Naturschutzgebiet Erdpresshöhe, Lassee, Foto: Anton Tantner
This project creates a digital stroll through Austria's first nature reserve.
Funding
Amt der NÖ Landesregierung, Abteilung Kunst und Kultur (Projektfonds 100 Jahre Niederösterreich)
Duration
May 2022 - September 2022
Principal investigator and researcher
Anton Tantner
Description
Austria's first nature reserve was established not in the Alps, but in the Marchfeld, a few years after Lower Austria had become an independent province: in 1927, the dry grasslands of the "Weikendorfer Remise" became a "ban area", after the sand dunes of the Marchfeld and the "drifting sand" whirled up by the characteristic wind had been considered a nuisance for agriculture and a great danger for travelers in the centuries before.
This often misunderstood region was opened up early on for sporting and natural history purposes: As early as 1899, the first Austrian bicycle path was opened from Floridsdorf via Deutsch-Wagram to Bockfließ. In the following decades excursions to the Weikendorf Remise as well as to the adjacent sandy areas were organized, slide lectures at the Vienna Urania dealt with the Marchfeld.
This project explores the history of the nature reserve over the last 100 years or so. The findings will be presented in an image-rich digital flanery. On September 7, 2022, the project results will be presented in an evening event in cooperation with the Lower Austrian State Library.
