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 The Austrian town of Rust is known for two
things: its wine and the storks that nest on the town rooftops. Both
of these things draw thousands of visitors to the little town every
year and though the wine is indisputably excellent, it is the storks
that are best remembered.
The most famous inhabitants of Rust
- the storks
The charming little town of Rust lies about 60 km south of Vienna,
close to the Hungarian border and next to the Neusiedler See, or
Neusiedler Lake. The town’s name, though somewhat unprepossessing in
English, is more charming in German, in which it means ‘elder tree’.
Like many small towns in this country, Rust is quaintly charming and
picturesque and looks much like it did in centuries past, with the
building painted in pretty pastel colours and window-beds bearing
colourful flowers. Only the cars parked in the cobbled-stone streets
mark to the passage of time.
The one discordant element in the picture postcard scene is the
huge, scraggly pile of twigs which perch precariously atop many of
the rooftops.
These untidy heaps are the stork nests of yesteryear, empty,
battered and torn by the winter storms and waiting forlornly for the
arrival of spring.
The storks arrive with the spring
As the first blossoms begin to open in the fields
about the town, the white storks leave their winter grounds in
Africa and return to Rust, appearing one day out of the clear blue
sky and gliding slowly down to their chosen rooftops. They rebuild
the scraggly nests, lay their eggs and rear their young before
heading off once again to the warm African continent to escape the
cold of winter and repeat the cycle.
Spring is the best time to come to Rust, right after the storks have
returned and laid their first eggs. Then you’ll be treated to the
sight of a stork sitting calmly on a precarious looking perch, while
her mate stands guard — frequently on one leg — beside her. The
summer time is peak tourist season, but as compensation for the
crowded streets and greater traffic, you might just see a little
stork chick (pictured below) peeping over the nest’s edge, or taking its first
tentative steps along a rooftop. The last good time to see the
storks is in early to mid August, just after the tourist season has
ended, but before the storks have taken off to make their way to
Africa.
The simplest way to watch the storks is to walk along the streets
and crane your head up at the storks. For those with a bit more care
for their necks, a good vantage point from which to watch the birds
is the tower of the Katholische Kirche at the southern end of
Rathausplatz. The tower also gives a good view of the 12th century
Fischerkirche at the other end of Rathausplatz, which is the oldest
church in Rust.
The stork's
preference for friendly rooftops
Why do the storks come to Rust? Well, noone
really knows why, but most likely, the first storks were probably
headed for the nearby Neusiedler Lake.
The vast wetlands surrounding
the lake are renowned for the richness and variety of its birdlife,
for the simple reason that the reeds create huge areas of
inaccessible animal habitat. In between the reeds, the birds are
safe from predators, both the human and the animal kind.
Quite
likely, the storks first came to feed, breed and nest in the reeds
of the lake like the other birds, but found the less crowded
rooftops of the nearby town more to their liking. Since then, they
have become welcomed inhabitants of the town, and many a house owner
counts it as a sign of good luck to have a stork roost on his roof.
There was a time when Rust was in danger of losing its rooftop
attractions. Over many years, as more tourists came and the feeding
areas and refuges dwindled, the number of storks coming to nest
dwindled until it reached a measly eight pairs. The local
authorities understandably became alarmed at the loss of their most
charming residents, and took serious measures. Refuge spots and
feeding grounds were protected and visitors kept away. Platforms
were built on the rooftops for the storks to nest on rather than the
more uncomfortable chimney. Apparently, the storks thought well of
these measures, for in recent years, the number of nesting pairs has
steadily risen until today, over 120 pairs are happily nestling on
the rooftops again.
More than just storks in
Rust
Once you’re done admiring the storks, there’s till plenty of other
things to check out in Rust, and the first thing to try is of
course, the wine. The town's prosperity has been centuries on wine
for centuries, long before the first tourist gawked at the storks.
The town is fortunately located along one of the warmest areas in
Austria, making it excellent grape country, and around the town are
atmospheric wine taverns in which to sip some of the dry, naturally
sweet local produce.
When drinking from a bottle of Rust wine, you
may notice there is an ‘R’ stamped on the cork: the unique insignia
stems from a 1524 right granted by the emperor to the local vintners
giving them exclusive rights to display such a sign on their
products. Another mark of Rust’s wine-making distinction is that it
is also home to the only wine academy in the world where German is
spoken.
Another attraction is the Neusiedler Lake, proper home of the storks
if Rust itself hadn’t proved more congenial. The lake is as charming
as the town it lies next to, with the hills of the vineyards
surrounding it. Its average depth is only 1 to 2 metres, and
sometimes, a stiff wind can expose the lake bottom. Not only is the
water clear (and clearer the further you get from shore) but it is
also of drinking quality. Not surprisingly, the lake is popular with
locals and Austrian holidaymakers, who come to sail, wind-surf,
pedal boat, swim, and in the shallower parts, walk through the
water. Access to the lake is 1km down the reed-fringed Seepromenade.
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