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European Wilderness Network

Thayatal WILDForest

2018

Thayatal WILDForest, Austria The 250 ha Thayatal WILDForest is embedded in the Thayatal Wilderness information National Park, Austria. It is Austria’s smallest National Park, Protected area Thayatal National Park located in the north-eastern part of the country, at the Wilderness Thayatal WILDForest border with Podyjí National Park in the Czech Republic. Thayatal Country Austria National Park was established in the year 2000. The name Size of the 1 360 ha Thayatal can be translated into the ‘valley of the Thaya river’, protected area which is an impressive valley with valuable fragments of steep Size of the 250 ha cliffs and dense broadleaf forest ecosystem. WILDForest European The Thayatal WILDForest is characterised by extraordinary Wilderness Quality 2018 scenery, being home to features such as rocky amphitheatres, Standard Audit cliffs and broadleaf mixed forest. The Thayatal WILDForest is the Well-protected area of mixed deciduous Wilderness key element and driving force behind the establishment of the forests in the lowland of the Pannonia Uniqueness transboundary Wilderness of the Podyjí National Park in Czech region, left to spontaneous development Republic and Thayatal National Park in Austria, and has been Number of visitors since the beginning of conservation efforts in this area. per year to the approx. 50 000 protected area ILDERNE W SS N Q There is no public A U E A P

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European Wilderness Quality Standard Audit System access to the R T

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Number of visitors Thayatal WILD- E U Y The 250 ha Thayatal WILDForest was subjected to a Quick- R T O BRONZE IE PE C per year to the AN SO Forest (only on W SS Audit in 2017 and 2018 and meets the Bronze Wilderness Quality ILDERNE WILDForest special occasions Standard. The Thayatal National Park and Podyjí National Park excursions or for together with the European Wilderness Society will consider research) the opportunity to implement a European Wilderness Quality Standard Full Audit and create the first Transboundary Wilderness in Central Europe in the coming years. The WILD- Forest has the potential to be enlarged by 300 ha.

Thayatal National Park Podyjí National Park

Due to the fragility of the fragments of Thayatal WILDForest, the exact location of Thayatal WILDForest is not disclosed. Map scale 1 : 148 000

Biodiversity The territory of Thayatal National Park has a very high biodiversity. There are several hundreds of vascular plant species, fungi, lichens, mosses, birds and mammals. There is a rich vari- ety of forest types, such as oak and hornbeam-oak forests, relict pine forests, spring alluviums alder forest, and the native beech forests in the higher parts of the National Park.

The Thayatal WILDForest is located in an impressive valley with steep cliffs, gentle meadows, natural forests and fascinating flora and fauna. The area is located on a distinct climatic border where continental and pannonian Central European flora and fauna come together. A significant part of the area is covered with forests, of which a considerable percentage is currently left to spontaneous development. The aim in the coming years is to let 75-85% of Thayatal National Park develop under spontaneous succession and to protect spontaneous dynamics of biodiversity.

Wilderness Tourism Experience The Thayatal National Park lies in a very densely populated area with good transport accessibility, 95 km from Vienna and 220 km from Prague. The park itself is not accessible for cars, but is accessible by a network of marked paths for pedestrians. Only the city of Hardegg, which is situated in the centre of the National Park is accessible by bike or car. The paths lead around the Thayatal WILDForest, therefore the character of the area can be seen from several attractive viewing points. A system of information panels in the field outside of the WILDForest provide the visitors with valuable information about the area. Additionally, there are paths that lead along parts of the Thaya Contact river, which provide several viewing points to observe the Thayatal WILDForest character of the river. Thayatal WILDForest is not accessible for Thayatal National Park tourists, but a network of paths enable visitors to discover and 2082 Hardegg, Austria experience the surrounding forests and river, which also have a Phone: +43 2949 70050 wild character. Website: www.np-thayatal.at/en

© European Wilderness Society www.wilderness-society.org European Wilderness Society Founded on more than 20 years of Wilderness work by our members, the European Wilderness Society is the only Pan-European, Wilderness and environmental advocacy non-profit, non-government organisation.

It has a dedicated multi-cultural and experienced team of Wilderness and wildlife specialists, nature conservationists, researchers and scientists, tourism experts, marketing and business professionals, legal advisors and Wilderness advocates, whose mission is to:

XX identify XX designate XX steward XX promote

Europe’s last Wilderness, WILDCoasts, WILDForests, WILDIslands and WILDRivers. Here non-human intervention leads to open-ended, dynamic processes.

This is conveyed through a range of projects that facilitate Wilderness knowledge exchange, including education, culture and science, from local community through to scientific and governmental level.

European Wilderness Network The European Wilderness Network connects Europe’s wildest places. Certified by the European Wilderness Quality and Audit System, these unique areas host diverse wild ecosystems governed by dynamic open-ended processes, with no or minimum human-intervention. The Network includes, for example, Europe’s last primeval beech forests, the arctic tundra, and mountain landscapes in different climate conditions. It aims to promote Europe’s last Wilderness, WILDCoasts, WILDForests, WILDIslands and WILDRivers, with a comprehensive marketing strategy. The European Wilderness Network offers a platform to share Wilderness Stewardship best-practice examples and Wilderness research. It connects like-minded Wilderness managers and advocates and fosters the exchange of ideas and knowledge across Europe and the world through the European Wilderness Exchange Programme. For more information please see http://european-wilderness.network

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