The main European watershed runs right through the middle of the Waldviertel and the courses of the rivers divide here. One flows to the North Sea, the other to the Black Sea.

In the north of the Waldviertel the watershed touches Illmau by Kautzen continuing to Schwarzenberg, Heinreichs, Kirchberg am Walde, Großschönau, through the Nordwald Nature Park at Bad Großpertholz to Karlstift where it leaves the western part of the Waldviertel.

The source of the River Thaya: the Thaya rises near Schweiggers under the roots of a birch tree that has grown out of the trunk of a pine tree. Legend has it that tree and water nymphs meet here which is why some people avoid it finding it uncanny. Robert Hamerling, the most important poet of the Waldviertel, was drawn to this place time and time again.

Thaya Valley National Park
The area beside the River Thaya is so beautiful and unspoiled that a nature park has been set up here. The centre of this popular park is in Hardegg which is the starting point for walkers and hikers on their explorations of the area, if desired in the hands of a competent and knowledgeable guide.

Großer Kamp, Kleiner Kamp and Purzelkamp
The “Große Kamp”, the largest of the source rivers of the River Kamp, rises 2 km north of Liebenau in Lower Austria and forms the border between Lower and Upper Austria for a distance of 11 km.
It joins the second source river, the “Kleiner Kamp”, at Ritterkamp near Rappottenstein Castle. The Kleiner Kamp rises in the Weinsberg Forest and flows through an idyllic valley just like the Großer Kamp. The River Zwettl, another of the feeder rivers, flows into the River Kamp in Zwettl. The “Purzelkamp”, which rises to the south of Spielberg and Traunstein, no longer flows into another river, but nowadays flows into the Ottenstein reservoir which lies to the south of Rastenberg and Rastenfeld.

The yellow-red river
The characteristic colour of the Kamp is a mixture of yellow, rust-brown and red which sometimes puts people off although the quality of the water is excellent and is rated between one and two. One possible explanation for this strange colouring is that the suspended matter and colourants come from the many moors and moor-like plant communities to be found in the flat source region of the River Kamp. Furthermore, the water from the Kamp contains particles of iron washed out from the acid crystalline rock.

The source of the River Kamp
The source of the River Kamp is a relatively unspectacular section of forest. In fact, the water trickles out of the ground in dozens of different places. There is a well-signposted hiking trail from Liebenau in Upper Austria to the source of the River Kamp.


The Kamp Valley between the reservoirs and Rosenburg is one of the most beautiful transverse valleys in Europe. The gentle shapes of the so-called “Bohemian Massive” are breached by steep waterfalls, the elevated plain by gorges and rugged rock formations. Numerous biotopes with rare fauna (e.g. black stork, otter, emerald lizards) and flora are waiting to be discovered. The Ottenstein, Dobra and Thurnberg reservoirs can best be explored by electric, pedal or rowing boot. Idyllic coves tempt you to swim and relax.

At the Arbesbach and Lohn waterfalls the water tumbles over bizarre stone formations. The “Höllfall”, south of Arbesbach where the River Kamp plunges over a staircase of giant granite blocks, is particularly spectacular.