Lower Austria

Lower Austria (abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of Austria’s nine states, sitting in the country’s northeastern corner. It’s the largest state by area and the second most populous (after Vienna), with about 1.7 million residents. Its capital has been Sankt Pölten since 1986, replacing Vienna, which split off as its own state in 1921. Other major cities include Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, and Wiener Neustadt.

The state gets its name from its position downriver on the Enns River, which flows west to east. It borders the Czech Republic (South Bohemia and South Moravia) and Slovakia (Bratislava and Trnava Regions), giving it the second-longest external border of any Austrian state. It also shares borders with Upper Austria, Styria, and Burgenland, and surrounds Vienna.

Lower Austria is split into four quarters: Mostviertel (above the Vienna Woods), Industrieviertel (below the Vienna Woods), Weinviertel (below the Manhartsberg), and Waldviertel (above the Manhartsberg). Each has distinct geography: Mostviertel features foothills of the Limestone Alps with peaks up to about 2,000 meters; Waldviertel is mostly a granite plateau; Weinviertel is hilly in the northeast, flattening into the Marchfeld plains, and is separated from the Vienna Basin by the Danube. The Vienna Basin itself is split from the Vienna Woods by a north-south line of thermal springs called the Thermenlinie.

Notable mountains include Schneeberg (Klosterwappen, 2,076 m), Rax (Scheibwaldhöhe, 1,943 m; highest summit Heukuppe, 2,007 m in Styria), Ötscher (1,893 m), Dürrenstein (1,878 m), Schneealpe (Ameisbühel, 1,828 m; highest summit Windberg, 1,903 m in Styria), Hochkar (1,808 m), and many others up to Buschberg (491 m). Two key alpine passes—Semmering (985 m) and Wechsel (943 m)—lie on the border with Styria.

Almost all of Lower Austria drains into the Danube. The exception is the Lainsitz River in the northern Waldviertel, which flows into the North Sea via the Moldau and Elbe. Major rivers north of the Danube include the Ysper, Kamp, Krems, Lainsitz, March, and Thaya. South of the Danube are the Enns, Ybbs, Erlauf, Melk, Pielach, Traisen, Schwechat, Fischa, Schwarza, Triesting, Pitten, and Leitha.

Lakes include the Ottenstein Reservoir (4.3 km²), Lunzer See (0.69 km²), Erlaufsee (0.56 km², about half in Lower Austria), Erlauf Reservoir, and Wienerwaldsee (0.32 km²).

The state is rich in caves, with 4,082 recorded, mostly limestone and dolomite karst caves, plus cavities in marble of the Central Alps and Bohemian Massif. The largest is the Ötscherhöhlensystem (27,003 m long), followed by Pfannloch (5,287 m), Lechnerweidhöhle (5,252 m), Trockenes Loch (4,510 m), Hermannshöhle (4,430 m), and Eisensteinhöhle (2,341 m). Several are open as show caves, including Hermannshöhle, Eisensteinhöhle, the Allander stalactite cave, the Unicorn Cave, Hochkarschacht, Nixhöhle, and Ötschertropfsteinhöhle.

The history of Lower Austria parallels that of Austria. Over 7,000 years ago, more than 200 Neolithic people were killed in a massacre at the Linear Pottery settlement of Schletz. Many castles dot the landscape, and Klosterneuburg Abbey is one of the country’s oldest. Before World War II, Lower Austria had the largest Jewish population in Austria. The names Lower and Upper Austria come from the older terms “Austria below the Enns” and “Austria above the Enns,” referring to the river’s course. By the mid-13th century, the region was called the Principality below the river Enns. The Battle on the Marchfeld on 26 August 1278 began the rise of the Habsburgs in Austria and Central Europe. During the Ottoman wars, Lower Austria faced repeated raids by Tatars and Ottoman Akinji paramilitaries.