Natural monument (Upper Austria)

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Natural monument plaque of the state of Upper Austria

As a natural monument , the state of Upper Austria has placed natural structures under protection that are due to their peculiarity or rarity or because of their special scientific or cultural value or because of the special character that they give the landscape. There are 546 natural monuments in Upper Austria (March 2014).

Legal basis

Definition of terms

According to Paragraph 16 of the State Law on the Conservation and Care of Nature (Upper Austria Nature and Landscape Protection Act 2001 - Upper Austria NSchG 2001), natural monuments are “natural structures that because of their peculiarity or rarity, because of their special scientific or cultural value or because of their special character that they give the landscape, are worth preserving ”. Furthermore, natural monuments can be natural structures "in which rare or scientifically interesting minerals or fossils occur". In addition to the natural formation itself, the environment that is necessary for the preservation of the natural formation or that directly influences its appearance can be designated as a natural monument by a decision of the state government. A prerequisite for the designation as a natural monument is also that the public interest in the preservation of the natural formation and its surroundings outweighs all other public interests. If these prerequisites are no longer met, the declaration as a natural monument must be revoked.

In particular, waterfalls, rock formations, geological outcrops and manifestations, groups of trees and trees and individual trees are considered natural structures worthy of protection.

Interventions in and threats to natural monuments

Interventions in a protected property are any temporary or permanent measure that can have a significant impact on the protected area or property or with regard to the protection purpose or is likely to result from multiple repetitions or accumulation of such measures. There is also an intervention if the measure itself starts outside of the protected area or object (Upper Austrian NSchG 2001, §3 Z. 3). Such interventions on natural monuments are only permitted if they have to be carried out on the basis of statutory provisions or in the interests of human safety or to avert the risk of significant property damage. The state government can approve other interventions, if necessary also by stipulating conditions, time limits or requirements, for measures to secure the protective purpose or insofar as this does not significantly impair the protective purpose.

In addition to protection against interference, the Nature and Landscape Protection Act obliges the owner or person authorized to dispose of the natural monument to notify the state government immediately of changes, hazards and the destruction of the natural monument. If, due to changes or threats to the natural monument, new or additional protective measures are required to secure its existence, these are to be notified to the owner in return and to be tolerated by him.

Protection procedure

As soon as the intention is to identify a natural formation as a natural monument, the owner or person entitled to dispose of it must be notified in accordance with Section 17 and negotiations must be conducted regarding the conclusion of agreements under private law that promote the preservation, design and maintenance of the natural formation. In particular, the state must strive for contractual agreements with landowners or other beneficial owners in order to secure the implementation, restriction or omission of the management and use of land under private law. In this agreement, the protective measures to be carried out immediately for the undamaged preservation of the natural formation are to be described and tolerated by the owner (authorized person). Such protective measures must be carried out by the state as the bearer of private rights. From the point in time of the notification, the restrictions on disposal with regard to interventions and changes or hazards apply for a period of six months, provided that the natural formation has not been legally established as a natural monument within this period.

history

As of April 1, 1989, 396 natural structures in Upper Austria had been declared natural monuments, whereby a total of 25 of the natural monuments, especially trees, had to be revoked because of their poor health and any associated danger to people and property. The highest number of natural monuments until 1989 was in the Braunau am Inn district, where 54 natural monuments were designated. In the Gmunden district there were 47, in the Vöcklabruck district 36, in the Perg district 33 and in the Freistadt district 30. The lowest number of natural monuments were found in the city of Wels with 3 natural features, in the Eferding district with 4, in the Wels-Land district 8 and in the city of Steyr with 9 natural monuments. On March 26, 2014, a total of 663 natural structures had already been declared natural monuments, of which 546 natural monuments existed and 117 natural structures had their protection status withdrawn. Around 80 percent of the existing natural monuments at that time were trees, groups of trees or wooded areas, followed by rocks and stone blocks with around 10 percent and caves with around 5 percent. Only around 4 percent were water bodies, one percent comprised other plant areas such as meadows or the like.

Natural monuments by district

district Unterschutz-
settings
Consisting of natural monuments		 Natural monuments
deleted 		Natural monuments
/ km² 		Trees and
groups of trees 		Other plants Waters rock caves
Braunau am Inn 75 60 15th 0.058 60 0 0 0 0
Eferding 8th 6th 2 0.023 5 1 0 0 0
Free City 39 34 5 0.033 23 0 0 11 0
Gmunden 93 80 13 0.056 50 0 6th 4th 20th
Grieskirchen 23 18th 5 0.031 17th 0 0 1 0
Kirchdorf an der Krems 43 34 9 0.027 19th 0 4th 4th 7th
Linz 48 40 8th 0.41 39 0 1 0 0
Linz Land 21st 16 5 0.035 13 1 1 1 0
Perg 48 46 2 0.075 23 0 4th 19th 0
Ried im Innkreis 32 23 9 0.039 22nd 0 0 1 0
Rohrbach 35 30th 5 0.036 28 0 0 2 0
Schärding 35 23 12 0.037 19th 0 2 2 0
Steyr 17th 14th 3 0.528 14th 0 0 0 0
Steyr-Land 31 28 3 0.029 14th 2 2 8th 2
Urfahr environment 33 28 5 0.045 23 1 0 3 1
Vöcklabruck 62 51 11 0.048 45 2 1 2 1
catfish 4th 4th 0 0.087 4th 0 0 0 0
Catfish Land 16 11 5 0.026 10 0 1 0 0
total 663 546
(82%) 		117
(18%) 		438
(80%) 		7
(1%) 		22
(4%) 		57
(10%) 		30
(5%)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Austrian legal information system : Oö. Nature and Landscape Protection Act 2001 - Upper Austria. NSchG 2001
  2. ^ H. Mülleder, S. Kapl: Natural monuments in Upper Austria. (PDF; 104 MB) Office d. Upper Austria. State government, agricultural u. Forest law department, Linz 1989
  3. ^ Province of Upper Austria , accessed on March 26, 2014

literature

Web links

Commons : Natural monuments in Upper Austria  - collection of images, videos and audio files