Heidenreichsteiner Moor

Trudge through a moor and find out about its history on a hike through a former peatery

In the northwest Waldviertel near the town of Heidenreichstein is an open high moor about 10 hectares in size that forms the heart of the nature park of the same name.

Nature Park Heidenreichsteiner Moor has numerous educational panels that tell you how this moorland has evolved over the past 10,000 years. Peat was once harvested here but after this practice stopped, the moor recovered again naturally.

The best way to explore the Heidenreichsteiner Moor is on two circuit hiking trails (Teichweg or Moorlehrpfad). You can look forward to seeing unique and highly adapted fauna and flora along the way. Peat moss, cotton grass, northern bilberries or carnivorous sundews await hikers in the middle of the moor woods along with the mystical rock formations so typical of the Waldviertel. The overall picture is impressive. Guided hikes in the nature park are available from May through September.

Prügelsteg is a 30 meter long walkway that lets you go out safely onto the open moor for a closer look at this fascinating landscape. For a special experience, go to the moor trudging area and take a walk barefoot through the moor. The ground here is rich in precious minerals and organic acids and has always been reputed to have a healing effect.