Blockheide-Gmünd Nature Park

The Blockheide is a natural park in Gmünd in the northwestern Waldviertel in Lower Austria. Already the Neolithic man of painted pottery left its mark here. Further evidence of human presence is there but not until the Middle Ages, the time of the Slavic and German conquest. The remaining pieces (rock formations ) that ( which still exist today ) were the reason for the sacrificial stone theory of Franz Xaver Kiessling and his followers, however, were used in prehistoric and early historic times in no way cultic sense. This theory does not correspond to the state of current knowledge and has its roots in the romantic and national historicism of the late 19th century.

Natural Attractions

The Blockheide provides a heath landscape with a small-scale rural landscape dar. You can find here a mixture of small-scale arable fields, extensively used meadows and mixed forests. The landscape is interspersed with granite blocks. This is a collection of often bizarrely shaped residual Lingen, block castles and boulders (some designed as loose stones), a remnant of the former high mountains of the Bohemian Massif, formed by Wollsackverwitterung. Some of them have suggested to naming as pyramid, mushroom stone, sacrificial bowl or loaf of bread the people's imagination.

Numerous tales have grown up around the stones. So says a legend that God moved on to the creation of the world by Manhart Mountain West, while the surrounding stones have collected in a cloth. In the area of Blockheide this cloth had become so severe that it tore apart and the stones everywhere rolled through the area. Since God was tired, he decided to go home and let the stones are.

The establishment of the Natural Park was in 1964 at the suggestion of the Austrian sculptor Carl Hermann, when there were plans to facilitate agricultural work by blowing up the granite blocks. The maintenance of the cultural landscape is one of the great difficulties of the nature park, as the management is very labor intensive and not profitable enough.

Built sights

In the nature reserve there is an observation tower with an exhibition on the origins of loose stones as well as a connected information center. To explore the area themed trails such as the GranitkulTOUR, mythology tour, or LandschaftskulTOUR were established. The Meridianweg follows the 15th meridian east. There is a geological open-air museum and a nature playground with stone labyrinth and a picnic area and there are also guided adventure hikes offered.

Small lake amidst the nature park

Lookout tower over the Park Center