Landscape protection area Murauen Graz-Werndorf

	Landscape protection area Murauen Graz-Werndorf IUCN Category V - Protected Landscape / Seascape
	Murauen and Mur bei Wagnitz , Feldkirchen bei Graz , in front of the power plant construction
location	Graz-Stadt and Graz-Umgebung District , Styria , Austria
surface	14.08 km²
Identifier	LSG-31
WDPA ID	169165
Geographical location	46 ° 58 ′ N , 15 ° 29 ′ E Coordinates: 46 ° 58 ′ 0 ″ N , 15 ° 29 ′ 0 ″ E
Setup date	1981
administration	State of Styria

The conservation area Murauen Graz-Werndorf is a protected area along the right and left Muruferseite the Mur in Styria . It was placed under protection in 1981 for the purpose of preserving its particular scenic character and beauty, its rare characteristics and its recreational value due to its proximity to the provincial capital Graz .

location

The nature reserve Murauen Graz-Werndorf is located in the south of the Styrian capital Graz in the Graz-Umgebung district . The protected landscape area has a total size of 1,408 hectares and runs along both sides of the Mur with a north-south extension of around 12 km. The average extent in east-west direction is about 2 km.

Within the Styrian sub-landscapes, the area belongs to the Grazer Feld within the Graz Basin. A small part of the protected landscape in the south of the municipality of Fernitz-Mellach merges into the hilly landscape of the East Styrian Riedelland . The protected landscape area is characterized by wetland vegetation dominated by mixed deciduous forest and arable land used for agriculture.

The conservation area includes the municipal areas of Graz , Feldkirchen bei Graz , Kalsdorf bei Graz , Werndorf , Gössendorf and Fernitz-Mellach .

use

Hydropower plants

There are currently 21 hydropower plants on the Mur, two of which are located in the Murauen Graz-Werndorf nature reserve.

The Gössendorf power plant is located in the north of the protected area in the Gössendorf municipality and was commissioned in 2012. The Kalsdorf power plant, built in 2013, is only a few kilometers south . In the course of the construction of the power plants, the preservation of the riparian zones and partial renaturation of the Mur floodplains was an important aspect. Subsequently, with the reactivation of an old arm near Thondorf, the new local recreation area "Murauen" was created.

The two projects faced massive criticism during their construction phase. Nature conservation institutions distanced themselves from the seamless expansion of hydropower in this area of the Mur. Environmentalists, citizens' groups and activists have called for construction of the two power plants to be stopped. Before the construction of the two power plants, the area from the Murauen Graz-Werndorf to the Weinzödl power plant in the north of Graz was the last large free stretch of the Mur within Styria.