Lake Neusiedl

Lake Neusiedl is a huge, shallow steppe lake straddling the Austrian-Hungarian border, ringed by one of the largest reed belts in Europe and barely more than a metre or two deep. A UNESCO cultural landscape shared with Hungary, it is a paradise for birds, a centre of Austrian wine, and a breezy world of sailing, cycling and windswept horizons.

Background

Lake Neusiedl, Fertő to Hungarians, has no outflow to the sea, and no such lake in Central and Western Europe is larger. Its saline water covers 315 km2, of which 240 km2 lies in Austria and 75 km2 in Hungary, and it drains a basin of about 1,120 km2. The lake is about 36 km long from north to south and between 6 km and 12 km wide, and it lies 115.45 m above the Adriatic and is nowhere deeper than 1.8 m. About 90% of its water leaves by evaporation. People have lived around it since about 6000 BC, and the lake and its villages were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2001.

Source: Wikipedia, "Lake Neusiedl"

What's there

• The reed belt and birds - the vast reeds sheltering herons, storks and huge migrations.
• Rust and the villages - the wine villages with their storks' nests on the chimneys.
• Sailing and windsurfing - the shallow, breezy lake, a watersports centre.
• The vineyards - the wine country of Burgenland around the shore.

When to go

Spring and autumn for bird migration, and summer for sailing and swimming in the warm shallow water; the wine harvest and villages are lovely in autumn. The lake is breezy and exposed.

Before you go

It is a flat, subtle landscape whose wonders are birds, wine and space rather than dramatic scenery. The shallow water and reeds mean the shore is hard to reach in places. It is an easy day from Vienna but rewards slow, cycling exploration.

Nearby

Eisenstadt with its Esterhazy Palace is nearby; the Hungarian side of the lake lies just across the border.

Key facts