Lafnitz Valley near Wagendorf
For many hundreds of years the River Lafnitz was the border between Austria and Hungary; the border only strayed eastwards in 1921 and Burgenland became part of Austria.
This is without doubt the main reason that this strip of land has very few settlements and is primarily agricultural. This meant that no bank protection or high-water dams were necessary. The little river this continues to flow along its ancestral bed and can constantly meander as it wishes. On the one side, the bank is steep; on the other it is flat and sandy - just how the fish like it.
Despite advancing crop plantation, there is still a series of species-rich meadows to the left and right of the large stream - the Molinia meadows on the one side, and flat rough pasture on the other. These are, for their part, well-meshed with bank bushes and hedges. It is no wonder that there is so much nature to wonder at: the beaver builds dams and takes willow from the bank bushes for this purpose; the Common egret tries its hand at being a successful fisherman, and lapwings, the River warbler, the Dice snake, the Large Blue and European hare socialise.
In the meadows, flowers including the Siberian iris and the Yellow daylily set the hearts of the colourful flower world racing. These are all reasons why the Lafnitztal (Lafnitz Valley) is part of the European Natura 2000 nature conservation network.
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