Grand opening of (M)Ursprung Exhibition
The European Wilderness Society attended the opening of the (M)Ursprung Exhibition in Muhr. The Mur river is the second longest river in Austria and shapes the nature, landscape and people of its region. Therefore, Hohe Tauern National Park has dedicated a new exhibition to this impressive river, located near its source in the eastern part of the Hohe Tauern mountains.
The river spring is located within Hohe Tauern National Park, also home to the Hohe Tauern Wilderness. This part of the National Park is also part of the core zone of the Biosphere Reserve Lungau, where you find the main office of the European Wilderness Society.
Please also read: Wild rivers in Europe
A journey along the river
The exhibition is bilingual – English and German – and takes visitors through a tour of the history, geology, biodiversity and culture of the Mur. This way it builds a bridge between the National Park Hohe Tauern and the Biosphere Reserve Lungau. A counter by the entrance records the seconds since the birth of today’s Mur. At the moment of the opening, the Mur was already over 382 billion seconds, roughly 12 100 years. Part of this exhibition is also an impressive eight-minute film about the habitats of the National Park and Biosphere Reserve.
Hohe Tauern has invested 600 000 Euros in the exhibition. This opens the door to visitor awareness of the natural and cultural landscape combined with protected areas.
Visit the exhibition!
The river runs 463 km from source to confluence, and overcomes 1768 metres in altitude. Its name comes from the Slavic ‘Mura’, meaning dark river. The source is surrounded by many special features, including numerous glaciers, mountain lakes and bogs. The river flows through the Biosphere Reserve Lungau. Especially within the National Park Hohe Tauern you can find the Mur, where it meanders naturally. However in the past 140 years, human impact altered other segments of the river. To visit the exhibition on the Mur, click here. The exhibition is open to the public to explore and discover the river!
WILDRivers
The European Wilderness Society has a specific categorisation of Wilderness dedicated to rivers – WILDRiver. Currently there are eight rivers in our Network, such as the Belá WILDRiver. It is important to protect rivers, therefore the European Wilderness Society is committed to protecting the last near-pristine rivers in Europe. You can read here about our recent quick-audit of Thaya WILDRiver in the Austrian Thayatal National Park.
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