ÖSTERREICH | AUSTRIA |
Bundesland: Niederösterreich | Lower Austria |
Bezirk: Baden |
Klausen-Leopoldsdorf is situated on the river Schwechat on the foot of the Schöpfl mountain (893 m), the highest elevation in the south-western Wienerwald (Vienna Woods) area.
The first, wooden, lock for log floating (Klause) at this place on the Schwechat river was constructed in 1667. The small settlement which was set up here was named Leopoltsdorff in den Claussen in honour of the sovereign, Emperor Leopold I
In its present form the lock was rebuilt in stone in 1756. It is the oldest still existing lock in massive construction in Austria.
With the completion of the railroad from Vienna to Linz (Kaiserin-Eliabeth-Westbahn) Klausen-Leopoldsdorf became a popular summer resort. Plans for a railroad through the Wienerwald (Vienna Woods) from Baden to Klausen-Leopoldsdorf, which were drawn up in 1870, were, however, never carried out due to the high costs that would have been involved.
Log floating on the river lasted until 1939. The permission for floating was formally revoked in 1963 and most of
the locks on the Schwechat river were removed.