Short info:
- Where is the Lainzer Tiergarten? To the west of Vienna, parts also belong to Lower Austria
- What animals can you see there? There are 800 to 1000 wild boars, 80 to 100 red deer, 200 to 250 fallow deer, countless roe deer and around 700 mouflon.
- Where is the entrance? There are 6 gates: Lainzer Tor, St. Veiter Tor, Gütenbachtor, Pulverstampftor, Laaber Tor and Nikolaitor
- Does it cost entry? Not the Lainzer Tiergarten. Here are the admission prices for the Hermesvilla.
- When is it open? All year round, you can find the exact times HERE.
Gutenbach Gate
As with the Lainzer Tor or Nikolaitor, there is also a children’s playground right at the beginning.
From here hikes lead to the Hirschgstemm, where you can also stop for refreshments. On the way back you can climb the Hubertus values, which unfortunately was closed during our visit.
The Hermes Villa
The “Castle of Dreams”, as Empress Elisabeth once called her villa, was a present from her husband, Emperor Franz Joseph. He hoped that with this “gift” he would be able to keep his wife, who loved to travel, in Vienna more often. In a five-year construction period, the well-known Ringstrasse architect Carl von Hasenauer created this building, which is exemplary for many romantic country houses of the upper classes.
Various exhibitions are held in the Hermesvilla today. On the 1st floor you can see how the imperial couple once lived privately. The oversized state bed is from the time of Maria Theresa. The walls are embellished with impressive murals. Sissi’s personal gym can also still be visited. Special exhibitions are also regularly held in the Hermesvilla. In the café-restaurant Hermesvilla you can dine wonderfully. On sunny days a reservation for one of the tables outside is recommended! +43 676 3926140
The Hermesvilla can be reached via the Lainzer Tor.
The Lainzer Tiergarten in general
When you think of the Lainzer Tiergarten, you shouldn’t imagine a zoo like Schönbrunn or the Herberstein animal world. There are no exotic animals here. Instead, the wild boar, red deer, fallow deer, roe deer and mouflon live in the wild. Only if you’re lucky, a wild boar will cross your path – on other days you might only see ducks.
Nevertheless, the Lainzer Tiergarten is a very popular destination for the Viennese and Lower Austria, as you can walk and hike very relaxed in this primeval part of the Vienna Woods. Over 500,000 visitors come here every year. The area covers the entire area of 2,450 hectares – 1,945 hectares of which are forest areas. The entire area is surrounded by a 22 km long wall. This wall has a funny story to this day:
From 1782 to 1787, Emperor Josef II commissioned master mason Philipp Schlucker to build the wall. The price offered by Herr Schlucker was so low at the time that the people of Vienna feared that the master mason would become poor; although this fear did not materialize, the expression “poor sod” is still a common term today.
You can only get in through 6 gates. By the way, cycling is forbidden in the nature reserve (except for children under 6 years of age). Dogs are also not allowed in the Lainzer Tiergarten.
Plants and animals
Since 2008, the Lainzer Tiergarten has also been a European protected area. The zoo has a high biodiversity and has numerous endangered plant and animal species. A special feature of the zoo are its impressive beech and oak forests. Some of these have therefore been preserved for over 400 years.
Around 800 to 1000 wild boars, 80 to 100 red deer, 200 to 250 fallow deer, countless deer and around 700 moufflons live in the Lainzer Tiergarten.
The bird world of the Lainzer Tiergarten is particularly diverse. Over 94 different species can be found here. Numerous species of birds of prey live in the Tiergarten, as well as rare birds such as the white-backed woodpecker, the little and collared flycatcher, as well as the stock dove, the tawny owl and the black woodpecker.
15 species of reptiles and amphibians live here, such as the yellow-bellied toad, fire salamander, alpine newt, Alpine crested newt and European tree frog. There are also 39 different types of grasshoppers and countless butterflies in the Lainzer Tiergarten. If you are lucky, you can see one of the 13 species of bats.
Leisure offers
As already mentioned, the Tiergarten is particularly popular with hikers, runners, walkers and walkers. There are 6 children’s playgrounds for families, mostly located at the gates. Visitors will find various vantage points, camp meadows for picnics, jogging trails, a lookout point, the Nikolai chapel and places to stop for refreshments such as the Rohrhaus (+431 8041323), Hirschgstemm (+43 664 1572585) or the café-restaurant Hermesvilla (+43 676 3926140).
For visitors there is a forest trail at the Lainzer Tor and a nature trail at the Nikolaitor.
Forest playgrounds
- Lainzer Tor: This playground is 200 meters from the Lainzer Tor, on the left of the Kastanienallee, which leads to the Hermesvilla.
- Hermesvilla: This is a small playground, which is located in the Tiergarten on the path that leads from the Lainzer Tor in the direction of Hermesvilla, just before the villa on the left-hand side.
- Güterbachtal: This forest playground can be found about 100 meters from the Gütenbachtor in the Tiergarten on the left-hand side.
- Hirschgstemm: This playground is located at the corresponding inn directly in the Lainzer Tiergarten.
- Rohrhaus: This playground is located at the Gasthaus Rohrhaus.
- Nikolaiwiese: About 100 meters from the Nikolaitor in the Lainzer Tiergarten