Arbeitskreis zum Schutz der Wachau

Both the UNESCO-development plan and nomination document for the Wachau cultural landscape mention that the preservation of the Wachau is the result of inhabitants strongly caring about the heritage of their surroundings22. This paints the preservation movement in a more idealistic light than is perhaps true.

The image of the Wachau has for the last 120 years served many different economic purposes. First artists used it to sell paintings by being part of the popular “Wachau Künstlerbund”. These paintings of the Wachau were later used to promote tourism by an early tourism lobby. Later the winemakers used Wachau traditions, reintroduced for tourists, to emphasize the quality of their wines23. This regional branding helped to distance the winemakers from the Burgenland wine scandal.

In 1972 an organization called ‘Arbeitskreis zum Schutz der Wachau’ was founded to oppose the construction of a power-plant on the banks of the Danube. The powerplant would block many of the famous views of the Wachau. Under the pressure of the arbeitskreis, the plans for the power-plant were abandoned24 . The Arbeitskreis consisted mostly of landowners, winemakers and business owners from the tourism industry. Most had a direct stake in protecting the romantic image of the Wachau in order to retain their income. The preservation of the Wachau can not only be read as an idealistic endeavor of locals with a strong commitment to history. It should equally be seen as a vehicle for the lobbying of wealthy local groups to protect their interest.

The Arbeitskreis continued to lobby against developments they deemed unfitting for the region. They pushed the bid to nominate the valley as UNESCO world heritage. After the successful nomination in 1999, the working group was re-named “Arbeitskreis Wachau”. The original members were joined by heritage experts and municipality officials to sustainably develop the region25 .

The strong influence of a small group of people on the development of the Wachau puts a limited amount of issues on the political agenda. In the last years the research budget for the preservation of vineyards was €3,000,000, the research budget for architectural monuments was only €100,00026. The Wachau would benefit from a more diverse discourse.