Lower Austria

Lower Austria Niederösterreich
State
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Niederösterreiche Landeshymne
Country	Austria
Capital	Sankt Pölten
Government
• Body	Landtag of Lower Austria
• Governor	Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP)
• Deputy Governor	Udo Landbauer (FPÖ)
Area
• Total	19,186 km2 (7,408 sq mi)
Population  (1 January 2022)
• Total	1,698,796
• Density	89/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	AT-3
HDI (2019)	0.887 very high · 8th of 9
NUTS Region	AT1
Votes in Bundesrat	12 (of 62)
Website	noe.gv.at

Lower Austria (German: Niederösterreich or NÖ; Austro-Bavarian: Niedaöstareich, Niedaestareich, Slovak: Dolné Rakúsko, Czech: Dolní Rakousy) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt Pölten, replacing Vienna which became a separate state in 1921. With a land area of 19,186 km² (7,408 sq mi) and a population of 1.685 million people, Lower Austria is the second-most populous state in Austria (after Vienna). Other large cities are Amstetten, Klosterneuburg, Krems an der Donau, Stockerau and Wiener Neustadt.

Geography

With a land area of 19,186 km² (7,408 sq mi) situated east of Upper Austria, Lower Austria is the country's largest state. Lower Austria derives its name from its downriver location on the Enns River which flows from the west to the east. Lower Austria has an international border, 414 km (257 mi) long, with the Czech Republic (South Bohemia and South Moravia Regions) and Slovakia (Bratislava and Trnava Regions). The state has the second longest external border of all Austrian states. It also borders the other Austrian states of Upper Austria, Styria and Burgenland as well as surrounding Vienna.

Lower Austria is divided into four regions, known as Viertel (quarters):

• Weinviertel or Tertiary Lowland (below the Manhartsberg)
• Waldviertel or Bohemian Plateau (above the Manhartsberg)
• Mostviertel (above the Vienna Woods)
• Industrieviertel (below the Vienna Woods).

These regions have different geographical structures. Whilst the Mostviertel is dominated by the foothills of the Limestone Alps with mountains up to 2,000 m (AA) high, most of the Waldviertel is a granite plateau. The hilly Weinviertel lies to the northeast, descends to the plains of Marchfeld in the east of the state, and is separated by the Danube from the Vienna Basin to the south, which in turn is separated from the Vienna Woods by a line of thermal springs (the Thermenlinie) running north to south.

Mountains

• Schneeberg (Klosterwappen; 2,076 m)
• Rax (Scheibwaldhöhe; 1,943 m; highest summit: Heukuppe; 2,007 m – Styria)
• Ötscher (1,893 m)
• Dürrenstein (1,878 m)
• Schneealpe (Ameisbühel; 1,828 m; highest summit: Windberg; 1,903 m – Styria)
• Hochkar (1,808 m)
• Gamsstein (1,774 m)
• Stumpfmauer (1,770 m)
• Göller (1,766 m)
• Hochwechsel (1,743 m)
• Gippel (1,669 m)
• Großer Sonnleitstein (1,639 m)
• Großer Zellerhut (1,639 m)
• Gemeindealpe (1,626 m)
• Scheiblingstein (1,622 m) (not to be confused with Scheiblingstein (2,197 m), which is in Styria)
• Drahtekogel (1,565 m)
• Sonnwendstein (1,523 m)
• Obersberg (1,467 m)
• Königsberg (1,452 m)
• Großer Sulzberg (1,400 m)
• Reisalpe (1,399 m)
• Gahns (1,380 m)
• Tirolerkogel (1,377 m)
• Türnitzer Höger (1,372 m)
• Unterberg (1,342 m)
• Traisenberg (1,230 m)
• Dürre Wand (1,222 m)
• Hohenstein (1,195 m)
• Eisenstein (1,185 m)
• Hohe Wand (1,132 m)
• Großer Peilstein (1,061 m)
• Weinsberg (1,041 m)
• Hocheck (1,036 m)
• Nebelstein (1,017 m)
• Eibl (1,007 m)
• Hohe Mandling (967 m)
• Jauerling (961 m)
• Hoher Lindkogel also named Eisernes Tor (834m)
• Anninger (675 m)
• Buschberg (491 m)

Other mountains in Lower Austria may be found at Category:Mountains of Lower Austria.

Alpine passes

• Semmering (985 m)
• Wechsel (980 m)

The state border with Styria runs over both passes.

Rivers

Kamp river below the Rosenburg

March river with riparian forest

Almost all of Lower Austria is drained by the Danube. The only river that flows into the North Sea (via the Moldau and the Elbe) is the Lainsitz in northern Waldviertel, the Erlauf river.

The most important rivers north of the Danube (on its left bank) are the Ysper, Kamp, Krems, Lainsitz, March and Thaya. South of the Danube (on its right bank) are the Enns, Ybbs, Erlauf, Melk, Pielach, Traisen, Schwechat, Fischa, Schwarza, Triesting, Pitten and the Leitha.

Lakes

• Ottenstein Reservoir (4.3 km²)
• Lunzer See (0.69 km²)
• Erlaufsee (0.56 km², of which about half lies in Lower Austria)
• Erlauf Reservoir
• Wienerwaldsee (0.32 km²)

Caves

Further information: List of caves in Austria

Lower Austria is rich in natural caves; in all 4,082 have been recorded. Most of the caves have formed in limestone and dolomite rocks and are therefore called karst caves. Cavities also form in the marble of the Central Alps and the Bohemian Massif. Among the largest caves in Lower Austria are:

• Ötscherhöhlensystem (Ötscher): 27,003 m long; union of the Taubenloch and Geldloch
• Pfannloch (Ötscher): 5,287 m long
• Lechnerweidhöhle (Dürrenstein): 5,252 m long
• Trockenes Loch (Schwarzenbach an der Pielach): 4,510 m long
• Hermannshöhle (Kirchberg am Wechsel): 4,430 m long
• Eisensteinhöhle (Bad Fischau): 2,341 m long

The last two are open as show caves, along with the Allander stalactite cave, the Unicorn Cave, the Hochkarschacht, the Nixhöhle and the Ötschertropfsteinhöhle.

Land use

Type of land use	Area in km2	Percent of total area
Farmland	7,000	42
Woods	6,711	40
Grassland	1,750	11
Alpine pastures	300	1.7
Vineyards	315	1.9

History

Main article: History of Austria

The history of Lower Austria is very similar to the history of Austria. Many castles are located in Lower Austria. Klosterneuburg Abbey, located here, is one of the oldest abbeys in Austria. Before World War II, Lower Austria had the largest number of Jews in the country.

The names Lower Austria and Upper Austria are derived from the earlier names Austria below the Enns and Austria above the Enns, references to the river Enns. Going down from its source on the northern edge of the Central Eastern Alps, the river crosses Upper Austria, then on its lower reaches forms the boundary between Upper Austria and Lower Austria.

In the mid-13th century, it became known as the Principality below the Enns River (Fürstentum unter der Enns).

Economy

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the state was €61.0 billion in 2018, accounting for 15.8% of Austria's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €32,300, or 107% of the EU27 average in the same year. Lower Austria is the state with the second-lowest GDP per capita in Austria.

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 1,077,232 —     1880 1,152,767 +7.0% 1890 1,213,471 +5.3% 1900 1,310,506 +8.0% 1910 1,425,238 +8.8% 1923 1,426,885 +0.1% 1934 1,446,675 +1.4% 1939 1,455,373 +0.6% 1951 1,400,471 −3.8% 1961 1,374,012 −1.9%

Year Pop. ±% 1971 1,420,816 +3.4% 1981 1,426,370 +0.4% 1990 1,455,968 +2.1% 1995 1,518,489 +4.3% 2000 1,535,083 +1.1% 2005 1,568,949 +2.2% 2010 1,605,897 +2.4% 2015 1,636,287 +1.9% 2020 1,684,623 +3.0%

Administrative divisions

View of Krems (left) at the end of Wachau valley; Danube river in the center

Lower Austria is divided into four regions: Waldviertel, Mostviertel, Industrieviertel, and Weinviertel. The Wachau valley, situated between Melk and Krems in the Mostviertel region, is famous for its landscape, culture, and wine.

Administratively, the state is divided into 20 districts (Bezirke), and four independent towns (Statutarstädte). In total, there are 573 municipalities within Lower Austria.

Map of Lower Austria showing districts and the four quarters (Waldviertel in green, Weinviertel in red, Mostviertel in yellow, and Industrieviertel in blue)

Independent towns

• Krems an der Donau
• Sankt Pölten
• Waidhofen an der Ybbs
• Wiener Neustadt

Districts

• Amstetten
• Baden
• Bruck an der Leitha
• Gänserndorf
• Gmünd
• Hollabrunn
• Horn
• Korneuburg
• Krems-Land
• Lilienfeld
• Melk
• Mistelbach
• Mödling
• Neunkirchen
• Sankt Pölten-Land
• Scheibbs
• Tulln an der Donau
• Waidhofen an der Thaya
• Wiener Neustadt-Land
• Zwettl

External links

Media related to Lower Austria at Wikimedia Commons

• Country of Lower Austria - official webpage
• Lower Austria - official visitor information webpage
• PhotoGlobe - georeferenced photos of Lower Austria