The Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park (german: Nationalpark Neusiedler See-Seewinkel) is a national park in eastern

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 ...

. The park extends over an area of 97 square kilometres of the province of

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 ...

and protects parts of the westernmost

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

of the Eurasian Steppe.

History

This national park is located on the eastern edge of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

and on the western edge of the

Little Hungarian Plain The Little Hungarian Plain or Little Alföld ( Hungarian: ''Kisalföld'', Slovak: ''Malá dunajská kotlina'', German: ''Kleine Ungarische Tiefebene'') is a plain (tectonic basin) of approximately 8,000 km² in northwestern Hungary, south- ...

. Because of its location, the area has, for centuries, been a buffer zone between the

great power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...

s of Europe. In 1994, as the first national park in Austria, it received a category II label from the IUCN.

Description

The area of the national park is a meeting point for different plant and animal species. These include alpine, pannonian, asian, mediterranean and northern European species. This results in a mosaic of environments, including

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

herding Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...

meadows,

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

s, sand steppes and salt areas. In the west the area is bordered by the

Leitha Mountains The Leitha Mountains or, less frequently, Leitha Hills (german: Leithagebirge; hu, Lajta-hegység), are a range of hills in Austria lying on the boundary between Lower Austria and Burgenland. The range is an offshoot of the Alps and forms a conn ...

, the

Parndorf Plain Parndorf Plain (german: Parndorfer Platte, hu, Parndorfi-fennsík, Pándorfalvi-fennsík, sk, Parndorfská plošina) also called Parndorf Heath (german: Parndorfer Heide) in the northern part of Burgenland, Austria, at an altitude of 160– ...

in the north and the Hanság in the east. The

mire A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types ...

of Hanság was for centuries a part of

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 ...

. Lake Neusiedl itself is situated at the lowest point of the

at an altitude of around 115m above sea level. The ownership structure of the national park Neusiedler See-Seewinkel is different from that of other national parks in Austria. Neusiedlersee-Seewinkel is not owned by any government but rather by around 1,200 different owners. Most of them are local farmers that receive a yearly compensation for leaving these plots unused. The national park has a visitor information centre, which is located in the town of Illmitz.

Flora and Fauna

Birds

The national park is known for its varied birdlife, with some of the 178 breeding species found at their westernmost edges of their distribution, whilst the national park also attracts regular vagrant bird species, which form a substantial proportion of the more than 350 species recorded in the area. Rare species have included the first Austrian records of Pacific golden plover in 2008,

semipalmated sandpiper The semipalmated sandpiper (''Calidris pusilla'') is a very small shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''pusilla'' is Lati ...

in 2013 and blue-cheeked bee-eater in 2016. Some of the most sought after species for birdwatchers include

great bustard The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South and Central Europe, to temperate Central and East Asia. European po ...

pygmy cormorant The pygmy cormorant (''Microcarbo pygmaeus'') is a member of the Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant) family of seabirds. It breeds in south-eastern Europe and south-western Asia. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further ...

ferruginous duck The ferruginous duck (''Aythya nyroca''), also known as ferruginous pochard, common white-eye or white-eyed pochard, is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurosiberia. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'' an unidentified seabir ...

little crake The little crake (''Zapornia parva'') is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae. ''parva'' is Latin for "small". Its breeding habitat is reed beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and just into western Asia. This species is migratory, wi ...

European bee-eater The European bee-eater (''Merops apiaster'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in southern and central Europe, northern and southern Africa, and western Asia. Except for the resident southern African populat ...

and Syrian woodpecker.

Flora

Notable plant species include Suaeda pannonica and Lepidium cartilagineum, as well as

blue iris ''Iris spuria'' is a species of the genus Iris, part of the subgenus '' Limniris'' and the series '' Spuriae''. It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, from Europe, Asia and Africa. It has purple or lilac flowers, and slender, elongated leaves. It ...

and Siberian iris.

References

National parks of Austria Protected areas established in 1993 Geography of Burgenland Tourist attractions in Burgenland {{Burgenland-geo-stub