nature park almenland
Nature is everywhere. Can it be far away? Can it be very close? It depends on our mood, on our behavior. If you are reading these lines, you show interest in nature and want to know something about the Almenland Nature Park in the garden of Austria. With us you can really easily get very close to nature and enjoy your vacation there.
Nature very close
National park does not mean nature park: Nature parks are cultivated landscapes created by humans. While a national park’s core area is no longer used for agriculture or forestry, but is intended to become a wilderness, maintaining a nature park requires human effort.
In 2006, the Almenland was awarded the title of "Nature Park" for its low mountain pastures. 125 alpine pastures together make up the largest low alpine pasture area in Central Europe.
The goal of every nature park is to preserve the diversity of the cultivated landscape through natural use. Valuable habitats and the large diversity of species and biotopes would disappear, were it not for our farmers who maintain the alpine pastures and meadows day after day, preventing the growth of forests. Our farmers are assisted by some 3,500 head of cattle, horses and sheep who enjoy the summer freshness of the alpine pastures. Their tireless jaws keep grasslands open, preventing them from turning into forests.
More than 125 alpine pastures
The Almenland Nature Park 40 km north of Graz is Europe’s largest contiguous low alpine grazing area, extending from the Rabenwald in the east via the Teichalm and Sommeralm to the Bärenschützklamm in the west. The region encompasses 125 alpine pastures, 6 communities and 2 districts, and nearly 13,000 inhabitants on an area of 428 km². It is an area of small mountain farms defined largely by agriculture, forestry and tourism.
Our treasures
...are jewels of nature, scenic attractions and places of power that have sprung from the interactions of nature and people over the course of centuries!
Depending on the season, the hiking trails lead along lush meadows with crocuses or dandelions, a wide variety of flowering orchids in the spring, willow gentian in the summer and bright red mountain ash berries in the autumn. The numerous cave systems in and around the Almenland are also impressive.
Explore these many natural treasures in the Almenland Nature Park in the company of our nature guides.
