Wildnisgebiet Dürrenstein: Guarding Austria's Last Primeval Forest

Declared Austria's first wilderness area in 2003 and doubled in size in 2021, Wildnisgebiet Dürrenstein-Lassingtal now spans 7,000 hectares across Lower Austria and Styria under strict IUCN Category Ia/Ib protection. At its heart lies the Rothwald, roughly 460 hectares of primary forest that has developed untouched since the last Ice Age and was preserved even under earlier private ownership. More than 80 percent of the wilderness area is left to natural processes with no human intervention, sheltering golden eagles, reintroduced eagle owls, migrating lynx and 70 recorded bird species. In 2017 the area was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site jointly with Nationalpark Kalkalpen, as part of the 'Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of Europe' listing.