Mostviertel

Mostviertel (English: Must Quarter) is the southwestern of the four quarters of Lower Austria. It is bordered on the north by the Danube and to the south and west by the state borders of Styria and Upper Austria respectively. The Wienerwald forms the natural border to the east and gives the quarter its second name: The Quarter Over the Wienerwald.

The name Mostviertel comes from the apple and pear must made there. The lands between the Rivers Ybbs and Enns possesses the necessary conditions for growing fruit trees and forms the heartland of the must industry. Typical for the Mostviertel are vast meadows of mixed orchards surrounding a farmhouse, in the center of which is usually a square court yard, and the lightly rolling foothills of the Alps.

Business and Industry

Economy

The economy of Mostviertel is still mainly based in iron and steel, as well as in forestry. In earlier times, when iron ore was still mined at Erzberg, the work was done in hammer mills; today the steel millstake the half-finished product from the blast furnaces of Linz and Donawitz and turn it into blades for machines. In the Mostviertel, there is one large sawmill, as well as many small one, which process the wood taken from the forests. However, most of the economy is made up of small and middle-sized operations.

Must

For many years, must has been held in the greatest cultural importance. Today it is seen as an identifying characteristic. Most of this years must is put into homemade meals, pastries, schnaps, and other cookery. In part, the variety of musts is large: there is a clear difference between apple must and pear must, but also a common form that is a mixture of the two.

Geography

The Mostviertel is made up of the following districts:

The City of St. Pölten and St. Pölten-Land

References

The information in this article is based on that in its German equivalent.

External links

Mostviertel | Mostviertel