Thayatal National Park is a protected reserve located in the Lower Austria on the border with a Czech Republic where protected biosphere stretches into Podyjí National Park.
Location: Lower Austria Map
Area: 1300 hectares
Thayatal National Park reserve gets its name after a river Thaya that flows between hills. At 311 km it is the longest tributary to the Morava River. Originally this area was supposed to be filled up by an artificial lake after construction of a hydro plant. However public outcry stopped these plans from fruition. Thayatal National Park was established in 1997 after the Lower Austrian National Parks Act. Currently there are plans to expand the area, but no concrete steps have been made.
The tallest peak in Thayatal National Park is a mount Umlaufberg, completely surrounded by forests and rift valleys. This smallest protected area of Austria was established in 1971 and covers a total 1300 hectares of pristine untouched nature. In addition to marvellous nature you can visit ruins of medieval stronghold of Kaja and Hardegg Castle within its boundaries.
Location
In addition to the town of Hardegg, the national park
also includes Hardegg Castle and the Kaja ruins. Directly from the
Austrian part you can go to the Czech National Park in Hardegg over the
bridge over the Thaya, which forms the state border, or go by bike.
In addition to the orientation towards the sun, the shape of the
valley and the chemical properties of the bedrock are also responsible
for the ecological diversity.
Emergence
Although the national
park is much older on the Czech side, efforts to place it under
protection in Austria also go back a long way.
After it became
known in 1984 that a power plant was to be built on the Czech side of
the Thaya, citizens' initiatives and the city of Hardegg successfully
tried to prevent this.
In 1988 and 1991, two areas along the
Thaya were placed under nature protection by decree of the Lower
Austrian provincial government. These two areas are the forerunners of
today's national park.
After the national park was created in the
Czech Republic in 1991, it was decided in Austria as early as 1992 to
draw level with the protected status.
After the preparation of
the various feasibility studies and the creation of the legal framework,
the state treaty was signed in 1997 between the Ministers Bartenstein
and Edlinger for the Republic and Governor Proell for the State of Lower
Austria for the establishment of the national park.
Flora
The
smallest national park in Austria is home to half of all plant species
found in the country. The reason for this is that the area lies on the
climatic boundary between the rougher, wetter plateau climate of the
Central European transitional climate in the Waldviertel and the
continentally influenced Pannonian climate in the Weinviertel. In the
western part and on the shady northern slopes, beech forest communities
dominate, in which sycamore, yew and sycamore elm can also be seen in
addition to the common beech. In the herb layer grow martagon lily,
daphne, sorrel, onion toothroot, single-flowered pearl grass and, as a
special feature, the white forest bird.
Especially in the eastern
part of the area, oak and hornbeam forests can be found on the southern
slopes, which are very dry and warm due to the sun's rays. The larva of
the stag beetle is growing in the fallen trees. The rare steppe polecat
migrates through the larger dry and warm oak forest stands of the Czech
national park.
Fauna
Numerous rare animal and plant species
have been able to defend their habitat in the Thayatal: otters, dice
snakes, crested newts and the white-tailed eagle as winter guests
benefit from the intact river ecosystem. Black storks, Aesculapian
snakes and white-backed woodpeckers live hidden in the near-natural
forest stands. The dry grasslands and rocky sites are also an important
habitat for endangered species such as the eastern green lizard, smooth
snake, eagle owl and common raven. After the opening of the Iron
Curtain, animal species that had already disappeared from Austria were
sighted again in the Thayatal: the elk and the wildcat.
Filmography
The valley on the border: Thayatal National Park,
documentary, 50 min., Austria, 2000, production: Lotus Film, written and
directed by: Heinz Leger
In the realm of the wildcat: 10 years
Thayatal National Park, documentary film, 23 min., Austria, 2009,
production: ORF-Landesstudio Niederösterreich, director: Sabine
Daxberger
Experience Austria: Return of the Wilderness - The Thayatal
National Park in Lower Austria, documentary, Austria, 2020, Austria,
2009, production: ORF-Landesstudio Niederösterreich, director: Sabine
Daxberger