European Wilderness Society European Wilderness Network

European Wilderness Network

Thaya WILDRiver

2018

Thaya WILDRiver, Austria

The 2 km of Thaya WILDRiver 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 border Wilderness Thaya WILDRiver with Podyjí National Park in the Czech Republic. Thayatal Na- Country Austria tional Park was established in the year 2000. The name Thayatal Size of the 1 360 ha can be translated into the ‘valley of the Thaya river’, which is an protected area impressive valley with steep cliffs, dense broadleaf forests and Size of the 2 km valuable fragments of WILDRiver. WILDRiver European The Thaya WILDRiver is a segment of the Thaya river and spans Wilderness Quality 2018 a length of over 2 km, linking the Thayatal Wilderness and Standard Audit Podyjí Wilderness. The Thaya WILDRiver is characterised by Thaya WILDRiver is embedded in a extraordinary scenery, being home to features such as meanders Wilderness well-protected area of mixed deciduous and alluvial plains around the river Thaya. The Thaya river is Uniqueness forests in the lowland of the Pannonia the key element and driving force behind the establishment of region the transboundary protected area of the Podyjí National Park in Number of visitors Czech Republic and Thayatal National Park in Austria. per year to the approx. 50 000 ILDERNE protected area W SS N Q A U E A P There is no public L O

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European Wilderness Quality Standard Audit System access to the Thaya E

Number of visitors E U R Y WILDRiver (only O T BRONZE IE PE C A O per year to the N S S The 2 km of ThayaWILDRiver were subject to a Quick-Au- on special occasions WILDERNES WILDRiver dit in 2017 and 2018, and meet the Bronze Wilderness Quality excursions or Standard. The WILDRiver has the potential to be enlarged by an research can occur) additional 2 km.

Thayatal National Park Podyjí National Park

Due to the fragility of ThayaWILDRiver, the exact location of Thaya WILDRiver 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 variety 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 Thaya WILDRiver 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 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 Wilderness and Thaya WILDRiver, therefore the character of the area can be seen from several attractive sightseeing points. A system of information panels in the field outside of the WILDRiver provide the visitors with valuable information about the area. Additionally, there are paths that lead along parts of the Thaya river, which provide several sightseeing points to view Contact the character of the river. Thaya WILDRiver is not accessible for Thaya WILDRiver tourists, but a network of paths enable visitors to discover and Thayatal National Park experience the surrounding Thayatal forests and river, which 2082 Hardegg, Austria also have a wild character. Phone: +43 2949 70050 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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