Illmitz (; hu, Illmic) is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in the district of

Neusiedl am See Neusiedl am See (; cs, Nezider; hr, Niuzalj; hu, Nezsider; sk, Nezider) is a town in Burgenland, Austria, and administrative center of the district of Neusiedl am See. Neusiedl am See is located on the northern shore of the Neusiedler See. ...

Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It is located in a region to the east of the

Lake Neusiedl Lake Neusiedl (german: Neusiedler See), or Fertő ( hu, Fertő (tó); hr, Nežidersko jezero, Niuzaljsko jezero; sl, Nežidersko jezero; sk, Neziderské jazero; cs, Neziderské jezero) is the largest endorheic lake in Central Europe, strad ...

(German: Neusiedlersee; Hungarian: Fertő tó) which is named the ''Seewinkel'' (lake corner).

Geography

Illmitz is in the Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park on the eastern shore of Lake Neusiedl. The town is at an elevation of 117 meters above sea level. Nearby, an area above sea level is the lowest elevation of Austria. Characteristic of the area are wide open plains and salt marsh flora, with many small salt lakes around. The Lange Lacke (Long Lake) is the largest of about forty such lakes nearby.

History

In 1867, the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

was dissolved, and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

was formed, with separate governments in Vienna and Budapest. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was named Deutsch-Westungarn (German-West Hungary) in the 1919 Treaty of St. Germain and the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...

and was awarded to Austria in 1919. Since 1921, the town has been part of the newly founded State of Burgenland. In December 2001, the

National Park Neusiedler See-Seewinkel The Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park (german: Nationalpark Neusiedler See-Seewinkel) is a national park in eastern Austria. The park extends over an area of 97 square kilometres of the province of Burgenland and protects parts of the western ...

was named a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Population

Economy and infrastructure

In Illmitz the primary business is

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

production. The city is surrounded by fields with

grapevines ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...

in them. Tourism also is significant. Every year in May, many ornithologists come from all over Europe to see bird species which include nationally rare vagrants, often visiting the national park information centre located within the town. Long before the establishment of the national park, the Lange Lacke (Long Lake) already was an important nature reserve. Lange Lacke is the largest of about forty salt lakes near the town. It has more than 100 years of scientific data collected on bird life. The bird population and grape growers are in conflict, and farmers have sonic cannons in the fields to frighten birds from eating the grapes. Although only small, Illmitz is known to wine lovers worldwide. Winemakers such as Alois Kracher, Willi Opitz and Stefan Tschida and Salzl are famous for their noble sweet wines.

Notes

On highway signs, the name of the town is also spelled ''Jllmitz'' because the capital "I" and small "l" characters look similar on the Austrian Highway sign font.

References

External links

Hotelproject Neusiedl
Cities and towns in Neusiedl am See District {{Burgenland-geo-stub