Wide variety

European Protected Area: North-Eastern Randalps – Hohe Wand-Schneeberg-Rax

The European protected area lies on the eastern edge of the Northern Limestone Alps, at the transition to the Pannonian-influenced Vienna Basin.

The area contains three nature parks and three nature reserves, several natural forest reserves and numerous natural monuments. The area is characterised in particular by its enormous diversity of habitats and species. Two-thirds of all habitats typical of Lower Austria are found here. The number of species occurring naturally only in this area is high.

In addition to extensive deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests, as well as a wide variety of dry to wet meadows in the lowlands and on the mountains, there are small moors, rivers, streams, springs and – due to the karst terrain – many caves and rock formations. This is due to the wide range of altitudes within the European protected area (from 280 to 2,070 metres above sea level) and its location in a climatic transition zone (from Pannonian to Alpine).