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Mostviertel (English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

: Must

Must

Must is freshly pressed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace; it typically makes up 7%–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking...

 Quarter) is the southwestern quarter of the four quarters of Lower Austria

Lower Austria

Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...

 (the northeast state of the 9 states in Austria). It is bordered on the north by the Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

 and to the south and west by the state borders of Styria and Upper Austria

Upper Austria

Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...

 respectively. The Wienerwald

Wienerwald

The Vienna Woods are forested highlands that form the northeastern foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Lower Austria and Vienna. The long and wide hill range is heavily wooded and a popular recreation area with the Viennese....

 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

Apple

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

 and pear

Pear

The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....

 must (or heavy juice) made there. The lands between the Rivers Ybbs

Ybbs

Ybbs is a river in Lower Austria, and in Austria also the common short form to designate the little town Ybbs an der Donau.Its source is located on the Zellerrain Pass near Mariazell...

 and Enns

Enns River

The Enns is a southern tributary of the Danube River, joining northward at Enns, Austria. The Enns River spans , in a flat-J-shape. It flows from its source near the towns of Gasthofalm and Flachau, generally eastward through Radstadt, Schladming, and Liezen, then turns north near Hieflau, to flow...

 enjoy favorable conditions for growing fruit trees and are therefore the heart of a flourishing must industry. Typical in the Mostviertel are vast meadows of mixed orchard

Orchard

An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...

s surrounding a farmhouse, in the center of which is usually a square courtyard, and the lightly rolling foothills of the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

.

Economy

The economy of Mostviertel is still mainly based on iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 and steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 as well as forestry. In earlier times, when iron ore was still mined at Erzberg, the work was done in hammer mills; today the steel mills take the half-finished product from the blast furnaces of Linz

Linz

Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...

 and Donawitz

Leoben

Leoben is a Styrian city in central Austria, located by the Mur river. With a population of about 25,000 it is a local industrial center and hosts the University of Leoben which specialises in mining...

 and turn it into blades for machines. In the Mostviertel, there is one large sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

, plus many smaller ones, which process the wood taken from the forests. However, most of the economy is made up of small and mid-sized companies.

Must

For many years, must

Must

Must is freshly pressed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace; it typically makes up 7%–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking...

 has been held in the greatest cultural importance in this region and is seen as an identifying characteristic. Most must production is used in homemade meals, pastries, schnaps, and other cooking. The variety of musts is large; there is a clear difference between apple must

Apfelwein

Cider in Germany is called Apfelwein , as the German language has not used the word cider. It is also regionally known as ebbelwoi, äppler, stöffsche, apfelmost , viez , and saurer most . It has an alcohol content of 5.5%–7% and a tart, sour taste...

 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:

• Amstetten
  Amstetten (district)
  Bezirk Amstetten is a district of the state ofLower Austria in Austria.-Municipalities:Towns are indicated in boldface; market towns in italics; suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in small characters.*Allhartsberg**Angerholz, Kröllendorf, Kühberg, Maierhofen,...
  
  
• Waidhofen an der Ybbs
  Waidhofen an der Ybbs
  Waidhofen an der Ybbs is an independent city in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. The city had a population of 11,662 as of the 2001 census...
  
  
• Scheibbs
  Scheibbs (district)
  Bezirk Scheibbs is a district of the state of Lower Austria in Austria.-Municipalities:Suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in small characters.* Gaming...
  
  
• Melk
  Melk (district)
  Bezirk Melk is a district of the state of Lower Austria in Austria.-Municipalities:Suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in small characters.*Artstetten-Pöbring...
  
   south of the Danube
  Danube
  The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
  
  
• Lilienfeld
  Lilienfeld (district)
  Bezirk Lilienfeld is a district of the state of Lower Austria in Austria.- Municipalities :* Annaberg** Annarotte, Haupttürnitzrotte, Langseitenrotte, Lassingrotte* Eschenau** Eschenau, Laimergraben, Rotheau, Sonnleitgraben, Steubach, Wehrabach...
  
  
• Tulln
  Tulln (district)
  Bezirk Tulln is a district of the state of Lower Austria in Austria.-Municipalities:Suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in small characters.* Absdorf** Absberg* Atzenbrugg...
  
   south of the Danube

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

Sankt Pölten-Land

Bezirk St. Pölten-Land is a district of the state of Lower Austria in Austria.-Municipalities:Suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in small characters.*Altlengbach...

External links

Mostviertel Dialect Mostviertel Moststraße