The Marchfeld () is a 900 km²

sedimentary basin Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of the Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock They form when long-term subsidence ...

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 ...

, that borders

Vienna 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. ...

to the east. Geologically, the Marchfeld constitutes the northern half of the

Vienna Basin The Vienna Basin (, , , Hungarian: ''Bécsi-medence'') is a geologically young tectonic burial basin and sedimentary basin in the seam area between the Alps, the Carpathians and the Pannonian Plain. Although it topographically separates the Al ...

, which spans about 60 kilometers along the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. The Marchfeld traditionally served as Vienna’s vegetable supplier and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

’s

breadbasket The breadbasket of a country or of a region is an area which, because of the richness of the soil and/or advantageous climate, produces large quantities of wheat or other grain. Rice bowl is a similar term used to refer to Southeast Asia; Calif ...

. Economically, it has been significant since the 1930s due to its oil and natural gas deposits. Architecturally, the region is notable for its

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

churches, town squares, and the Marchfeld castles. Morava austria slovakia

Geography

The region takes its name from the river

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

(''Morava'') in the east (derived from "Mark", meaning "border"), which serves as Austria's border with

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. The term "Marchfeld" thus means "territory/plain by the border river". The southern boundary of the Marchfeld is formed by the

and its floodplains (e.g., the

Lobau The Lobau () is a floodplain in Vienna, Austria. Located in the south-east of the city, on the northern bank of the Danube, it is a part of the Danube-Auen National Park. History Before 1870 The Danube meandered through the flat Marchfeld ...

), while in the north, it is framed by the hilly landscape of the

Weinviertel The (; ) or ; "Area below the " is located in the northeast of Lower Austria. In the east, the borders Slovakia at the March River. In the south, it borders and , its limits being the Wagram, the Danube and the . Its western neighbor is ...

, stretching from the Bisamberg near Vienna to Angern an der March. The flat Austrian bank of the March up to Hohenau an der March and the tri-border area are also considered part of the broader Marchfeld region. The undeveloped outskirts of Vienna’s 21st and 22nd districts, both located on the left bank of the Danube, are also considered part of the Marchfeld. Towns in the Marchfeld include: Aderklaa, Andlersdorf,

Deutsch-Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) north ...

, Eckartsau, Engelhartstetten, Gänserndorf, Glinzendorf, Groß-Enzersdorf, Großhofen, Haringsee, Lassee, Leopoldsdorf im Marchfeld, Mannsdorf an der Donau, Marchegg, Markgrafneusiedl, Obersiebenbrunn, Orth an der Donau, Parbasdorf, Raasdorf, Strasshof an der Nordbahn, Untersiebenbrunn, Weiden an der March, and Weikendorf.

History

In 1260, Ottokar II Přemysl of Bohemia defeated

Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of Andrew II of Hungary, King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group ...

here. Ottokar was beaten in 1278 in the

Battle on the Marchfeld The Battle on the Marchfeld (''i.e. Morava (river), Morava Field''; ; ; ); at Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen took place on 26 August 1278 and was a decisive event for the history of Central Europe for the following centuries. T ...

against

Rudolf I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany of the Habsburg dynasty from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's imperial election of 1273, election marked the end of the Interregnum (Holy Roman Empire), Great Interregnum whic ...

. In the 16th century,

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

settled in the region (similar as in

Burgenland Burgenland (; ; ; Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland''; Slovene language, Slovene: ''Gradiščanska''; ) is the easternmost and least populous Bundesland (Austria), state of Austria. It consists of two statutory city (Austria), statut ...

), forming the ethnic group known as the ''Marchfeld Croats'', which persisted until the mid-19th century. In 1809, during the

War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in Central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Emp ...

, Austria fought against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Aspern Aspern () is a neighbourhood in Vienna, Austria, within Donaustadt, the Districts of Vienna, 22nd district of Vienna. It has a population of 52,375 as of 2023 and covers an area of 19.89 km2. History The area is known for the Battle of Asp ...

and

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) north ...

. In 1837, the

Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway The Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway (; ; ) was a railway company during the time of the Austrian Empire. Its main line was intended to connect Vienna with the salt mines in Bochnia near Kraków. The name is still used today in referring to a ...

, Austria’s first steam railway, was put into operation in the Marchfeld. In 1870, the

Laaer Ostbahn The Laaer Ostbahn () is a railway line in Lower Austria. It runs from Wien Hauptbahnhof to , on the Czech–Austrian border. The line formerly continued to Brno. Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) owns and operates the line. Route The Laaer Os ...

and

Marchegger Ostbahn The Marchegger Ostbahn () is a railway line in Austria and Slovakia. It runs from the Donaustadt district of Vienna to Marchegg, where it crosses the Morava river and enters Slovakia. At Devínska Nová Ves, it continues as the . Route The ...

railways were opened. In 1918/1919, the former emperor

Karl I Charles I (, ; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from November 1916 until the monarchy was abolished in November 1918. He was the ...

spent his last weeks in Austria at Eckartsau Castle before his forced emigration.

Marchfeld Castles

The term ''Marchfeldschlösser'' is used to promote six castles in the Marchfeld region for tourism. These castles include Schloss Hof, Schloss Niederweiden, Schloss Orth, Schloss Marchegg, Schloss Eckartsau, and Schloss Obersiebenbrunn.

References

External links

{{Authority control Geology of Austria Gänserndorf District Sedimentary basins of Europe