The Myra Falls (german: Myrafälle or rarer: ''Mirafälle''; always pronounced with a German "i") are located in a

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Muggendorf Muggendorf is a municipality in the district of Wiener Neustadt-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, ...

in the Austrian federal state of

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

(N.B. not to be confused with the Mira Falls (''Mirafall'') farther west in the ''Ötschergräben''). The ravine has been cut by the ''Myrabach'', a small tributary of the

Piesting The Piesting is a river in southern Lower Austria. A left tributary of the Fischa, its drainage basin is . The sources of the Piesting are the Kalte Gang, the , and the Längapiesting, which begin south of the Schneeberg. These rivers meet in Gu ...

. The ''Myra'', as the stream is also known, rises at the foot of the Unterberg from the ''Myralucke'', a spring steeped in legend, that is fed by an underground lake. Although the Myra is only a few kilometres long, it used to power a large number of mills and sawmills in the Myra valley. In 1899 plans were laid for ''"the exploitation of this waterfall for industrial purposes and thus the destruction of a natural beauty"''. In 1912 Lord Oskar of Rosthorn (''Oskar Edler von Rosthorn'') built a small

pumped-storage power station Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potenti ...

at the Myra Falls, that was in operation until 1974/1975. The actual ravine with the falls is about long; its height difference is . The gorge runs from north to south and is protected as a natural monument. The subsoil of the gorge is

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. The Myrabach falls in several cascades through the gorge. At the upper and lower end the water is impounded into a small

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

2009-08-08 0814 Muggendorf Myra-Faelle Gedenktafel

A well-developed and popular hiking trail leads through the gorge. It was built in 1885 by the Pernitz branch of the

Austrian Tourist Club The Austrian Tourist Club (german: Österreichische Touristenklub) or ÖTK is the second oldest and third largest Alpine club in Austria. The foundation of the club goes back to an initiative by Gustav Jäger, publisher of ''Der Tourist'', the f ...

(''Österreichischer Touristenklub''), with 19 bridges and 8 ascents (opened: 9 August 1885)''Eröffnung der Myra-Wasserfälle.'' Badener Bezirks-Blatt, 6 August 1885, p. 3, lower righ

/ref> and looked after them since then. There are two commemorative plaques at the entrance to the Myra Falls. The first recalls the ''"opening up of the falls and the construction of the ascents by the Pernitz Branch of the Ö. TC"''. The second panel is dedicated ''"to the memory of the visit to the Myra Falls on 19 September 1801 by His Majesty the Roman-German Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor, Francis II, Her Majesty

Empress Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

, and by Their Imperial Highnesses, the Crown Prince Ferdinand Karl Leopold Joseph and Archduchess Maria Ludoica, donated by Aust. Tourist Club and the "Enzian" Alpine Society on 8 June 1902."'' There are restaurants at the top and bottom of the gorge. The entrance to the gorge may easily be reached on foot or by car (car park) and is located about north of the village of Muggendorf. The Myra ends shortly after the falls at

Pernitz Pernitz is a town in the district of Wiener Neustadt-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. History The origin of the name ''Pernitz'' is the Slavic word ''perenica'', which refers to a stream on which charcoal is used. The Slavic settleme ...

where it joins the

Postage stamp

On 7 December 1977 the

Österreichische Post Österreichische Post is the company responsible for postal service in Austria. This company was established in 1999 after its split-off from the mail corporate division of the former state-owned PTT agency Post- und Telegraphenverwaltung ( de ...

brought out a

definitive stamp A definitive stamp is a postage stamp that is part of the regular issue of a country's stamps, available for sale by the post office for an extended period of time and designed to serve the everyday postal needs of the country. The term is used in ...

on this subject in their Austrian landscape series to the value of 20.00 shillings. File:Myrafall1.jpg, Walkway at the Myra Falls File:Myrafall2.jpg, Footbridge over the Myra Falls File:Myrafall3.jpg, Walkway at the Myra Falls

References

External links

* ''Mira (Fall der).'' — Franz Xavier Joseph Schweickhardt, ''Darstellung des Erzherzogthums Oesterreich unter der Ens ��', Dritter Band, Viertel unter dem Wienerwald, Vienna 1831, p. 268 ff

Photos and site plan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myra Falls Canyons and gorges of Austria WMyra Falls Waterfalls of Austria Gutenstein Alps Landforms of Lower Austria Tourist attractions in Lower Austria