News
Our nature park and the Rudolfswarte tower are open all year round. There is free access with no entry fees.
Help needed for translation of web pages into English! Any support for translation of our German texts into proper English and for corrections of existing English pages is very welcome. If you can help, please send us a short mail: info@naturpark-purkersdorf.at
Our nature park is freely accessible...
...please note our nature park rules...
The Wienerwaldhaus Museum and the WC at the Nature Park Centre are open until the end of October. The two "dry" porta-potties on the western edge of the Kellerwiese are available at all times.
Online survey - Nature Park 2030
Purkersdorf Nature Park is currently working on its future tasks, visions and goals for the next 5 years. The wishes and ideas of all interested parties and nature park guests should not be neglected.
Click here for the survey (in German)
The latest news...
...are always available on our facebook and Instagram channels.
Enjoy the summer to the full...
...and quickly find rest and relaxation in the shade of the trees. At the current temperatures, the leaves develop their cooling effect in midsummer through the evaporation of water. Did you know that on warm summer days in the forest, an average tree population evaporates 20,000 to 60,000 liters of water per hectare, which balances out the microclimate and makes the air in the forest feel about 5 degrees cooler?
Some insects, especially gnats, can be annoying companions on a summer walk. This is where goutweed sap can help, as it can relieve itching and inflammation caused by insect bites. You can find out more about this in our "Genussbroschüre" (in German), pages 16-17.
Hiking in the nature park
Well equipped, nothing stands in the way of a walk in the forest: thanks to the spring-like forest air, you can enjoy excellent views on sunny days in selected parts of the nature park. Please note our hiking tips.
Offspring in the deer and wild boar enclosures
There have been 4 little calves in the deer enclosure since May 2024. The white-spotted newcomers are usually shy at first and like to hide at the back of the enclosure. With a bit of luck, however, they can also be seen when they curiously explore their home in the Deutschwald forest.
On 10 May, we discovered 5 lively and curious piglets in the wild boar enclosure. Thanks to a donation from the Bugl family, we were able to add a young boar and a young female boar to the enclosure last summer and are particularly pleased about the new additions.
Drone flights over the wild boar and deer enclosure extended
The Nature Park has been supporting the BAMBI research project at Hagenberg University of Applied Sciences since mid-March 2023. The aim is to find a method with which wild animals can be recorded and counted by automatically analysing drone infrared images in a wide variety of ecosystems. The Purkersdorf Nature Park is particularly suitable for this research project because there are a known number of animals in our enclosures with which the drone data can be calibrated. Following successful results and with the agreement of the partners, the project will be continued provisionally in 2024.
Roe deer enclosure currently still uninhabited
After our roebuck unfortunately escaped last autumn, we are taking advantage of the vacancy and have already thinned out the enclosure somewhat. It is currently being extended with an additional green area. We hope that we will be able to offer tame deer again from summer 2024.
We are the 1st Nature Park School Campus!
Since June 7, 2024, besides the Purkersdorf general special school (ASO), the Purkersdorf elementary school and the Schöffelschule (Lower Austrian middle school) have also been certified as Nature Park schools. Together they now form the 1st Nature Park School Campus and have anchored the Nature Park in their respective educational concept. Nature park-related topics are incorporated into regular lessons so that the children get to know and appreciate the beauty, diversity and importance of our forests.
10 years nature park beekeeping
The nature park and master beekeeper Benno Karner have been working closely together for 10 years, for which he has now received an award from the Austrian Nature Park Association. With his many years of work as a nature park beekeeper "Bieno", he makes an important contribution to biodiversity with his industrious bees.
The nature park honey with the title of Nature Park Speciality of the Austrian Nature Parks supports old traditions in production and in particular the preservation of this cultural landscape. We would like to thank you very much for the good cooperation and look forward to many more years of delicious nature park honey!
Our nature park honey not only sweetens tea or many dishes, but also keeps you healthy. The jars (250g and 500g) with the particularly pretty winner's label from last year's competition can be purchased from the Nature Park office. Please order in advance.
Clean empty jars without lids can be handed in at any time at Wiener Straße 12 by the door to the Nature Park office.
Nature Park honey labelling competition 2024/25
This year's competition for the Nature Park honey special edition 2024/25 starts on 20 May, World Bee Day. Young artists can send their drawings for the new honey label to the Nature Park office by 1 September. Find out how you can take part here.
"Frosch im Wassertropfen"
Amphibians - frogs, toads, toads, salamanders and newts - are inhabitants of two worlds - the land and the water. As part of the "Frog in a drop of water" project, the University of Innsbruck is using modern DNA analysis methods to investigate a wide variety of bodies of water in order to identify the amphibian species present in them. We took part and were allowed to send in samples from our forest biotope for analysis.
Listen to our nature park and watch the video
Together with "Hallo Purkersdorf", our managing director was able to record a podcast about her work and our Purkersdorf Nature Park at the beginning of July. Click here for the blog and to listen in.
As part of his Voluntary Environmental Year 2024, Benedikt Brabetz made a great video project about the nature park. Ben shows you what the nature park means to him and uses interviews to capture what the nature park means to others.
Biosphere Reserve report about Purkersdorf
The Biosphere Reserve Wienerwald has provided to all Wienerwald municipalities a report about the most important measures to safeguard biodiversity. The report for Purkersdorf shows that many suggestions are well covered by our activities in the nature park.
A summary of the municipal report can be found here on our website.
"Natur trifft Buch"
Together with the Purkersdorf City Library, we are also cooperating on the topic of "Nature meets books" this year. In addition to the summer dates for "Lesen im Grünen", there will be special "Experience Tuesdays" in the foyer of the library on 12 March, 15 October and 26 November. In addition, the nature park has given the city library part of its specialised library for a year. These media can now be borrowed from the city library. Books can be found in the following areas: Identification books, forest education media, cookery books, information on the Austrian nature parks and much more.
"Science meets schools"
The "Science meets schools" project has been running since November 2023. Along Schwarzhubergasse and in the adjacent Purkersdorf school campus, pupils from the nature park schools ASO, the primary school and the secondary school have planted a climate hedge with the nature park.
By regularly observing the hedges (leaf sprouting, flowering, fruiting), the children investigate how temperature, sunshine and precipitation influence growth in different locations. The research work on the hedge ("outside") is processed and analysed in class ("inside"). With the start of spring, the pupils were able to discover and explore the first buds.
Outdoor classroom of the Gablitz primary school in Purkersdorf nature park
Due to the great success of the last 4 years, the market town of Gablitz has extended the outdoor classroom programme until June 2027. In autumn, 4 forest learning days and further training with the school's teachers have already taken place.
Book tip for children (in German): How a forest grows
Come along on a walk through the forest and find out how a small plant can grow into a whole forest! This non-fiction picture book uses atmospheric pictures and poetic texts to show nature lovers of all ages how a tiny plant can grow into a whole forest.
Awarded by the German Academy for Children's and Youth Literature:
"Rarely has a non-fiction picture book been told in such a literary-aesthetic, clear, informative and varied way. A walk you will want to repeat!"
From 4 years - available at naturseiten.at