The Vienna Basin (german: Wiener Becken, cz, Vídeňská pánev, sk, Viedenská kotlina, Hungarian: ''Bécsi-medence'') is a geologically young tectonic burial basin and

sedimentary basin Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of the Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock. They form when long-term subside ...

in the seam area between 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, Sw ...

, the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

and the

Pannonian Plain The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only the ...

. Although it topographically separates the Alps from the

Western Carpathians The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland wi ...

, it connects them geologically via corresponding rocks underground.

Geography

The fairly level area has the shape of a

spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...

, over an area of by . In the north it stretches up to the

Marchfeld The Marchfeld ('' Morava Field'') is the north area of the Vienna Basin which is a sedimentary basin between the Eastern Alps and the Western Carpathians. History and location This historical region is known from the Battle on the Marchfeld. It i ...

plateau beyond the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

River. In the southeast, 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 ...

separate it from 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- ...

. In the west, it borders on the

Gutenstein Alps The Gutenstein Alps (german: Gutensteiner Alpen) are a mountain range in the Eastern Alps in Central Europe, and the northeasternmost part of the Northern Limestone Alps, reaching heights over 1,000 m. Topography Die Gutenstein Alps are ...

and

Vienna Woods The Vienna Woods (german: Wienerwald) are forested highlands that form the northeastern foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Lower Austria and Vienna. The and range of hills is heavily wooded and a popular recreation area ...

mountain ranges of the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (german: Nördliche Kalkalpen), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germa ...

. The Danube enters the basin at the Vienna Gate

water gap A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a prac ...

near Mt.

Leopoldsberg The Leopoldsberg (; ) is perhaps Vienna’s most famous hill, towering over the Danube and the city. Leopoldberg’s most prominent landmark is the church which stands at the top, and which is clearly visible from Vienna below. Construction of the ...

, it leaves at

Devín Gate Devín Gate, Hainburger Gate or Hungarian Gates ( sk, Devínska brána, ; german: Hainburger Pforte) is a natural gate in the Danube valley at the border of Slovakia and Austria. It is one out of four geomorphological areas of the Devín Carpathi ...

in the

Little Carpathians The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', sk, Malé Karpaty; german: Kleine Karpaten; hu, Kis-Kárpátok) are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slov ...

east of Hainburg. From the late 12th century onwards, the fortresses of

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

and Hainburg were erected at the southeastern and eastern rim as a defensive wall against attacks from the Hungarian lands downstream the Danube River. Nevertheless, the forces of King

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several m ...

entered the Vienna Basin during the Austrian-Hungarian War in 1485 to begin the Siege of Vienna. It was again invaded by Ottoman troops, who besieged the city in 1529 and 1683.

Structuring

More than 80% of the basin area belongs to the Austrian states 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 ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The northern parts on the Morava (''March'') and

Thaya The Thaya ( cs, Dyje ) is a river in Central Europe, the longest tributary to the river Morava. Its drainage basin is . It is ( with its longest source river German Thaya) long and meanders from west to east in the border area between Lower Au ...

rivers are part of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. Along the southern and western rim, geothermal and

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. T ...

springs occur in several

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...

s such as

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

Bad Vöslau Bad Vöslau (; Central Bavarian: ''Bod Vöslau'') is a spa town in the Lower Austria federal state of Austria. It is also known as the cradle of the Austrian red wine cultivation. Population (2008): 11,190. Geography Bad Vöslau is located 35&nb ...

and

Bad Fischau-Brunn The market town of Bad Fischau-Brunn is an Austrian municipality in the district of Wiener Neustadt-Land in Lower Austria. It is situated some 50 km south of Vienna at the edge of Viennese Basin. Bad Fischau-Brunn is divided into two ''Ka ...

. Parts: *Vienna Basin proper. The part within the Czech Republic is called ''Dolnomoravský úval'' ( Lower Morava Valley), whilst that within Slovakia is called ''Borská nížina'' (Bor Lowland, part of the

Záhorie Záhorie ( hu, Erdőhát) is a region in western Slovakia between by the Little Carpathians to the east and the Morava River to the west. Although not an administrative region, it is one of the 21 official tourism regions in Slovakia. Záhorie ...

region) *

(''Moravské pole'') in Lower Austria * Chvojnice Hills (''Chvojnická pahorkatina'') in Slovakia. The Bor Lowland and Chvojnice Hills are known collectively as Záhorská nížina (Záhorie Lowland).

Geology

The Vienna Basin formations are a series of sedimentary layers that were deposited in the Neogene. It is situated on top of the Alpine fold and thrust belt, located at the junction between the Eastern Alps, the Carpathians, and the Pannonian Basin system. The Vienna Basin has been influenced by the evolution of each of these geologic systems. The basin is characterized by four distinct tectonic phases; (1) Early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

piggyback basin A piggyback basin (also piggy-back, thrust-sheet-top, detached, or satellite basin) is a minor sedimentary basin developed on top of a moving thrust sheet as part of a foreland basin system. Piggyback basins form in the wedge-top depositional zone o ...

, (2) Middle–Late Miocene pull-apart basin, (3) Late Miocene–

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

basin formation. Lee, E.Y. and Wagreich, M. (2016) "3D visualization of the sedimentary fill and subsidence evolution in the northern and central Vienna Basin (Miocene)" Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences 109/2, 241-251, https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/MittGeolGes_109_2_0241-0251.pdf The basin has been studied intensively starting with classical paleontological–stratigraphical papers and then continuing since the beginning of hydrocarbon exploration more than 100 years ago. The Vienna Basin fault system on which the basin lies remains seismically active. Significant earthquakes that propagated across the Vienna Basin include the Neulengbach earthquake of 1590, and the strong

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

that hit

Carnuntum Carnuntum ( according to Ptolemy) was a Roman legionary fortress ( la, castra legionis) and headquarters of the Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large ...

in the mid-4th century.

References

External links

"Simplified Geological Map of the Weinviertel region"
{{Authority control Geology of Austria Geology of Slovakia Geology of the Czech Republic Sedimentary basins of Europe