Tourismusverband Oststeiermark
Nature Park Office Almenland
Fladnitz 100
8163 Fladnitz/Teichalm
Phone: 0043 (0)3179 / 23000-0
Fax: 0043 (0)3179 / 23000-20
E-mail: info@almenland.at
Web: www.almenland.at
Nature Park Almenland
ALmERlIFE
Nature's place - people's pleasure!
From Pernegg in Murtal to Koglhof in Feistritztal, from Schöckl to Rennfeld across eight municipalities, the nature park Almenland offers a variety of scenic impressions. Rocky and rugged in the Bärnschützklamm gorge and on the Hochlantsch, gentle orchards around Fladnitz and Passail to the south. The heart of the nature park is, of course, the mountain pastures.
125 alpine pastures in a row, from the Tyrnaueralm via the Teichalm and the Sommeralm to the Brandlucken - that's a European record! Almost 3000 alpine herdsmen (on four legs) keep the alpine paradise in good shape from June to September. The cows, calves, oxen and horses of the farmers around the alpine pastures spend their summer vacation here and provide an invaluable service for the nature park.
The flora and fauna are as diverse as the landscape. The sedate capercaillie, the lively hazel grouse or the nimble weasel can only be seen by patient explorers, while the imposing ibex can often be found right next to the hiking trails.
The unique variety of orchids in the Alpine pasture area is also surprising. However, only tiny insects need fear carnivorous plants in the Teichalm moor when the sundew seductively unfurls its leaves.
Through the various offers - our nature park experience programs - you can get to know the landscape, the animals, the meadows and forests better and learn a lot about them.
What is a nature park?
A nature park is a protected landscape area that has been created by the interaction of man and nature. These are often landscapes that have taken on their present form over the course of centuries and are to be preserved by the people who live and work here through careful forms of land use and landscape conservation.
The legal objective of nature parks is to protect a landscape in conjunction with its use. Particularly valuable, characteristic landscape areas are to be protected from destruction and developed. The designation of a rural region as a nature park is awarded by the respective state government and places the following tasks on the region:
Protection and further development
The natural area is to be preserved in its beauty and diversity through sustainable use and the cultural landscape that has been shaped over the centuries is to be preserved.
For example through: Natural history information, protected area management, research projects
Recreation
Attractive and well-maintained recreational facilities should be offered in keeping with the protected area and the character of the landscape.
For example: Hiking trails, cycle and bridle paths, rest and relaxation areas, adventure playgrounds
Education
Through special offers and interactive forms of understanding and experiencing nature, nature, culture and their interrelationships are to be made tangible.
For example through: Themed trails, adventure tours, seminars, preservation of traditions
Regional development
The nature park is intended to provide impetus for regional development in order to increase added value and ensure quality of life.
For example through: cooperation, jobs, nature park products, nature park restaurants
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The nature park Almenland
The Almenland is the youngest of the seven nature parks in Styria. The Styrian provincial government decided in 2006 to award the region for the special cultural landscape form of the cultivated alpine pastures. The award ceremony took place on June 17, 2007 on the Teichalm.
A rural region is awarded the title "Nature Park" by the respective state government.
The tasks of the nature park Almenland are to preserve this old cultural landscape (shaped by people over centuries and still used sensibly by agriculture today), e.g. by partially restoring the open alpine landscape. It is also important that traditional work techniques, such as shingling, hacking out wells, mowing scythes, making ribbon fences and haymaking, as well as traditional farming methods are kept alive. This can be achieved, for example, through the increased sale of regional products in the nature park. Important projects include ALMO quality beef production, initiatives in the field of renewable energy and wood processing.
Award for the region
The award of the title "Nature Park" is a high distinction for our region, for the shaped cultural landscape that is characteristic of the Almenland . Just as the landscape has been shaped by human hands, it is recognized and appreciated with all the changes that time has brought.
On August 12, 2006, the Styrian municipalities of Arzberg, Breitenau am Hochlantsch, Fladnitz an der Teichalm, Gasen, Haslau bei Birkfeld, Hohenau an der Raab, Koglhof, Naintsch, Passail, Pernegg an der Mur, St. Kathrein am Offenegg, Tulwitz and Tyrnau were awarded the title of " AlmenlandNature Park" by the Province of Styria. The Almenland nature park stretches from the Rabenwald forest in the east to the Bärenschützklamm gorge in the west. All 13 municipalities that are located in Almenland and have similarities in terms of landscape type are included in the Almenland nature park.
The award ceremony took place on June 17 as part of a large ceremony on the Teichalm.
Facts, figures and data
The Almenland Nature Park is the largest contiguous low mountain pasture area in Europe, at an altitude of 464 to 1720 m above sea level. An area of 253 km² is home to 14,500 inhabitants in eight communities.
Guiding theme: ALMerLEBEN - "Nature's place - people's enjoyment"
Lead product: ALMO and a variety of beef specialties
Flora and fauna: raised bog biotope with sundew, orchids, silicate flora on the Kirchkogel, Alpine ibex, black stork, kingfisher, capercaillie and ibex
Natural jewels: Bärenschützklamm, Raabklamm, Teichalm Latschenhochmoor,
Protected areas: Teichalm Hochmoor nature reserve, Natura2000 European nature reserve Raabklamm, Natura2000 on the Kirchkogel in Pernegg, Bärenschützklamm natural monument
Natura 2000 areas
Natura 2000 is an EU-wide network of more than 25,000 protected areas designed to protect and preserve particularly endangered animals and plants and their habitats.
Natura 2000 distinguishes between two types of protected areas:
- the areas designated directly by the Member States on the basis of the Birds Directive
- and the sites proposed by the Member States on the basis of the Habitats Directive and selected by the Community in a three-stage procedure
There are European protected areas (ESA) in the nature park Almenland.
ESG 9: Raabklamm Gorge
- Size: 555.1 ha
- Districts of the Natura 2000 area: Weiz
- Municipalities in the Natura 2000 area: Arzberg, Gutenberg, Mortantsch, Naas
The Raab is probably the most heavily dammed river in Austria. Between the 1950s and 1980s, more than 20 barrages or riverbed sills and a bed formed with stone throws were constructed, shortening the course of the river by approx. 40 to 95 Styrian river kilometers. Only 14% of the Austrian Raab is still free-flowing and near-natural. This includes a section of the Raab in the district of Weiz, where it squeezes between Schöckl limestone (approx. 350 million years old) and crystalline primeval rock, forming the Raabklamm gorge. Bats find excellent winter quarters in the numerous karst caves of the Raabklamm.
The Weiz Mountain and Nature Watch under Franz Schlögl looks after the Raabklamm and organizes guided tours through the gorge. More details can be found at www.raabklamm.at.
ESG 13: Kirchkogel near Pernegg
- Size: 45.7 ha
- Districts of the Natura 2000 area: Bruck - Mürzzuschlag
- Municipalities in the Natura 2000 area: Pernegg an der Mur
A valuable relic in Pernegg an der Mur
The Kirchkogel itself is a large mass of serpentine overlain by a thick ampholite mantle. Along with heavy metal, dolomite and saline soils, serpentine is considered the prototype of an extreme ecological site. The sparsely stocked serpentine slopes are to be regarded as a first-class relict site. The area is characterized by vegetation types that are unique in Central Europe, both in themselves and through the mosaic complex with completely contrasting contact communities in a small geographical area (e.g. ravine forests and acidophilous Hainsimsen beech forests).
On serpentine ...
Particularly noteworthy here are the pine-rich permanent forest communities, the serpentine-alpine pine forest and the rocky dry grasslands in the local form over serpentine. On extremely steep, shallow gneiss-amphibilitic sites, we find beech forests with the characteristic species woodruff and woodrush. Occasionally, a typical rock crevice and dry grassland flora can be found in the forest openings.
§ 8 - Styrian Nature Conservation Act
The Almenland is a generally accessible landscape area which, due to the interaction of natural factors, offers particularly favorable conditions for imparting knowledge about nature and for recreation. The region has been declared a landscape conservation area (§ 5 Para. 2 lit. a, §§ 6 and 7) and the experience, educational and recreational value for people is enhanced by maintenance and design measures, such as the creation of hiking trails, nature trails, animal enclosures, botanical gardens, rest areas, quiet zones, viewpoints and playgrounds on the basis of a landscape conservation plan (§ 31).
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Since 2007, the Almenland nature park has officially been able to call itself Almenland . The nature park comprises 6 municipalities. The tasks of the nature park Almenland are Protecting and developing the landscape, recreation, education and regional development.
Nature Park Almenland
GF Gabriele Mandl
Fladnitz 100
8163 Fladnitz an der Teichalm
Phone: 0043 3179/2300028
E-mail: naturpark (at) almenland.at
Web: www.almenland.at
