Lafnitz (river)

Tschartake at the Lafnitz in Burgau.

The Lafnitz (Hungarian Lapincs, slow. Lapinč ) is a 114 km long left tributary of the Raab in eastern Austria.

Geography

It arises as Lafnitzbach in the Styrian Joglland, flows around the high basin Vorauer and forms from the municipality to municipality Lafnitz Rudersdorf the border between Styria and Burgenland. After she has taken the Feistritzwerke, it flows for a while through the southern Burgenland (district Jenner village), in respect of 800 m the border with Hungary and ends after 500 m as Lapincs near the Hungarian border town Szentgotthárd in the Raab (Hungarian Raba ).

Inflows are, inter alia, the forest stream, the Weissenbach and hard Schlossfestspiele Bach.

Conservation

After the confluence of Lafnitz and Feistritzwerke the average discharge amount is about 15 cubic meters per second. Especially in its upper and middle reaches (especially in Loipersdorf - Kitzladen, market Allhau and Wolfau ), but also in the section between the rudder village and Fürstenfeld (so-called "Fronius -Auen " ), the Lafnitz has retained the character of a very natural flow - it still offers habitat for several rare plant and animal species.

These species include the water chestnut, the marsh gentian, the globe flower, the kingfisher and the black stork and the butterflies of Light burnet - Large Blues. Rare habitats such as Molinia meadows, Hochstaudenfluren and riparian forests are characteristics of Lafnitztals.

The Lafnitztal since 2002, the 11th of 19 RAMSAR-G ebieten Austria and is therefore subject to the Ramsar Convention. The entire Lafnitz is Natura 2000 site.

In Loipersdorf are large pastures ( pasture in the valley), north of which an impressive Mäanderstrecke. The pastoral industry is, however, declined sharply in Hungary and in Southern Burgenland. To maintain the meadows and pastures Angus and Galloway cattle now be used. The slow-growing breeds of cattle as enrich bitch Moorochse also the Southern Burgenland's bill of fare. The Burgenland Weidegans, from which it also only gave a few stocks, now uses again increasing the pastures.

1996 Lafnitz been named the river of the year.

History

The Lafnitz was long border between Austria and Hungary. Today it forms over a long distance the boundary between the provinces of Styria and Burgenland, which was separated in 1921 by western Hungary. Empress Maria Theresa had set up since 1760 numerous landmarks, some of which are still preserved. The meandering Lafnitz changed then that is often its course, which had previously been repeated to border disputes occasion.