The European Diploma of Protected Areas

Already in the past century it turned out that the Krimml Water-
falls did not only attract those who loved nature but also those who were interested in utilizing the considerable energy of the water. There were ideas reaching from the construction of a dam to conducting the water into neighbouring valleys. To prevent the destruction of the waterfalls by such projects, the Austrian Association for Nature Conservation stepped in at an early stage.

As far back as 1958 the provincial government of Salzburg declared the Krimml Achental valley as protected landscape. Only three years later the Waterfalls were declared as natural monument.

In 1967 the Krimml Waterfalls were awarded the “European
Diploma of Protected Areas” by the Committee of Ministers

of the Council of Europe.

To guarantee the awarding on a continuing basis the Austrian Alpine Association bought a plot

of land of about 7 hectares in size at the bottom of the waterfalls in the early 1990s, where an

information and entrance area with a number of display boards was created. Due to numerous

efforts the European Diploma was extended in 2001.

Since 1983 the Krimml Waterfalls have been part of the Hohe Tauern National Park, thus being

covered by the Austrian National Park Act, which is aimed at the protection of the beauty and

naturalness of the landscape.