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Fertö / Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape

The Fertö/Neusiedler Lake area has been the meeting place of different cultures for eight millennia. This is graphically demonstrated by its varied landscape, the result of an evolutionary symbiosis between human activity and the physical environment. The remarkable rural architecture of the villages surrounding the lake and several 18th- and 19th-century palaces adds to the area’s considerable cultural interest.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/772

Fertö/Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape is the result of the symbiotic process of human interaction with second largest steppe lake in Central Europe. 

Traces of human settlement around Lake Neusiedl go back to the neolithic period. The area became densely populated from the 7th century BC onward, initially by people of the Hallstatt culture and remained so throughout Roman times.

The designated area comprises of the settlements of Podersdorf, Illmitz and Apetion, parts of Rust and Fertörákos, the Palace of Nagycenk and Fertöd Palace.

Most of the lake is surrounded by reeds which serve as a habitat for wildlife (making the lake an important resting place for migratory birds) and are harvested in winter as soon as the ice is solid enough. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/fertoneusiedlersee.html