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When it comes to the northeast of Austria, the Weinviertel, we are talking about the district under the Manhartsberg (537 meters). Its long ridge forms the western border to the Waldviertel. The Danube in the south, the March in the east and in parts the Thaya in the north mark the further borders. But the gently undulating wine country doesn't have much in common with mountains. The Leiser Mountains in the eastern Weinviertel are well-known and popular as a hiking destination. Thanks to the striking radar station, its highest elevation, the Buschberg (491 meters), is a landmark that can be seen from afar and is number one among the Seven Summits of the Weinviertel. Near Stockerau in the south of the Weinviertel, the Michelberg (409 meters) and the Waschberg (388 meters) take the last two places among the seven highest peaks. When it comes to popularity, they have a completely unjustified existence in the shadows. Two books now show their true nature and stories of human settlement.
The book cover of "Natur am Waschberg" shows in the foreground a blooming flower meadow, a few bushes and, on the horizon, an intensively used agricultural landscape with wind turbines, no trace of rocks. But geology is doubly important here. First of all, the Waschbergkalk. "A beige rock, a mixture of fossils, gravel and sand, [it] can be found in its summit areas, but also on the Michelberg and the Praunsberg (near Niederfellabrunn)" (page 22ff). A special feature of the rock are lens-shaped nummulites, single-celled microfossils from the group of foraminifera, typical of warmer climates in the Eocene period (56.0 to 33.9 million years).
The mountain not only gave its name to the rock, but also to a tectonic zone. The Waschberg zone in question extends as a range of hills from Waschberg and Michelberg over the Leiser Mountains, the Staatz Cliff, the Falkensteiner Mountains and the Pollauer Mountains in southern Moravia. Around 17 million years ago, in the late phase of Alpine mountain formation, rocks (Waschberg Kalk, Ernstbrunner Kalk) were pushed out of the subsoil between the Vienna Basin in the east and the Molasse zone in the west, which extends across the foothills of the Alps to Bavaria. The erosion that has taken place since then exposed the hard rocks that we now call mountains.
Since 2011, Waschberg has been protected as part of the European protected area “Weinviertler Klippenzone”. The species-rich habitats, especially the natural limestone semi-dry grasslands, are looked after and cared for using numerous measures. Most important to-do: On no less than ten hectares of land, which is equivalent to almost 25 football fields, it is important to keep bush cover at bay.
Under the title "Weinviertler Blumenberg" the diverse vegetation of the semi-dry grassland is described in detail on page 36. These are “around 180 different herbs, grasses and shrubs” that can be found on “open, non-wooded slopes, in a varied mosaic of species-rich meadows with groups of trees and individual trees” (page 39). Large and blackish pasqueflower (page 40) and purple orchid (page 43) can also be found, as can mountain aster (page 48) and fringed gentian (page 49). The faunal diversity (from page 60) is treated in eight individual chapters, each richly illustrated. From birds, reptiles, butterflies and moths to wild bees, beetles and snails as “specialists on dry grass” (page 112).
The final part of the book (from page 116) is about sustainable protection and care measures ("Let's get it done!"). Meticulously maintained species lists with scientific names (pages 140 to 147) underline the importance of this natural jewel.
Ernst Lauermann, a doctor of archaeology and author, carried out excavations on the Michelberg plateau summit for several years and meticulously researched the history of the mountain. For Lauermann (born 1952, state archaeologist from 2006) from Stockerau, who headed the Museum of Prehistory in Asparn an der Zaya for many years, the Michelberg is essentially his personal local mountain. "The Michelberg has always held a special fascination for me since my childhood." After an initial excavation campaign in the early 1980s, some questions remained unanswered.
Geophysical prospections followed in 2001 and 2009, during which the original location of the former baroque church was reconstructed. But some things still remained unclear. Now Lauermann became active. "So I began carrying out archaeological excavations together with my long-time excavation manager and friend Franz Drost, with the declared goal of researching the church on Michelberg as precisely as possible." (page 7). This happened in the summers of 2010 to 2013. This was followed in 2017 by an extensive monograph ("The Michelberg and its churches") and in 2019 by the present book, which is dedicated to the Archangel Michael, the centuries-long patron of the churches on the Michelberg.
Lauermann divides the time at Michelberg into seven phases. At the beginning there is the late Early Bronze Age (1800/1700 BC) with a rampart (page 33). A cemetery is documented in the early High Middle Ages (around 1000 to around 1200). Section three is about the Romanesque choir square church (1200 to 1300) with a tower in the west (page 44). In the late Middle Ages (around 1300 to around 1500) the church received a tower in the south. The early modern church (around 1500 to 1745), phase 4, has a redesigned choir including a nave and extensions to the south.
20 burials can also be assigned to this period (page 68). The subsequent baroque church dates from 1745 to 1785 (phase 5). The building was reasonably large at 37.3 meters by 15.0 meters (page 76), and there was also a bell tower and a sacristan's house with tiled stoves. The end of the baroque church (phase 6), which was very popular as a pilgrimage church, falls in the era of Joseph II with the closure (1783) of religious activities, which was then followed by demolition in 1785/1786. It was not until 1867 that the Haselbach population built today's chapel.
During the Second World War, a circular concrete building was built on the rubble of the baroque church, which could be assigned to a radio measuring system (page 117ff). There was also a team building and a garage with remains that can still be seen today.
Not only the construction phases are described, but also the rich material found, which ranges from coins, bone finds (cattle, pigs, sheep and goats) to various gems (election medal from Mariazell, St. Benedict's cross, ...) to keys and locks.
Conclusion: "Nature at Waschberg" not only opens up the flowering paradise of the dry grassland, but also shows how to get the population on board with contemporary witness interviews in order to increase awareness of nature on the doorstep. "The Michelberg - An archaeological hotspot in the southern Weinviertel" is the technically sound, complete and easy-to-read documentation of a mountain peak that has been inhabited for thousands of years. (Thomas Hofmann, July 11, 2025).