information board in the Hungarian part

The area was placed under nature protection as early as 1977. Two years later, it became a UNESCO MAB Biosphere Reserve . In 1989 it became the Ramsar area . In 1991 the entire southern part of the lake from the area in front of the lido in Fertőrákos was declared a national park. At that time this covered 65 km². It was not until 1994 that the state bought large areas of the Hanság and also connected them to the national park. Later, other smaller protected areas were added along the Rabnitz , so that the park covers an area of ​​about 235 km².

Austria

The origins on the Austrian side lead back much further. Nevertheless, the Burgenland part could only be declared a national park later.

The first nature conservation can be traced back to the research activities of numerous natural scientists from the nearby University of Vienna , who set up their laboratories in the wild here. Among them were animal and plant researchers in the First Republic and also during the Second World War . Works bear the signature of well-known names such as Wendelberger , Machura , Freundl and Kasy .

In 1954, donations and foundations were used to build a biological station in a converted boathouse in the reed belt near Neusiedl am See . In 1960 the station was taken over by the Province of Burgenland, but burned down in the same year. The current station in Illmitz could only be built in 1971 . It is a branch of the nature conservation department of the Burgenland state government.

Another cornerstone was the founding of WWF Austria in Apetlon in 1963. The resistance against the bridge over the lake planned by the Republic of Austria at the end of the 1960s was another stone in the mosaic of nature conservation. As a result, the first nature conservation laws and ordinances emerged, which led to the declaration of Lake Neusiedl as a nature reserve.

In 1977, before the Hungarian part, the biosphere reserve was recognized by UNESCO. In 1978 the Austrian Nature Conservation Union wrote the Mattersburger Manifesto, a necessary cross-border cooperation in nature conservation efforts in order to counteract the increasing pressure of use. The concept was also confirmed by tourist surveys.

Concrete declarations of a cross-border national park were made by declarations of intent by the Hungarian and Austrian governments in 1988. In Austria, for example, in 1992 the National Park Act, in which an area of ​​around 90 km² is placed under different protection levels, was passed. In 1993 the area of ​​the Lange Lacke and its surroundings were included.

Legal basis and organization of cultural heritage

Elisabeth Gehrer in Illmitz takes over the UNESCO certificate

In Austria the world heritage is regulated by the Convention for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of the World including the Austrian Declaration (BGBl. 60/1993).

In Hungary, the world heritage is only mentioned in two ministerial decrees: Decree 1/1998. (I.23.) KTMMKM on the restrictions on advertising and decree 40/1999. (IV.23.).

The Austrian part is organized by the World Heritage Association Neusiedlersee based in the Landhaus Eisenstadt . In Hungary, this is carried out by Fertő-táj Világörökség Magyarországi Tanácsa Egyesület , based in Esterháza Palace in Fertöd.

Protection zones

The protection of the World Heritage landscape can be divided into different levels:

National park

Steppe on the Lange Lacke
Herd of gray cattle near Sarród

Formally, the national park can be divided as follows:

  • Natural zone - is the core zone of the two national parks and covers an area of ​​approximately 4500 ha that is not used economically or agriculturally.
  • Conservation zone - This zone is a cultural landscape and is therefore also dependent on agricultural and tourist maintenance measures. The zone is divided into six areas:

Ownership

The ownership structure reflects the political situation during the creation of the parks. While the majority of the protected areas in the Hungarian part are owned by the state, most of the land on the Austrian side was only leased on a long-term basis, but remained the property of the farmers.

organization

Austria

The National Park Society is a public corporation with permanent employees and seasonal freelancers. These are responsible for the natural area management, public relations and visitor support. Scientific work is not carried out by the National Park Society itself.

In Illmitz there is a visitor center from which the scientific work is coordinated. A national park newspaper Schnatter is also published.

Hungary

The administrative center of the Hungarian part, which reports directly to the Ministry, is in Sarród . In addition to the management of the national park, the management of nature conservation in Pannonhalma and the Benedictine monastery of Pannonhalma also takes place from here .

Nature reserves

  • Landscape protection area

This zone is under nature protection, but no longer belongs to the national park area. In this zone are the neighboring towns on the lake.

In the west of the lake this is complemented by the Neusiedlersee - Leithagebirge nature park . In addition to pastures and vineyards, the nature park also includes the historic town centers.

In Hungary the protected landscape area is already organized in the national park.

Biosphere reserve

From 1977 to 2016, the entire Austrian part of the lake and the west bank were declared a biosphere reserve , it has a total area of ​​25,000 ha with a core zone of 4,330 ha. Austria deregistered its part from the UNESCO world network in 2016.

In 1979 the Hungarian part was recognized by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve. The biosphere reserve was created at the suggestion and submission of limnologist Heinz Löffler , who died in 2006 , after the International Biological Program (IBP) was just about to expire. Numerous research projects have already been carried out in this context.

Ramsar areas

Since December 16, 1982, the Austrian area has been designated as Neusiedler See and Lacken im Seewinkel (No. 271, also: Neusiedlersee, Seewinkel & Hanság ) as an internationally important wetland area according to the Ramsar Convention . It covers 44,229 ha. In Hungary, the Ramsar area Lake Fertő (No. 420) with 8,432 ha has existed since March 17, 1989 , and since September 29, 2006 also the Nyirkai-Hany area (No. 1644) with 460 ha in Hanság . On November 12, 2009, the three were anchored as the cross- border Ramsar area Neusiedlersee – Seewinkel – Waasen / Neusiedlersee – Fertő – Hanság .

research

In 1950, a research station was built in Neusiedl am See on a private law basis. After the end of the Soviet occupation , the station was taken over by the Province of Burgenland in 1956. When the station burned down in 1960, a new station Biological Station Neusiedler See was built in Illmitz by the Academy of Sciences . The functional building was opened in 1971.

The Biological Research Institute for Burgenland , which is directly subordinate to the Burgenland Provincial Government , is divided into eight groups:

  • Environmental research
  • botany
  • Ornithology
  • Limnological research
  • Nature and landscape protection
  • Water analysis
  • Official expert activity
  • Courses, meetings

Arts and Culture

The culture of the last centuries has been shaped by the rule of the Hungarian aristocrats, especially the Esterházys or the Széchenyis , after a lot was destroyed in the Turkish wars and had to be rebuilt. Well-known buildings from this period in the area or just outside bear witness to this rule, such as the Fertőd or Eisenstadt castles or the Széchenyi castle in Nagycenk .

Current artistic creation also includes the consistently successful summer theaters, such as the Mörbisch Lake Festival on the lake stage of Lake Neusiedl or the opera festival in the Roman quarry St. Margarethen , but also Haydn in Esterháza in Esterhazá Palace in Fertőd or the cave theater of Fertőrákos .

gallery

literature

  • Neusiedler See - Seewinkel National Park. Research projects 2001/2002. Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

Filmography

  • In the Land of the Sunrise - National Park Neusiedler See – Seewinkel , documentary film, 50 minutes, format 16: 9, Austria, 1998, by Harald Pokieser and Manfred Christ, production: Cosmos Factory GmbH.
  • The miracle of the Seewinkel - a national park and its history , documentary, 33 minutes, format 16: 9, Austria, 2003, by Manfred Christ, production: Cosmos Factory GmbH.

Web links

Commons : Lake Neusiedl  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Illmitz "St. Bartholomäus-Quelle" healing spring . Austria Forum , accessed on March 19, 2010
  2. ↑ The hidden lake under Lake Neusiedl on Pressetext Austria of June 2, 2000, accessed on March 19, 2010
  3. ↑ ORF ON, November 9, 2014
  4. ↑ The legend of Purbach's landmark , accessed on March 18, 2010
  5. ↑ a b Lake Fertö . UNESCO: The MAB Program → Biosphere Reserve Information → Hungary (en)
  6. ↑ a b c Neusiedler See Biosphere Reserve . Web portal of the Austrian biosphere reserves - biosphere reserves, Austrian Academy of Sciences: UNESCO / MAB
    The biosphere reserve landscape of Austria . Summary report. Point 5.3.2.44. doi : 10.1553 / biosphere_reserves.s36 (pdf; 4.0 MB)
  7. ↑ National Park Neusiedler See - Seewinkel ( memento of the original from December 24th, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Naturschutzbund Burgenland from September 22, 2008, accessed on March 17, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.naturschutzbund-burgenland.at
  8. ↑ Management plan (PDF; 344 kB) from November 2003, page 7, accessed on March 29, 2010
  9. ↑ Management plan (PDF; 344 kB) from November 2003, page 8, accessed on March 29, 2010
  10. ↑ Federal law: Entire legal regulation for the federal government - Bgld Preservation of the Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park , version of March 17, 2010, accessed on March 17, 2010
  11. ↑ Fertő-Hanság National Park Directorate ( Memento of the original of August 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 17, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ferto-hansag.hu
  12. ↑ G. Dick, et al .: Bird paradise with a future? Ramsar area Neusiedler See-Seewinkel. Federal Environment Agency. Vienna 2004, pp. 17–20.
  13. ↑ Neusiedler See-Seewinkel. In: UMWELTnet> Nature & Species Protection> Wetlands (Ramsar)> Ramsar areas. Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLFUW), accessed on June 27, 2010 .
  14. ↑ a b The Annotated Ramsar List: Hungary , ramsar.org (Engl.)
  15. ↑ Cross-border Ramsar area "Neusiedlersee-Seewinkel-Waasen" , Federal Environment Agency
  16. ^ Transboundary Ramsar sites. In: ramsar.org> Documents. November 16, 2009, accessed June 2010 .
  17. ↑ Research in the National Park
  18. ^ Biological station at Neusiedler See
  19. ↑ Visiting Eszterháza ( Memento of the original from November 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 28, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.haydn-2009.hu
  20. ↑ Fertőrákos Cave Theater ( Memento of the original from January 24th, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Pro Kultára Sopron, accessed March 28, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / prokultura.hu