Leechwald

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Edge of the forest on Hilnteich

The Leechwald is an urban forest in the Styrian capital Graz . In the second half of the 19th century, the area was in aristocratic ownership and was initially designed as a park. Today the forest area extends over three city districts and, together with the Hilnte pond, forms a popular local recreation area as well as an important ecological compensation area.

Location and surroundings

Hilnteich and Leechwald (right), in the background Schöckl and Platte , picture postcard from around 1913

The Leechwald extends over a foothill of the East Styrian Riedelland that extends far into the Graz Basin . A large part of the forest is in the Mariatrost district , smaller parts of the area are distributed between Geidorf and Ries . Riedel, which runs from the city center in a north-easterly direction and at the southern end of which is the site of the LKH university clinic , is bordered by the popular residential areas of Mariatroster Valley to the north-west and Stiftingtal to the south-east. At the western foot of the slope, which is synonymous with the edge of the forest, lies Hilnteich , which emerged from a clay pit and can be reached by tram line 1 .

The Leechwald in the narrower sense consists of a length of about 2 km and a width of 200 to a maximum of 600 m. It reaches its northern end at the breakthrough of the Mariatroster brook near Kroisbach. The altitude in this area is between 380 and 480  m above sea level. A. From the Hahnhof Villa , which houses the hospital's central laboratory animal facility , the forest area continues as a more or less narrow strip along the Roseggerweg. The forest areas up to the Mariatrost Basilica and beyond are sometimes referred to as Leechwald.

Flora and fauna

The site conditions in the Leechwald are geologically determined by the Tertiary of the Bay of Graz . For the most part, there is Pleistocene gravel at a depth of 3 to 4 m with clay above . Alluvial sediments occur in the deeper areas ; in higher areas - for example along the Roseggerweg - the loamy or marl-like tertiary soil is partially depleted and covered by belvedere gravel and sand . The absence of significant sources which is soil moisture from rainfall and soil conditions dependent.

The natural vegetation at the location of the Leechwald forms a collinous mixed deciduous forest with red beech and oak , which has been supplemented by pines over time. With the park in the 19th century, this appearance underwent a major change , primarily through the planting of numerous exotic conifer species . These include coastal Douglas fir , Alcocks spruce , Caucasus spruce , Sitka spruce , Weymouth pine , Occidental tree of life , Hiba tree , Japanese tree of life , giant tree of life , Sade tree , Hinoki cypress , Lawson's cypress , Nootka cypress , Sawara -By cypress , Canadian hemlock , Nordmann fir , Siberian fir and silver fir . Among the more or less indigenous conifers are mainly Norway spruce , Scots pine and Austrian black pine as well as European yew , larch and common juniper . Among the occurring hardwoods, sycamore , maple , white birch , hornbeam , English oak , black alder , common ash , sweet chestnut , Aesculus × carnea , winter linden , aspen , black locust , tulip tree , field elm , rowan and bird cherry .

Between 1964 and 1975, 820 different types of mushrooms could be counted in the Leechwald and the adjacent forest area on Roseggerweg . A connection between this diversity and the foreign tree plantings was at least considered possible. As particularly remarkable findings of the study author, among others, called oyster mushroom , Petite roof fungus , Gallertfleischiger Fältling , Grifola frondosa , Amanita phalloides , Amanita Vaginata , mouse Gray Scheid Ling , strobilomyces strobilaceus , Winter Rübling and Stachelschuppiger Amanita .

Due to its location in urban space and the diversity of habitats associated with the ecologically small-scale structure, the Leechwald is an important place of rest and retreat for various animal species. Old and dead wood elements are often left in place to provide a habitat for insects and small animals. By 2000, 40 different bird species could be detected in the forest area. These include blackbirds , mistletoe and song thrushes , mountain finches , treecreepers , bullfinches , summer and winter gold cocks , jays , tawny owls , grosbeak , carrion crow , cuckoo , blackcap and all five native woodpecker species blood , great spotted , gray , green and black woodpecker . The number of animal species living at least temporarily in the Leechwald was estimated to be around 5000 , excluding protozoa .

history

The name Leechwald is derived from the Middle High German lè , which means “ hill (grave) ”. The names of the Leechkirche and Leechgasse have the same origin . As can be seen from the maps of the Josephinische Landesaufnahme , the forest already existed in 1787. In the 1860s, the area came into the possession of Count Heinrich von Attems-Petzenstein , who had it redesigned from a rural pine forest to a sophisticated park. With the initial pruning of the coniferous forest, the development of an oak grove was promoted, which was supplemented by the planting of allegedly 36,000 young trees of 2,400 different species. Attems mainly obtained the plants, especially conifers (see above ), from Muskau .

The Leechwald Villa (Detail 2012)

After the construction of an access road, a villa was built in the middle of the forest in 1869 , which from then on served as the home of the Attems family. There was a large rose garden around the house , the main flowering time of which is believed to have been in the 1890s. The planned conversion to a lung sanatorium failed because a permit was not granted, and today the villa serves as the guest house of the Technical University .

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Viennese building contractor Alfred Wünsch bought the surrounding forest in the hope of clearing it and building villas on the land. When this project was not approved either, he offered the area, which was then still in the municipality of Fölling (later Maria Trost), for sale to the municipality of Graz in 1905. Because Wünsch had already had the property parceled out, the purchase negotiations turned out to be difficult. Finally, the Grazer Gemeindesparkasse acquired the 9 hectare property in 1907 for the price of 400,000 crowns from its reserve fund . For a symbolic lease it was handed over to the custody of the city, which had owned the neighboring Hilnteich since 1868. In the same year, the new city forest was opened and thus handed over to the population.

Although the "crowd of people" that came with the opening was initially viewed critically, the Leechwald developed into one of the most important local recreational areas in the city. Not least because of this, residents and visitors are always sensitive to beating. These took place in particular in 1974 as a rejuvenation measure and in 1996 as part of a rehabilitation program following large amounts of snow. As it became known only three years later, in 1997 and 1998 the city turned down an offer from the Austrian Housing Cooperative (ÖWG) to take over three forest parcels in the Lindenhof area for free. According to research by the Kleine Zeitung , tree renovation costs of only 60,000 schillings would have been incurred for the 6570 m² area . After the clearing by the new private owner, the city councilor Siegfried Nagl , who is responsible for property management, stated in 2001 that he had no knowledge of the cause.

Vice Mayor Franz Hasiba declared in 1974 that he wanted to preserve the forest:

“The Leechwald must - and that is my firm intention - not only be preserved for us and our“ contemporaries ”as the wonderful recreational area that it is today, but also for our children, who are perhaps even more dependent than us on such“ green islands ” will be."

Leisure activities

Forest School Graz
Memorial for disabled Nazi victims

While a local tavern initially attracted people to the Leechwald, the range of leisure activities has continued to develop ever since. Especially walkers and runners appreciate the terrain. In addition to a signposted running route and checkpoints for orienteering , a popular hiking trail leads from Hilnteich to Mariatrost, which is also a section of the Mariazeller Weg . In addition, there is an educational forest trail laid out in 2000 by the mountain and nature watch in collaboration with the Institute for Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology and the municipal property management . A high ropes course , which has been in existence since 2007, covers an area of ​​8000 m² and offers four courses of different levels of difficulty. The forest school Graz and the animal welfare association Kleine Wildtiere are also in great need in the Leechwald . The Hilmwarte , which opened in 1888, now has a weather radar and is no longer freely accessible.

A special feature is the human rights path, which leads along the access road to Villa and Hilmwarte as well as the boundary fence to the LKH and shows all 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on boards. In line with Article 10 (“Everyone has an innate right to life”), a memorial was designed in 2011 by artist Sigi Faschingbauer on behalf of Lebenshilfe Steiermark . It consists of a stele with a poem and several bent metal rods and is intended to commemorate the persecution and extermination of people with disabilities during National Socialism . The following is the last of the four verses of the poem:

Says
blooming flowers again
Where once
your bodies were burnt
, birds singing again
Where your words fell silent,
the earth looks at us
with your eyes

To our streams of
words Toneless
Not bitter

Literature and maps

  • Richard Segwitz: The Grazer Leechwald and the adjacent forest area to Mariatrost, a find area for the mushroom friend. In: Communications from the Department of Botany at the Museum Joanneum , vol. 48, issue 7, Graz 1976, pp. 47–68. Online PDF , accessed October 11, 2019.
  • Thomas Frieß, Melitta Fuchs, Peter Köck, Sigrun Ossegger & Peter Bedenk: Leechwald educational forest trail. Property Management Department of the City of Graz & Berg- und Naturwacht Steiermark (Ed.), Graz 2000, 73 pp.
  • City map Graz 1: 15,000. Freytag & Berndt , Vienna 2017, ISBN 978-3850841146 .
  • Austrian map 1: 50,000, sheet 4229 ( UTM ). Federal Office for Metrology and Surveying .

Web links

Commons : Leechwald  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Richard Segwitz: The Grazer Leechwald and the adjacent forest area to Mariatrost, a find area for the mushroom friend. In: Communications from the Department of Botany at the Museum Joanneum , vol. 48, issue 7, Graz 1976, pp. 47–68. Online PDF , accessed October 11, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b Karl Hauszer: The conifers in the Leechwald. In: Tagespost , edition of January 1, 1928, p. 27.
  3. ↑ Josef Eggler: Conifers planted in Graz and the surrounding area. In: Communications from the Natural Science Association for Styria , Volume 75, Graz 1937, pp. 17–30. Online PDF , accessed October 11, 2019.
  4. ^ Department of Property Management of the City of Graz & Berg- und Naturwacht Steiermark (Ed.): Leechwald Forest Trail. Graz 2000, p. 24 ff.
  5. ↑ Leechwald forest educational trail , pp. 22–23.
  6. ↑ Leechwald educational trail , p. 11.
  7. ↑ Karl Albrecht Kubinzky : "Graz, that is located on Hilmerteich ..." In: BIG - The official pages of the city of Graz , May 2010 edition, pp. 10-11. Online PDF , accessed October 11, 2019.
  8. ↑ Digital Atlas of Styria: Basic Maps & Pictures. State of Styria , accessed on October 11, 2019 .
  9. ↑ a b The Leechwald. In: Grazer Volksblatt , edition of August 11, 1907, p. 6.
  10. ↑ a b Leechwald Forest Trail , pp. 4–6.
  11. ↑ 60 years of Leechwald. In: Kleine Zeitung , edition of March 1, 1967, p. 6.
  12. ↑ a b Franz Hasiba : The Leechwald is maintained and rejuvenated. In: Kleine Zeitung , edition of April 2, 1974, p. 17.
  13. ↑ Rainer Seebacher: Dead trees make forests look old. In: Kleine Zeitung , issue of May 18, 1997, pp. 28-29.
  14. ↑ Bernd Hecke: The city ​​didn't even want to give Leechwald a gift. In: Kleine Zeitung , edition of March 18, 2001, p. 28.
  15. ↑ Bernd Hecke: City plants climbing park in the Leechwald. In: Kleine Zeitung , issue of March 30, 2007, pp. 28–29.
  16. ↑ Konstantin Tzivanopoulos: A tightrope act with obstacles. In: Kleine Zeitung , November 11, 2007 issue, pp. 36–37.
  17. ↑ Alexandra Maria Wurm: The forest ecosystem as an extracurricular learning location. Learning and teaching in the forest and the relevance of the forest school in urban areas. Diploma thesis at the Institute for Biology at the University of Graz 2019, p. 71. Online PDF , accessed on October 11, 2019.
  18. ↑ Ursula Venemann: Monument in the Leechwald. In: It wasn't always like that. Living with a disability in Styria between annihilation and self-determination from 1938 to the present day. Clio, Graz 2014, ISBN 978-3-902542-40-3 , pp. 127–129.

Coordinates: 47 ° 5 ′ 5.5 ″  N , 15 ° 27 ′ 49 ″  E