Lower Austria
Austria (German: Niederösterreich, pronounced [ˈniːdɐˌʔøːstɐʀaɪ̯ç] ( listen); Czech: Dolní Rakousy; Slovak: Dolné Rakúsko) is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria
Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria
Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna
Vienna has not officially been part of Lower Austria
Austria since 1921. With a land area of 19,186 km2 (7,408 sq mi) and a population of 1.612 million people, it is the largest state in Austria, and in terms of population second only to the federal state of Vienna.

Contents

1 Geography

1.1 Mountains 1.2 Alpine passes 1.3 Rivers 1.4 Lakes 1.5 Caves 1.6 Land use

2 History 3 Population 4 Administrative divisions

4.1 Independent towns 4.2 Districts

5 External links

Geography[edit] Situated east of Upper Austria, Lower Austria
Austria derives its name from its downriver location on the Enns River, which flows from west to east. Lower Austria
Austria has an international border, 414 km (257 mi) long, with the Czech Republic
Czech Republic (mainly South Moravia) and Slovakia. The state has the second longest external border of all Austrian states. It also borders the other Austrian states of Upper Austria, Styria
Styria and Burgenland
Burgenland as well as surrounding Vienna. Lower Austria
Austria is divided into four regions, known as Viertel (quarters):

Weinviertel
Weinviertel or Tertiary Lowland (below the Manhartsberg) Waldviertel
Waldviertel or Bohemian Plateau (above the Manhartsberg) Mostviertel
Mostviertel (above the Vienna
Vienna Woods) Industrieviertel
Industrieviertel (below the Vienna
Vienna Woods).

These regions have different geographical structures. Whilst the Mostviertel
Mostviertel is dominated by the foothills of the Limestone Alps
Limestone Alps with mountains up to 2,000 m (AA) high, most of the Waldviertel is a granite plateau. The hilly Weinviertel
Weinviertel lies to the northeast, descends to the plains of Marchfeld in the east of the state, and is separated by the Danube from the Vienna
Vienna Basin to the south, which in turn is separated from the Vienna
Vienna Woods by a line of thermal springs (the Thermenlinie) running north to south. Mountains[edit]

Schneeberg (Klosterwappen; 2,076 m) Rax
Rax (Scheibwaldhöhe; 1,943 m; highest summit: Heukuppe; 2,007 m – Styria) Ötscher
Ötscher (1,893 m) Dürrenstein (1,878 m) Schneealpe
Schneealpe (Ameisbühel; 1,828 m; highest summit: Windberg; 1,903 m – Styria) Hochkar
Hochkar (1,808 m) Gamsstein (1,774 m) Stumpfmauer (1,770 m) Göller (1,766 m) Hochwechsel
Hochwechsel (1,743 m) Gippel (1,669 m) Großer Sonnleitstein (1,639 m) Großer Zellerhut (1,639 m) Gemeindealpe (1,626 m) Scheiblingstein (1,622 m) (not to be confused with Scheiblingstein (2,197 m), which is in Styria) Drahtekogel (1,565 m) Sonnwendstein (1,523 m) Obersberg (1,467 m) Königsberg (1,452 m) Großer Sulzberg (1,400 m) Reisalpe
Reisalpe (1,399 m) Gahns (1,380 m) Tirolerkogel (1,377 m) Türnitzer Höger (1,372 m) Unterberg (1,342 m) Traisenberg (1,230 m) Dürre Wand
Dürre Wand (1,222 m) Hohenstein (1,195 m) Eisenstein (1,185 m) Hohe Wand (1,132 m) Großer Peilstein (1,061 m) Weinsberg (1,041 m) Hocheck (1,036 m) Nebelstein (1,017 m) Eibl (1,007 m) Hohe Mandling (967 m) Jauerling
Jauerling (961 m) Anninger (675 m) Buschberg (491 m)

Other mountains in Lower Austria
Austria may be found at Category:Mountains of Lower Austria. Alpine passes[edit]

Semmering (985 m) Wechsel (980 m)

The state border with Styria
Styria runs over both passes. Rivers[edit]

Kamp

March

Almost all of Lower Austria
Austria is drained by the Danube. The only river that flows into the North Sea (via the Moldau and the Elbe) is the Lainsitz
Lainsitz in northern Waldviertel. The most important rivers north of the Danube (on its left bank) are the Ysper, Kamp, Krems, Lainsitz, March and Thaya. South of the Danube (on its right bank) are the Enns, Ybbs, Erlauf, Melk, Pielach, Traisen, Schwechat, Fischa, Schwarza, Triesting, Pitten and the Leitha. Lakes[edit]

Ottenstein Reservoir (4.3 km2) Lunzer See (0.69 km2) Erlaufsee (0.56 km2, of which about half lies in Lower Austria) Erlauf Reservoir Wienerwaldsee
Wienerwaldsee (0.32 km2)

Caves[edit] Further information: List of caves in Austria Lower Austria
Austria is rich in natural caves; in all 4,082 have been recorded. Most of the caves have formed in limestone and dolomite rocks and are therefore called karst caves. Cavities also form in the marble of the Central Alps and the Bohemian Massif. Among the largest caves in Lower Austria
Austria are:

Ötscherhöhlensystem (Ötscher): 27,003 m long; union of the Taubenloch
Taubenloch and Geldloch Pfannloch (Ötscher): 5,287 m long Lechnerweidhöhle (Dürrenstein): 5,252 m long Trockenes Loch (Schwarzenbach an der Pielach): 4,510 m long Hermannshöhle (Kirchberg am Wechsel): 4,430 m long Eisensteinhöhle (Bad Fischau): 2,341 m long

The last two are open as show caves, along with the Allander stalactite cave, the Unicorn Cave, the Hochkarschacht, the Nixhöhle and the Ötschertropfsteinhöhle. Land use[edit]

Type of land use Area in km2 Percent of total area

Farmland 7,000 42

Woods 6,711 40

Grassland 1,750 11

Alpine pastures 300 1.7

Vineyards 315 1.9

History[edit] Main article: History of Austria The history of Lower Austria
Austria is very similar to the history of Austria. Many castles are located in Lower Austria. Klosterneuburg Abbey, located here, is one of the oldest abbeys in Austria. Before World War II, Lower Austria
Austria had the largest number of Jews
Jews in Austria. Population[edit]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±%

1869 1,077,232 —    

1880 1,152,767 +7.0%

1890 1,213,471 +5.3%

1900 1,310,506 +8.0%

1910 1,425,238 +8.8%

1923 1,426,885 +0.1%

1934 1,446,675 +1.4%

1939 1,455,373 +0.6%

1951 1,400,471 −3.8%

1961 1,374,012 −1.9%

1971 1,420,816 +3.4%

1981 1,426,370 +0.4%

1990 1,455,968 +2.1%

1995 1,518,489 +4.3%

2000 1,535,083 +1.1%

2005 1,568,949 +2.2%

2010 1,605,897 +2.4%

2014 1,625,335 +1.2%

2015 1,636,287 +0.7%

2016 1,653,419 +1.0%

Administrative divisions[edit]

View of Krems at the end of Wachau
Wachau valley

Lower Austria
Austria is divided into four regions: Waldviertel, Mostviertel, Industrieviertel, and Weinviertel. The Wachau
Wachau valley, situated between Melk
Melk and Krems in the Mostviertel
Mostviertel region, is famous for its landscape, culture, and wine. Administratively, the state is divided into 20 districts (Bezirke), and four independent towns (Statutarstädte). In total, there are 573 municipalities within Lower Austria.

Map of Lower Austria
Austria showing districts and the four quarters ( Waldviertel
Waldviertel in green, Weinviertel
Weinviertel in red, Mostviertel
Mostviertel in yellow and Industrieviertel
Industrieviertel in blue)

Independent towns[edit]

Krems an der Donau Sankt Pölten Waidhofen an der Ybbs Wiener Neustadt

Districts[edit]

Amstetten Baden Bruck an der Leitha Gänserndorf Gmünd Hollabrunn Horn Korneuburg Krems-Land Lilienfeld Melk Mistelbach Mödling Neunkirchen Sankt Pölten-Land Scheibbs Tulln an der Donau Waidhofen an der Thaya Wiener Neustadt-Land Zwettl

External links[edit] Media related to Lower Austria
Austria at Wikimedia Commons

Wikisource
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Austria, Lower.

Land Niederösterreich Useful information of Lower Austria Lower Austrian Genealogy PhotoGlobe - georeferenced photos of Lower Austria

v t e

States of Austria

  Burgenland
Burgenland •   Vienna
Vienna •  Lower Austria
Austria •   Carinthia
Carinthia •   Styria
Styria •  Upper Austria
Austria •  Salzburg •  Tyrol •  Vorarlberg

Coordinates: 48°20′N 15°45′E / 48.333°N 15.750°E / 48.333; 15.750

Authority control

WorldCat Identities VIAF: 147169281 LCCN: n79079223 GND: 4075391-8 BNF: