In the "far north"

Where you can still marvel at our Milky Way

Dark high moor, bright sky - distant galaxies become visible in Schrems .

(Bild: Stefan Wallner)

Looking into deep space from the nature park: The Waldviertel offers its visitors more than just earthly natural wonders . . .

The Schrems Nature Park is widely known for its underwater world, which is not exactly flooded with light. But visitors to this wondrous eco-universe can look into distant galaxies. The unique natural paradise in the "far north" of Lower Austria is a magical attraction for all amateur astronomers due to its secluded location - as if thrown into a mystical granite world in which primeval times have been immortalized in a stone kaleidoscope. It even allows an almost unobstructed view of the Milky Way: The absolute darkness.

The Waldviertler Hochmoor has been spared from the rays of artificial light more than anywhere else, and there is hardly any other region that is plunged into darkness at night. The lights of the cities, commercial areas and industries have been polluting these otherwise lonely corners for a long time and with increasing intensity," regrets Stefan Wallner, leading expert on this unfortunate civilization phenomenon at the University of Vienna.

Nocturnal fauna is severely disturbed
However, the "glowing smog" has a massive impact on nocturnal and crepuscular fauna, whose day-night rhythm is severely disrupted. However, neither the eclipse paradise in Schrems nor that in the neighboring Heidenreichstein moor have been completely spared. There, the brightness level has virtually exploded by exactly 162.41 percent in the last ten years.

Here, however, there are commendable appeals to local authorities to dim the lights. The good news, according to Hochmoor managing directors Thomas Kainz and Christiane Mader: "Everything can be reversed!"