Projekte

Young women living in rural areas overwhelmingly underestimate their personal opportunities for the future compared to those living in urban areas. This is resulting in a brain-drain of well-educated women. This project is intended to highlight how modern and diverse the situation for women can be in rural areas and what opportunities for the future are on offer in the Wachau-Dunkelsteinerwald region.

In the future, there should be stronger focus on topics related to the Dunkelsteinerwald in lessons at the region’s primary schools. Teaching staff worked on how to achieve this in an initial project, the results of which are now being implemented in another LEADER project.

Natural forests, extensive hiking trails and prized cultural treasures – the Dunkelsteinerwald has a large, to some extent still untapped, potential for people seeking local recreational pursuits. In addition, thousands of day-trippers and holidaymakers, for whom the Dunkelsteiner usually remains just a secret tip, can be found in the zones on the periphery of the Dunkelsteinerwald every year. Browsing through brochures and websites reveals little information about the Dunkelsteinerwald, let alone any actual offers.

Preparations for the joint advertising of several municipalities together with Göttweig Abbey for the Provincial Exhibition in 2023 were already on the way when the one-year delay to the event was announced. The opportunity should now be taken to restructure this initiative. The central topic – “Music” – is intended to connect the participating municipalities and reinforce the sense of regional identity. The large collection of musical publications in Göttweig Abbey offers the possibility to do some academical research on the region’s music and allow it to flow into the initiative.

Following on from the success of the last two exhibitions, the event will be organised again in spring 2019. This time, the event will be held in Haunoldstein. Given the regional interrelationships, companies from the municipalities of Loosdorf, Markersdorf-Haindorf and St. Margarethen/Sierning will be invited to present themselves. A varied supporting programme will provide an additional attraction and round off the event.

The Pielach-Mühlau conservation area in the municipal district of Hafnerbach is one of nature’s true jewels. The wild river landscape is an area of retreat for many species of animal and vital to their survival. Excursions, campaigns involving schoolchildren and targeted public relations work are intended to create the necessary sensitisation and put the protection of these habitats on a secure and lasting footing.

In terms of tourism, the Dunkelsteinerwald is overshadowed by the Wachau. However, in recent years, it has been possible to position the Dunkelsteinerwald as a hiking destination with the hiking trail network of the Dunkelsteinerwald-Runde.

The idea to boost awareness of the region amongst young residents came about in the Dunkelsteinerwald micro-region. The aim is to strengthen both identification with the Dunkelsteinerwald and longer-term ties to the region. For this reason, a concept for integrating regional topics into the curriculum at local primary schools will be developed.

The Haunoldstein beautification and village renewal association is dedicated to the history of the Bründlkapelle. To mark the 100th anniversary of the chapel and the local spring, the story of its creation and importance is to be elaborated together with local historian Dr Gerhard Flossmann.

Approximately 600 asylum seekers and recognised asylum seekers currently live in the Wachau-Dunkelsteinerwald region. Building on the work done in the asylum and integration coordination project, targeted measures and offers should be put in place to improve the integration of people who fled to us in recent years. A central role will be accorded to the people already well advanced in the integration process.