Welser Heide
The Welser Heide is an area in Upper Austria that lies in the foothills of the Alps from Lambach to Hörsching an der Traun . It belongs to the core area of the Upper Austrian central area and is now relatively densely populated with the main town of Wels .
In a narrower sense, the Welser Heide consisted of dry gravel fields on the lower terrace on the left in the lower Traun Valley , which were cultivated until the 18th century.
geology
The sequence of deposits, which can be easily reconstructed in today's limestone Alps , and which later also had an impact on the nature of the fertile loam-loess soil (that caused the very early settlement of the Welser Heide), began with salt and gypsum in the expiring era of the earth (Mesozoic) shallow lagoons of the Tethys Sea, which dominated the "Upper Austrian" landscape at that time (approx. 150–70 million years).
In the course of the Triassic period, sandy, clayey and calcareous deposits followed in connection with coral reefs, whereby the several thousand meters thick limestone packages of the high limestone Alps ( Dachstein massif , Totes Gebirge ) and those of the Wetterstein limestone Alps ( Höllengebirge , Traunstein , Haller Mauern , Lower Pre-Alps ) were formed.
From the Cretaceous onwards, which caused the mountain formation, the once 1000 kilometers wide seabed was repeatedly narrowed, so that these rock masses, formerly deposited far south of their current position, were folded, transported far north and pushed one on top of the other. The southern edge of the already solidified Bohemian Massif (today Mühlviertel, Waldviertel) plunged into the depths, so that here in the Cretaceous between the Dachstein limestone and today's granite and gneiss highlands a sea trough was formed, in which rocks (sandstones and marl) are found today the edge of the Alps forming Flyschalpen were deposited (70-65 million years).
It was not until the Cenozoic (Earth New Age) that the Alps almost got the look they have today. The Tethys Ocean pushed in and out again and again. Those level fluctuations washed a large mass of fine sediment into the meadows of the Upper Austrian Limestone Alps, washed through by the sea, which formed the sea trough of this transition zone between the Dachstein Limestone and the Bohemian Massif (the coast then stretched in the Linz area from Aschach via Ottensheim and Urfahr to Mauthausen ) steadily filled with molasses (gravel, loam-loess-silt) and thus slowly leveled it before the Tethys Sea should finally retreat (65–17 million years).
From now on, the area of the heath in today's Wels area was only modeled by the mighty glaciers of the ice ages that followed (from 2.5 million years), as well as by the minor but steadily gnawing erosion of the stream network, which the Tethys Sea near its last retreat (today's Traunauen and Traun river ). The Ice Age glaciers repeatedly pushed out over the edge of the Alps into the area of the Welser Heide, which among other things led to the formation of the so-called Traunterrassen. The brooks and the growing rivers (Traun, Danube) also carried (and carry) a large amount of gravel and cleared fine sediment from the limestone Alps into the upstream plains.
The glaciers of the last glacial period, the Würme Ice Age , with their peak 20,000 years ago, then penetrated into the large lake basins on the edge of the Alps (the Traungletscher had formed its terminal moraine around the height of Gmunden at that time). In the area of today's Welser Heide there was already tundra and cold steppe with animals such as mammoth , woolly rhinoceros , giant deer , steppe wisent , reindeer and cave bear, which were adapted to these conditions . Humans were also roaming this country at this time and penetrated deep into the mountains on their hunting expeditions.
About 12,000–10,000 years ago woody plants spread again over a large area, until humans became increasingly sedentary in the Neolithic Age and thus actively intervened in the natural development and expansion of the post-glacial forests.
history
Archaeologically determined settlement history
Due to its fertility (loam-loess-silt; originally only on the high terrace and partly in the Austufe), the Welser Heide is one of the longest populated landscapes in Upper Austria. The first human traces lead back deep into the Stone Age .
The following gives an overview of the prehistoric settlement based on extracts from the archaeological excavations in the area of the Welser Heide.
- Leondine (approx. 4,500 - 4,300 BC)
The grave of the "Leondine" from the three-phase Neolithic settlement at today's Leonding police station (approx. 4500-4300 BC) is one of the oldest burials in Upper Austria. During the excavation in 1994, rich and in some cases unusual additions such as ceramics, jewelry and stone utensils were documented.
- Neolithic find from Niederperwend (approx. 2,500 BC)
When digging an apple tree at the Beitelmayrgut near Marchtrenk , a rubbish pit from the late Neolithic was found. The find included shards of vessels and tools, ladles, stone axes, arrowheads and remains of hut walls. Such mixed finds indicate a near permanent settlement. The people settled down at this time and preferred, especially in the area of the steppe and tundra, slightly elevated places to build their “clan farms”. This find is partially exhibited in the Wels City Museum.
- Late Neolithic finds from Rutzing - Haid (approx. 2,500 BC)
In Rutzing, in addition to a burial ground with 24 body graves and grave goods, a shoe last wedge was also found. A simultaneous living space near the burial ground could also be proven by further finds. Stone axes were found in the village of Neubau, a hole ax in Haid, a stone hammer in Holzleiten and in Öhndorf.
- Bronze Age stool graves in Leithen - Holzleithen (approx. 1,500 BC)
When gravel pits were being built in 1957, a large Bronze Age stool grave field with extensive grave goods was discovered south of the main road in Leithen, which spreads even further east via Holzleithen. The associated housing estate is believed to be in Leithen.
- Early Hallstatt barrows at the Wels airfield (approx. 1,000 - 900 BC)
In 1939, when the Wels airfield was being expanded , 70 grave forms with numerous finds were found. Unfortunately, almost all of the urns were already damaged by bulldozers, and the position of the graves can only be determined in some cases by soil discoloration. An examination of found wood residues showed evidence of common oak and Swiss stone pine . Some of the finds can be viewed in the Wels City Museum.
- Finds from the Latène period along Bundesstrasse 1 in a new building (approx. 400 - 15 BC);
From 2005 onwards, numerous Celtic finds were systematically recovered along today's Bundesstraße 1, near the village of Neubau. They show that the settlement in the Welser Heide was permanent even in the Iron Age . The firm, gravelly, level heather, the easily accessible banks and water of the Traun, the abundance of fish in the Traun and the heather streams allowed for successful economic activity despite the barren soil of the lower terrace.
- The beginning of Roman times in Noricum (approx. 15 BC)
After the devastating extermination of the French Celts (Gauls), the Noricum (Upper Austria, Salzburg, partly Lower Austria, partly Carinthia, partly Styria ) merged with the end of the La Tène period (approx. 400-15 BC) , partly Bavaria) into the Roman Empire almost without a fight. The Danube represented the wet border to the northern peoples, the Germanic peoples . More southern defensive walls were also built. The formerly Celtic Willabs ( Wels ) is due to its favorable location and its bridge to the pulsating commercial hub Ovilava . During this time, the first solid roads were drawn straight through the Welser Heide. The routes of some of these imperial roads are still in use today (e.g. Bundesstrasse 1 Wels – Linz, Römerstrasse Wels, some of the Bundesstrasse Wels – Lambach, Römerstrasse Pasching / Leonding, Bundesstrasse Wels – Buchkirchen)
The modern development of the Welser Heide
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The Welser Heide consisted of dry gravel fields on the lower terrace on the left in the Traun Valley. Through centuries of Schlier fertilization with soil material from the surrounding hill country, the area was gradually made fertile. This process was completed in the second half of the 18th century.
The area between Lambach, Wels and Linz appears to be more and more structured due to the increasingly large-scale development and the spacious areas used as agricultural land. Rivers (Traun River) and streams were more and more merged and straightened, so former swamp areas were drained and made usable for arable farming. The streams now carrying more water were also used for milling (e.g. Mühlbach in Wels).
Roads were continuously being expanded, and increasing numbers of houses were being built in favorable locations ( Marchtrenk , Hörsching , Pasching, etc.). In particular, today's Bundesstraße 1, which was known as the Reichsstraße until the monarchy, boosted trade and later the economy.
Vegetation and nature conservation
The species-rich semi-dry lime lawns , which were previously widespread in the Welser Heide, have been reduced to small residual areas through intensive agriculture (improvement of the soil water-holding capacity through the entry of Schlier from the surrounding hill country, conversion to low-species fat meadows through regular fertilization). Today these are mostly only on the steep slopes at the transition from the lower terrace to the Austufe. These embankment areas can also lose their heather character due to increasing bush and forest cover, because regular mowing is no longer carried out or the previously common grazing is no longer required. Another risk is the destruction of these areas due to the brisk construction activity in the densely populated central region of Upper Austria.
In the poor grassland of the Welser Heide live rare plant species adapted to the dry habitat of the gravel soils. Some of them are only found further east in Austria in the Pannonian region . Typical representatives are, for example, crackling strawberry , creeper , Regensburg dwarf clover , noble germander , Micheli sedge or the panicle grass lily . The stone carnation is also rarely found in regions outside of these botanically valuable areas. The occurrence of some other species in the Welser Heide is endangered, such as pasque flower and mountain germander . Two species did not become extinct in the Welser Heide until the end of the 20th century due to habitat destruction: Ehriger speedwell and real globe flower .
In addition to the semi-arid grassland, there is a second characteristic habitat on the barren soils of the low terrace, the heather forest . These are deciduous forests dominated by ash, hornbeam and pedunculate oak, which, however, are often mixed with conifers such as pines and spruces that are not locally located today. Typical for this type of forest is a dense, species-rich undergrowth with a variety of shrubs such as privet, dirndl, hawthorn, pimpernut, spindle bush, hazelnut or woolly snowball. Examples of such heather forests, some of which only exist as residual areas and are endangered by the construction of gravel pits, for example, are the judicial forest south of Gunskirchen, the hard forest between Wels and Marchtrenk, the Kirchholz south-west of Hörsching or the hemp field near Wagram (municipality of Pasching) .
The only nature reserve in the area of the Welser Heide is located west of Wels in the municipality of Gunskirchen. It is known as the Kuhschellenrasen Wirt am Berg and was established in 1983. There are species-rich semi-arid lawns with a number of red-list plants such as pasque flower . Part of the heather forest to the southwest ( court wood ) with a population of old beeches on the lower terrace slope is also under protection.
The Wels airfield is a consistently preserved, relatively original area of the Wels Heath of considerable size . The area worthy of protection is where, in addition to the occurrence of endangered plants such as the speedwell or field litter, several rare birds such as the endangered curlew breed threatened by the intended expansion of the Wels industrial park to the southeast. A contract with the White Seagull (Fliegerclub Wels) ensures the continued existence of this wasteland in the form of a sailing and motorized airport until the end of 2030. There are plans to convert parts of the airfield and the tank training area to the north into a Natura 2000 protected area.
Battle of August 12, 943
One of the clashes to ward off the Hungarian invasions took place on the Welser Heide. On August 12, 943, the Bavarians triumphed with an offensive victory for Duke Berthold . He inflicted a heavy defeat on the Magyars. For the first time, they were not hit while in retreat. From this it can be concluded that the border area was successfully monitored.
See also
Web links
- Map of the Lower Trauntal / Welser Heide region of Upper Austria
- Wels Airfield Habitat , wmw.at
Individual evidence
- ↑ Harald Kutzenberger: The Welser Heide - an old cultural landscape in dynamism. Considerations on the regional spatial planning program. In: Upper Austrian homeland sheets . Volume 50, Issue 1, Linz 1996, pp. 3–27 ( online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at).
- ↑ Rudlolf teaching: country Chronicle Upper Austria. Christian Brandstätter Verlag, Vienna, Geology in Upper Austria section , p. 31.
- ↑ a b c d Landesarchiv Linz: 1200 years Hörsching. Stadtmuseum Wels, electronic home book of the town of Marchtrenk, overview.
- ^ City Museum Leonding: Body skeleton 'Leondine' - silent contemporary witness. Upper Austrian Museum Association.
- ^ Regional Forum Linz, Early History of Hörsching. on Linz-Land.at:
- ^ Kurt Holter , Wilhelm Riess: Stadtmuseum Wels / catalog . Chapter prehistory , p. 31.
- ^ Hepp Markus: Settlement history of the Welser Heide.
- ↑ Alexander Schuster, Michael Strauch, Martin Plasser: The regained Welser Heide! The Wels airfield against the background of the landscape development in the Lower Trauntal (Upper Austria). In: Natural history station of the city of Linz (ed.): ÖKO.L magazine for ecology, nature and environmental protection. Volume 28, Issue 4, Linz 2006, pp. 3–14 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).
- ↑ Ferdinand Lenglachner, Franz Schanda: Biotope mapping city municipality Wels. 1992.
- ↑ Michael Strauch, Simone Hüttmeir: Plant communities in the Lower Trauntal (Upper Austria). In: Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum 54, 1992, pp. 311–392.
- ↑ Natural area mapping Upper Austria. Biotope mapping at the Wels airfield. Office of Upper Austria. State government, nature conservation department. 2010.
