!!!Weinviertel

Weinviertel Region ("Region below Manhartsberg Hill"; 
Weinviertel, literally: "Wine Quarter"), Lower Austria. As a 
political unit it comprises the northeastern part of Lower Austria; 
the Weinviertel (in particular the loess layer over tertiary deposits) 
is bounded in the west by  Manhartsberg Hill, in the south by Wagram 
region, the River Danube and  Marchfeld Plain, in the east by the 
River  March and in the north by the Czech border. The eastern part of 
the Weinviertel Region forms part of the northern  Vienna Basin. The 
Weinviertel Region is divided into two parts by an outstanding range 
of cliffs ( Falkenstein Mountains,  Leiser Mountains) as well as by 
the elevations of the  Bisamberg Hill and the Rohrwald woodlands of 
the flysch zone of the Alps, which form the geological border between 
the molasse zone in the west and the Vienna Basin in the east. The 
important rivers of the Weinviertel Region are Pulkau, Schmida, 
Goellersbach, Russbach and Zaya. Parts of the Danube Wetlands have 
been a national park since 1996. 282,000 people, that is 19 % of 
the Lower Austrian population, lived in the Weinviertel Region in 
1991; all political districts of the Weinviertel (except for 
Hollabrunn) and the region as a whole experienced a considerable 
growth in population from 1981-1991. Agriculture in the countryside 
near Vienna comprises the cultivation of cereals (wheat, barley, rye), 
root crops (maize, potatoes, sugar beets), wine and fruit as well as 
alternative crops (oil-seed rape, sunflowers, soya beans). The 
Marchfeld Plain is Austria´s main area for cultivating cereals 
and vegetables. The  wine growing centres of the Weinviertel, which 
has a Pannonian climate, are the "large-scale vineyards" of 
Retzer Weinberge, Falkensteiner Weinberge, Matzner Huegel, 
Wolkersdorfer Hochleithen and Kirchberger Wagram. The main grape 
varieties are Gruener Veltliner (60 %), white Burgundy, 
Welschriesling, Zweigelt and Blauer Portugieser. With an area of 
around 18,000 hectares, the Weinviertel Region is the largest 
wine-growing area in Austria. Woodland in the Weinviertel accounts for 
around 16 % including the Marchfeld Plain (Rohrwald, Ernstbrunner 
Wald, Hochleithenwald, Matzner Wald woodlands and others). The most 
important industrial branches are metal processing, food, building 
materials, paper and printing and the chemical industry.  Petroleum 
and  natural gas extraction (OMV) is concentrated in the east of the 
Weinviertel; well-known petroleum villages and towns are Neusiedl an 
der Zaya, Zistersdorf, Matzen, Auersthal and Prottes. Tourism in the 
Weinviertel is mostly restricted to day-trips. Towns and villages in 
the vicinity of Vienna benefit from the tourism of the capital. Large 
parts of the Weinviertel are popular for second homes of people living 
in Vienna. The main railway connections are the Franz-Josefs-Bahn 
(Franz Joseph Railway Line leading from Vienna to Gmuend and Prague), 
Northern Railway (to Bernhardsthal) and Eastern Railway (to Marchegg) 
as well as other lines leading to Laa an der Thaya and Retz. 
Vienna´s Schnellbahn suburban railway network reaches as far as 
Gaenserndorf, Mistelbach and Retz ("Verkehrsverbund 
Ost-Region" transport association since 1984). Due to the 
extension and improvement of public transport the commuter area of 
Vienna is gradually spreading over the whole Weinviertel Region. Main 
roads lead from Vienna via Stockerau to Maissau and Haugsdorf as well 
as from Vienna to Drasenhofen. Main towns and villages in the 
Weinviertel Region are Korneuburg, Stockerau, Hollabrunn, Retz, Laa an 
der Thaya, Poysdorf, Hohenau an der March, Mistelbach, Wolkersdorf, 
Gaenserndorf and Marchegg.

!Literature
A. Bartonek, B. Benes, W. Mueller-Funk and F. Polleross 
(eds.), Kulturfuehrer Waldviertel, Weinviertel, Suedmaehren, 1993; H. 
Knapp, Wirtschaftsfibel Niederoesterreich, 1994.


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