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    December 1984

    Savior of Danube Alluvial Forest

    1983-84 Franz Weber fought to save the alluvial forest from Danube to Hainburg, close to Vienna. The Austrian government wanted to destroy it to build a gigantic hydraulic station. Franz Weber alerts the international public. Konrad Lorenz, zoologist and specialist of animal behavior, supported him.

     

    Thanks to Franz Weber’s initiative, on 8 December 1984, a few days before the planned deforestation, 12,000 people gathered at Bröckelwiese, in the heart of the alluvial forest to defend the area. Franz Weber delivered an inspiring speech that motivated the protesters to occupy the forest during the following night. Students from different universities and thousands of people from Austria (and Europe) from all social classes joined.

    Thanks to this action, the project was stopped. The alluvial forest of Hainburg became the first natural park in Austria.