The Lainzer Tiergarten is a 24.50 km² (6,054-

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

)

wildlife preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in the southwest corner of

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, 80% of it being covered in

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

. It dates back to 1561, when Ferdinand I created it as a fenced-in hunting ground for his family to use. Since 1919, it has been open to the public. Its name consists of its location by the Lainz district of Vienna's 13th District, and ''Tiergarten'', which means zoo (literally, "animal garden").

Location

The Lainzer Tiergarten is located mostly in Vienna's 13th district, with a small adjacent portion lying in Laab im Walde,

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

. The

Wien River The Wien is a river that flows through the capital of Austria, Vienna. Geography The river Wien is long, of which are within the city. Its drainage basin covers an area of , both in the city and in the neighbouring Vienna Woods. Its source li ...

is located to its north, the Liesingbach to its south.

History

Emperor Ferdinand I created the Lainzer Tiergarten in 1561. He had wooden fence built to enclose an area that he could use as a private hunting preserve. In 1781, a stone wall replaced the wooden fence. After the fall of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, the Austrian government declared the grounds a public nature preserve, though between 1940 and 1955, the entire grounds were closed to the public. Until 1973 access to the preserve required the payment of an admission fee. Since then admission is free. A large portion of the Lainzer Tiergarten was lost after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when the ''Friedenstadt'' ("Peace City") neighborhood was constructed in its eastern portion. The old wall can still be seen in the ''Hörndlwald'' woods east of the Lainzer Tor. Construction of the Westautobahn in the 1960s took a corner in the northwest of the preserve. This time there was compensation, however, as a portion of the ''Laaber Wald'', adjacent to the southwest corner, was annexed.

Wildlife

Today the Lainzer Tiergarten is home to between 800 and 1,000

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

, 200 to 250

fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...

, approximately 700

European mouflon The European mouflon is a feral subspecies of the primitive Sheep, domestic sheep. It is found in Europe and western Asia. It is originally from western Asia. Description Male mouflon are known as rams and the females as ewes. The young ...

s, and 80 to 100

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

(elk).Wildlife information on the Lainzer Tiergarten's website

Gates

The preserve is surrounded by approximately of wall. There are seven gates, with different operating hours. Clockwise these are: * Lainzer Tor (main gate) * Gütenbachtor * Laaber Tor * Pulverstampftor * Nikolaitor * Sankt Veiter Tor The entire preserve is open for approximately nine months of the year, from early March to early November. In the remaining months only the park around the Hermesvilla, accessible from the Lainzer Tor, is open. Between Christmas and the New Year, the entire park opens, but is only accessible from the Lainzer Tor and Nikolaitor.

Lainzer Tor

As it is open year-round, and is home to a visitor center, the Lainzer Tor is the preserve's main gate. It is also the origin and the terminus of a walk to the Hermesvilla, which can often also be ridden via horse carriage. Public restrooms are also located near the gate, as is a water fountain. This is also one of two gates that has a parking lot. The Lainzer Tor is located at the end of Hermesstraße, and is reachable using the 56B bus, which connects the gate to the 60 and 62 trams line and to the U4

U-Bahn Rapid transit in Germany consists of four systems and 14 systems. The , commonly understood to stand for ('underground railway'), are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while the or ('city rapid railway') are c ...

line (Hietzing station) at 15- to 20-minute intervals. These tram lines can be taken from the stop Speising, Hermesstraße, and connect to multiple U-Bahn and

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

lines. Line 62 can also be taken directly from the Vienna Staatsoper to Hermesstraße.

Gütenbachtor

The Gütenbachtor is located on Gütenbachstraße, and accesses the southeastern corner of the Lainzer Tiergarten. It also features a water fountain and a parking lot, but is a 45-minute walk from the nearest public transportation, regional bus lines 253 and 254.

Laaber Tor

The Laaber Tor is located by the

n town of Laab im Walde. It accesses a separate corner of the Lainzer Tiergarten that was added in the 1960s as a compensation for territory that was lost in the north of the preserve when a highway was built. Visitors using this gate will pass the Dianator, which was the gate in this corner before the annexation of additional land. The Laaber Tor also has a water fountain. Similar to the Gütenbachtor, the only public transportation within reach is the regional bus line 253, which is a 15-minute walk from this gate.

Pulverstampftor

The Pulverstampftor is located in the northwest corner of the preserve, near the Auhof neighborhood of Vienna's 14th district. It features a water fountain, and can be accessed from the ''Umspannwerk Auhof'' stop of the bus line 50B from Hütteldorf (five-minute walk).

Nikolaitor

Due to its location near the Hütteldorf railway station, the Nikolaitor is an important gate of the Lainzer Tiergarten. Hütteldorf can be accessed with the U-Bahn U4, S-Bahn S45, S50 and S80, tram line 49, as well as multiple bus lines. From the station it is a 10-minute walk across the

to Nikolaigasse. This gate also features a water fountain.

Adolfstor

The Adolfstor was located along the eastern wall of the Lainzer Tiergarten. It is now closed.

Sankt Veiter Tor

The Sankt Veiter Tor is directly accessible using a special hourly-served branch of the 54A bus line from the Ober Sankt Veit

station. Higher-frequented bus lines to Ober St. Veit and the terminus of the 62 tram line, Lainz Wolkersbergenstraße, are available by walking down Hanschweg to Stock im Weg. Wiener_Blick_Panorama

Locations in the preserve

There are three restaurants, two scenic viewpoints, a lake (Hohenauer Teich) and one museum located within the Lainzer Tiergarten.

Hermesvilla and park

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

commissioned the construction of the Hermesvilla, which was completed in 1886, and served as a getaway mansion for his

wife A wife (: wives) is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment; or until death, depending on the kind of marriage. On t ...

. Today it serves as a museum and also contains a restaurant and café, which is highly frequented due to its close location to the Lainzer Tor. The property around the Hermesvilla is a special area of the Lainzer Tiergarten, fenced off from the rest of the preserve. Separate gates on the paths leading deeper into the park allow access to the larger section when this is open.

Hirschgstemm and Rohrhaus

Besides the Hermesvilla, visitors to the Lainzer Tiergarten can also eat and drink at the Hirschgstemm and Rohrhaus restaurants. These are located deeper in the reserve than the Hermesvilla, but also have full menus.

Hubertuswarte

The Hubertuswarte is an

observation tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...

, built in 1927, and located on the Kaltbründel Berg, the highest point in the preserve (508 meters/1667 ft). From the top of the tower, visitors have a 360-degree view of the region, including Vienna and neighboring villages.

Wiener Blick

Closer to the city side of the Lainzer Tiergarten, the Wiener Blick offers a view of the city from 434 m (1424 ft). In July 2002, this observation point was visited by the Japanese Emperor

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

and his wife Michiko.

References

*
Geschichte des Lainzer Tiergartens
- City of Vienna Website * Karl Johann Tichy, Hannes Mayer: "Das Eichen-Naturschutzgebiet Johannser Kogel im Lainzer Tiergarten, Wienerwald". Sonderdruck aus: ''Centralblatt für das gesamte Forstwesen'', Jahrgang 96. 1979, Heft 4. Österreichischer Agrarverlag, Vienna, 1979.

Endnotes

External links

*
Lainzer Tiergarten
- Official website *

*

Wien Museum Hermesvilla
{{Authority control Parks in Vienna Nature conservation in Austria Hietzing Vienna Woods 1561 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy 16th-century establishments in Austria Museum districts Establishments in the Archduchy of Austria Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor