History
In the heart of the Austrian Alps lies the Hohe Tauern National Park, the second-largest in Europe with a total area of 1,800 km². Austria´s highest mountain peaks, broad glacial expanses, alpine meadows, rocks and waterfalls, together with a rural culture with centuries-old roots, all leave their own unique stamp on its appearance.
The Hohe Tauern National Park is an area of exceptionally beautiful countryside. Humans have not severely impacted its primary landscapes, which means that major renaturation measures never proved necessary. Quite to the contrary - wide areas have probably never even been trodden on by a human being. The hard winters, with occasionally extreme avalanche danger, make the Hohe Tauern mountains only accessible to a few very experienced climbers.
The natural history of the Hohe Tauern is punctuated by catastrophic events such as the ice ages, but also by the ongoing building, resculpting and demolition efforts of Mother Nature herself.
The animals and plants have learned how to cope with the extreme conditions of the high mountains, leading in many instances a life on the very brink of existence.
But in summer, especially, the National Park reveals itself to visitos in its full diversity and beauty.
You can find more background information on the park´s history and other highlights by clicking here: Hohe Tauern National Park
Idea and Realization
In 1872, the world´s very first national park was created in the USA: Yellowstone National Park.
The idea of placing exceptional natural landscapes of major national importance under governmental protection, and of using these for the "joy and edification" of mankind, subsequently began to spread around the world. There are now some 3,000 national parks, including such famous preserves as the Serengeti, the Galapos Island and Mt. Everest. The Hohe Tauern National Park was Austria´s first, established in 1981. Over the following decades, this park - located in the three Austrian provinces of Carinthia, Salzburg and Tyrol - has developed into a nature sanctuary larger in area than any other in Central Europe (1,835 km²).
The Hohe Tauern National Park is situated almost exclusively on private property, a truly unique aspect to a nature preserve of this size. This means that development of the National Park has always been conducted in a spirit of partnership and cooperation. These efforts were rewarded in 2001 as the park received "International Recognition" for having met the criteria set forth by the World Conservation Union "IUCN".
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