Braunsberg mountain

The 346-m-high Braunsberg with its slanting plateau has an unusual shape and, together with the Devinska Kobyla in Slovakia, it forms a key point in the course of the Danube, the famed Hainburg Gate. The rock of Braunsberg mountain extends down into the water currents.

From up here one has a unique view of the Hundsheim mountains, the Danube and Morava wetlands, the city of Bratislava, the Lesser Carpathians as well as the open stretch of the Marchfeld. And the sunsets are spectacular!

Braunsberg mountain and the nearby Hundsheim mountains were brought under conservation in 1965 since the flora and fauna here are really unique. The plant life has adapted itself to the dry, warm Pannonian climate and descends partly from the eastern steppes and Mediterranean. Above all the diverse dry grasslands are home to highly-protected species such as adonis and dwarf iris. The clove pink is truly unique and only grows here in the Hainburg mountains!

The special habitat is also home to a variety of animals with numerous endangered species. For instance the bush cricket, a giant grasshopper threatened with extinction. Or the green lizard with its shimmering scales. The lush undergrowth is a paradise for beetles and woodpeckers. And the rare white-tailed eagle, the largest indigenous eagle, makes use of the thermal updraft from the sun-baked plateaus in flight.

And by the way: in case you spy a mountain goat in the distance – you are right! These animals were used for grazing on Braunsberg mountain several years ago and stayed, enjoying the freedom of the rocky slopes ever since.