Lainzer Tiergarten
The Lainzer Tiergarten is a 24.50 km2 wildlife preserve in the southwest corner of Vienna, Austria, 80% of it being covered in woodland. It dates back to 1561, when Ferdinand I, [Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I] created it as a fenced-in hunting ground for his family to use. Since 1919, it has been open to the public. Its name consists of its location by the Lainz district of Vienna's 13th District, and Tiergarten, which means zoo.
Location
The Lainzer Tiergarten is located mostly in Vienna's 13th district, with a small adjacent portion lying in Laab im Walde, Lower Austria. The Wien River is located to its north, the Liesingbach to its south.History
Emperor Ferdinand I created the Lainzer Tiergarten in 1561. He had wooden fence built to enclose an area that he could use as a private hunting preserve. In 1781, a stone wall replaced the wooden fence. After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Austrian government declared the grounds a public nature preserve, though between 1940 and 1955, the entire grounds were closed to the public. Until 1973 access to the preserve required the payment of an admission fee. Since then admission is free.A large portion of the Lainzer Tiergarten was lost after World War I, when the Friedenstadt neighborhood was constructed in its eastern portion. The old wall can still be seen in the Hörndlwald woods east of the Lainzer Tor.
Construction of the Westautobahn in the 1960s took a corner in the northwest of the preserve. This time there was compensation, however, as a portion of the Laaber Wald, adjacent to the southwest corner, was annexed.
Wildlife
Today the Lainzer Tiergarten is home to between 800 and 1,000 wild boar, 200 to 250 fallow deer, approximately 700 European mouflons, and 80 to 100 red deer.Gates
The preserve is surrounded by approximately of wall. There are seven gates, with different operating hours. Clockwise these are:- Lainzer Tor
- Gütenbachtor
- Laaber Tor
- Pulverstampftor
- Nikolaitor
- Sankt Veiter Tor
Lainzer Tor
As it is open year-round, and is home to a visitor center, the Lainzer Tor is the preserve's main gate. It is also the origin and the terminus of a walk to the Hermesvilla, which can often also be ridden via horse carriage. Public restrooms are also located near the gate, as is a water fountain. This is also one of two gates that has a parking lot.The Lainzer Tor is located at the end of Hermesstraße, and is reachable using the 56B bus, which connects the gate to the 60 and 62 trams line and to the U4 U-Bahn line at 15- to 20-minute intervals. These tram lines can be taken from the stop Speising, Hermesstraße, and connect to multiple U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines. Line 62 can also be taken directly from the Vienna Staatsoper to Hermesstraße.
Gütenbachtor
The Gütenbachtor is located on Gütenbachstraße, and accesses the southeastern corner of the Lainzer Tiergarten. It also features a water fountain and a parking lot, but is a 45-minute walk from the nearest public transportation, regional bus lines 253 and 254.Laaber Tor
The Laaber Tor is located by the Lower Austrian town of Laab im Walde. It accesses a separate corner of the Lainzer Tiergarten that was added in the 1960s as a compensation for territory that was lost in the north of the preserve when a highway was built. Visitors using this gate will pass the Dianator, which was the gate in this corner before the annexation of additional land. The Laaber Tor also has a water fountain.Similar to the Gütenbachtor, the only public transportation within reach is the regional bus line 253, which is a 15-minute walk from this gate.