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Seewinkel in Austria

Saturday, 2 November 2024 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union
Category/Kategorie: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  4 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post The Seewinkel is the name given to the area east of Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland, Austria. The region is located in the Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park and was previously a Ramsar site and partially protected by the WWF. Since 2001, the area around the lake has been part of the UNESCO cultural landscape of Fertő/Neusiedler See.

In the past, only the area around the towns of Podersdorf am See, Apetlon and Illmitz was called Seewinkel, as these were enclosed in an angle by the former L-shaped extension of the lake. The area to the northeast was called Heideboden and the southeast Hanság. However, these two regional names are hardly used anymore due to the region’s long-standing isolation by the border with Hungary (Iron Curtain).

Today, the term Seewinkel refers pars pro toto to the entire Austrian region east of Lake Neusiedl. This includes the towns of Weiden am See, Gols, Mönchhof, Halbturn, Frauenkirchen, Sankt Andrä am Zicksee, Andau, Tadten, Wallern im Burgenland and Pamhagen. The region is characterised by extensive vineyards, while other areas are cultivated by urbarial communities (such as the urbarial community of Apetlon) or large estates.

Particularly noteworthy are the swamp areas and the approximately 40 salt lakes, which are very salty due to the lack of natural drainage. These lakes are up to 3 km long and 1 km wide and are only about 0.5 m deep; the largest is the Lange Lacke. Some of them dry out completely in summer. One of the largest is the Zicksee, which is also used for medicinal purposes with a spa in Sankt Andrä am Zicksee. Many of the other lakes are protected. This results in a very rare salt flora. Other lakes are the Birnbaumlacke, the Darscho, and the Obere Stinkersee.

The area is characterized by a Pannonian climate. It is relatively mild and has little precipitation (less than 600 mm per year) and is very windy. With around 2000 hours of sunshine per year, the Seewinkel is also the region in Austria with the most sunshine. The area is the westernmost salt steppe in Eurasia and lies on average at just 117 m above sea level. With these characteristics, the Seewinkel is an atypical region for Austria, with flora and fauna that are otherwise rarely found in Austria.

The water level in the deeper lakes, which are fed by the water from the groundwater body of the “Seewinkel gravel” (Riß glaciation), has been falling for decades. This is a consequence of the drainage measures that have been carried out in this cultural landscape for centuries, which have caused the groundwater level to fall. The shallow salt lakes, which are largely filled by precipitation, sometimes dry out completely. Countermeasures taken in the Seewinkel aim to slow the flow of surface water from drainage ditches into the Einser Canal by means of small weirs.

Read more on burgenland.info – Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.

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