Leopoldskroner pond

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The Leopoldskroner Weiher with the Leopoldskron Castle in the front left and the Untersberg in the background right

The Leopoldskroner Weiher is located south of the Mönchsberg in the city of Salzburg , a 13 hectare large standing body of water in the Riedenburg district next to the Leopoldskron Castle . Similar to the Geiselweiher (Geiselweiher) at the foot of the Untersberg, which was abandoned in 1805, it was laid out before 1500 as a retention area for excess water from the Alm Canal .

Plant under Prince Archbishop Firmian

In 1728 Leopold Anton von Firmian also became the owner of the Rädlgut and the adjacent large fish pond. While the previous summer residences of the Salzburg prince archbishops were oriented towards the Salzach or the Saalach, Firmian built his summer residence directly on the Leopoldskroner Weiher and redesigned the pond into an important part of the palace gardens. He also put two islands there. Most of the sculptures in the Rococo castle were lost. The statue of Johannes Nepomuk was preserved at the southern end of the Leopoldskron pond, which was made in 1741 by Anton Pfaffinger from white Untersberg marble.

The former military swimming school

In 1818, the then regiment commander of the Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment No. 59, (since 1830 Leopold Infantry Regiment, Grand Duke of Baden, since 1913 Rainer Regiment ), Colonel Franz Schmidt v. Ehrenberg made the decision to build a swimming school for soldiers in the Leopoldskroner Weiher, which should also be open to civilian residents of the city. After long negotiations with the owner of the pond, Count Leopold von Firmian, the first lease contract was signed in autumn 1829 and the initially very simple bath for men was opened. In 1842 a women's swimming school was added and the men's swimming school was enlarged. In 1890 the facility was expanded to 88 men's and 72 women's cabins. Again and again there were arguments about the rent with the family of Count Firmian, who owned the pond. After the annual rent was to be increased to 5,000 guilders, the regiment gave up the swimming school in 1900. The attempt of the Count Firmian to run the bath there himself failed. From 1912 onwards, the bath was leased by the City of Salzburg and was available to Salzburg residents as a public swimming pool until World War II. In 1944 the facility was destroyed by aerial bombs.

The pond today

The park and recreational landscape with its near-natural and culturally more strongly influenced parts around Schloss Leopoldskron and the two islands in the pond (three islands since around 1900) became an important local recreation area in the 19th and 20th centuries, but also a meeting point for Guests from other countries. To protect and secure its character, the landscape between the Weiherwäldchen (new artificial name since 1990 "Königswäldchen") and the Mönchsberg was declared a landscape protection area. The castle, castle park and pond are also under monument protection.

The pond as a natural space

The lake is of various water birds, including gray geese , mallards , pond chickens , mute swans and grebes inhabited. The gray heron (rarely also the great egret ) can be seen in the shallow water . Often find themselves as guests food along with various species of gulls and coots, mergansers, tufted ducks , goldeneye , pochard , Krick- and Knäckenten . The mandarin duck from East Asia can also be seen regularly in the pond. Feral pets on the pond are musk duck and domestic goose . Some amphibian species can also survive despite the occasional fish population in the shallow water area in the southeast, namely the common frog , common toad and pond newt , and the tree frog can also be found here and there. There is a year-round feeding ban for water birds. By feeding in the consistently shallow water of the pond, pathogens ( botulism ) are strongly promoted, especially in the following hot summer months . B. in 2015 alone 40 ducks perished.

On the banks of the pond at different points of growing Kalmus . An increasing problem is the expansion of the Japanese knotweed on the banks of the pond, a plant that was introduced from the Far East and displaced other plant species.

The pond as a fishing area

The pond is also a popular place for amateur bikers. The fishery here is looked after by the Peter Pfenninger Donation. Day tickets, ten day tickets and annual licenses are available. The most common fish species in the pond are various carp including amur carp, as well as tench, pikeperch and pike.

  • anonymous picture of the pond (around 1830)

  • A high number of swans affects the natural balance of the shallow pond and leads to the death of many animals.

  • Franz Hinterholzer : the Leopoldskroner Weiher, painting (1902)

  • the restored Johannes Nepomuk monument, designed by Josef Anton Pfaffinger in 1741

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