Nature park municipality

Purkersdorf - a special town in the Wienerwald

The town of Purkersdorf is located in the middle of the Wienerwald at Vienna's city limits. About 82% of the municipal area consists of forest.

The nature park lies entirely within the municipality of Purkersdorf. The municipal forest makes up the majority of the park's area. The municipal forest is managed in line with the requirements of a nature park.

Purkersdorf im Wienerwald

The town of Purkersdorf is located west of Vienna. 

The settlement has developed at the confluence of two small river valleys, namely of the Wien river and the Gablitzbach river, which have been quite historically important for traffic through the Wienerwald. Already during ancient Roman times there had been a road from Vienna along the Gablitzbach valley over the Riederberg towards the Tulln basin. Since then, Purkersdorf has always remained an important traffic junction. For example, in the Habsburg era, Purkersdorf had the first post office and rest station on the way from Vienna to Upper Austria and Salzburg. In 1856 Purkersdorf was connected to a modern transport network, when the “Imperial Privileged Empress Elisabeth Railway” (today's Westbahn from Vienna towards the west) was established.

The narrow settlement-suitable area along the two valleys is densely developed. The vast Wienerwald forest that encloses the settlement area functions as the town's green lungs and thus is at the very core of the population self-image and pride.

Purkersdorf, city of culture

Since the early 16th century Purkersdorf has been an important seat of the imperial forest administration for the western Wienerwald (“Kayserliches Waldambt”). This tradition was revived and modernized to Purkersdorf in 2002 when the Austrian Federal Forests relocated their headquarters from Vienna to Purkersdorf.

Probably the most famous cultural monument is the Purkersdorf Sanatorium, designed by Josef Hoffmann in 1905 as an example of an architectural Gesamtkunstwerk. The building was completely renovated inside and out in the year 2000, and the original structure has been largely restored.

Further information on Purkersdorf:
Website of the municipality of Purkersdorf
Purkersdorf in Wikipedia