The Lobau () is a

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

on the northern side of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

in Donaustadt and partly in Großenzersdorf,

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') 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 P ...

. It has been part of the

Danube-Auen National Park Donau-Auen National Park (german: Nationalpark Donau-Auen) covers 93 square kilometres in Vienna and Lower Austria and is one of the largest remaining floodplains of the Danube in Middle Europe. The German word ''Aue'' (variant ''Au'') means ...

since 1996 and has been a protected area since 1978. It is used as a recreational area and is known as a site of nudism. There is also an

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

harbour, and the

Austrian Army The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...

used the Lobau as a training ground. In addition to the water coming from the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

through the Wiener Hochquellenwasserleitung, the Lobau is a source of

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...

for Vienna. The ''

Donauinsel The Donauinsel (Danube Island) is a long, narrow artificial island in central Vienna, Austria, lying between the Danube river and the parallel excavated channel '' Neue Donau'' ("New Danube"). The island is in length, but is only wide. The ...

'' (Vienna Danube Island) borders the Lobau.

History

The Lobau was the site of the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809, the first major defeat suffered by Napoléon, which was inflicted on him by an Austrian army led by

Archduke Charles Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...

, and of the Battle of Wagram, a victory for Napoleon that followed two months later. During the Oil Campaign of World War II, the Lobau oil refinery was bombed beginning on August 22, 1944.

Impact on the environment

Some small territories were used by the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

for soldier training. The Lobau also has a big impact on tapwater in

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itself, since it is one of the sources to provide

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

to its

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

. The Lobau houses a huge amount of different

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

that are in danger of extinction. Since 1977 the Lobau with a property is considered as a biosphere reserve by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. The Lobau is composed of

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

zones, of which only 25% are being taken care of. Since 1978 the Lobau is at the same time an area under landscape protection, a preserved area and also a

biosphere The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also ...

reserve. The area covers one fifth of the 22nd district in

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Flora and fauna

The Lobau consists in a flora and fauna of exception, but on its way to extinction due to environmental problems. This is why, to preserve it, the Lobau has become a protected area since 1996. Furthermore, starting October 26, 1996 the protected park has integrated the national park of ''Donau Auen'', which is one of natural areas "nature 2000". The area has been designated as a protected Ramsar site since 1982.

Reed bed

The ''Josefsteg'' is a bridge found in the middle of the Lobau. 150 years ago there was a river bed, it was the Danube's bed. This passage constructed of wood, is about a , this bridge also represents the human impact on the protected area even though it is made of wood. As said before this park is known for its wide variety of flora and fauna and one typical example is the reed bed surrounding the ''Josefsteg'' covering a large part of the area. The common reed, (''

Phragmites australis ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of plant. It is a broadly distributed wetland grass that can grow up to tall. Description ''Phragmites australis'' commonly forms extensive stands (known as reed beds), which may ...

''), is a cosmopolite species of perennial plant that belongs to the Poaceae, which is a sub family of the Arundinoideae.

References

External links

{{Districts of Donaustadt Donaustadt Biosphere reserves of Austria Landforms of Vienna Oil campaign of World War II Floodplains of Europe Ramsar sites in Austria Nude beaches