South Styria Nature Park

The South Styria Nature Park was founded as a nature park in 2002, is located in the south of Styria and borders directly on Slovenia .

geography

The South Styria Nature Park is a nature reserve and recreation area in the Austrian state of Styria. Members of the nature park are 15 nature park communities:

Arnfels Ehrenhausen on the Weinstrasse Gamlitz Gleinstätten Big small

Heimschuh Kitzeck in Sausal Leibnitz Leutschach on the Wine Route Oberhaag

Sankt Andrä-Höch St. Johann in the Saggau Valley Sankt Nikolai im Sausal Straß in Styria Tillmitsch

The total area of ​​the nature park is 380 km² in locations between 250 and 900 m above sea level.

Landscape and protected area

Typical landscape in the South Styria Nature Park

The landscape bordering Slovenia is characterized by colorful flower meadows, vineyards and orchards .

The region contains a considerable number of protected areas and objects:

• Landscape protection areas : South Styrian wine country and Mur floodplains
• Nature reserves :
  • Attemsmoor
  • Demmerkogelwiesen *
  • Dry meadow in the Klein-Kleingraben *
  • at the Sulm
    • Three Sulm altar arms in Heimschuh *
    • Sulm-Altarm in the municipality of Gleinstätten *
    • Altarm and alluvial forest between the Altenmarkter Bridge and the Silberwald *
    • Sulmau landscape
    • Floodplain landscape along the Laßnitz and Sulm *
    • Cave with bat population in Aflenz an der Sulm *
• Natura 2000 areas:
  • Demmerkogel - southern slopes
  • Wellinggraben with Sulm, Saggau and Laßnitz sections and Pößnitzbach
  • Styrian Grenzmur with Gamlitzbach and Gnasbach ( European protected area No. 15)
• numerous natural monuments

* see list of nature reserves in Styria

Flora and fauna

Pyrenees shank milk star

Numerous rare plants and animals can be found in the Southern Styria Nature Park:

Dog-tooth lily Osterluzei plant Osterluzeifalter Orchids Pyrenees shank milk star Black pasque flower Siberian iris

Two-leaved squill Ant maids Bee-eater kingfisher Ural Owl hoopoe Carniolan stone sheep

Alpine crested newt Balkan Moor Frog Mountain newt Russian beetles Common Garlic Toad Eastern green lizard Dice snake

Attractions

There are a number of places in the nature park that are specifically advertised in tourism. These are natural beauties, natural monuments or places of power such as gorges, caves, ponds, moors, waterfalls and sources of origin. These locations are easily accessible and freely accessible.

Natural objects are particularly worth seeing

• Altenbachklamm
• Demmerkogel with butterfly meadow, Attemsmoor, geo-hiking trail and swinging pulpit
• Heiligengeistklamm and Schloßberger Mühlen
• Remschniggalm
• Kreuzbergwarte
• Sulmauen near Leibnitz

There are also (partly tourist) buildings and facilities that help determine cultural life in the region. In addition to oil mills and the so-called wine routes, these include:

the nature park center Grottenhof the motor skills park Gamlitz the Heimschuh generation park

the Kitzeck Wine Museum the Vinofaktur Vogau food shelf

the Seggau Castle the Celtic Park the museum in Grossklein

Awards

In 2018 the nature park was declared Nature Park of the Year by the Association of Nature Parks in Austria .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Südsteiermark Nature Park "Nature Park of the Year" on ORF from January 18, 2018, accessed on January 18, 2018

Web links

Commons : Naturpark Südsteiermark  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• South Styria Nature Park
• Styrian nature parks

Coordinates: 46 ° 43 ′ 19.9 ″  N , 15 ° 27 ′ 49.6 ″  E