February 2nd, 2013, World Wetlands Day: Rain, cold temperatures and even snow - one would say a true wetland day. Despite the unfavourable hiking conditions about 400 “friends of the Mura River” joined the 14 km walk along Mura River downstream of Bad Radkersburg in Austria on the border to Slovenia. Since 2000 the "Committee for the protection of the Mura River” organizes these traditional walks on World Wetland Day in one of the Mura countries Austria, Croatia, Hungary or Slovenia. Each year a new stretch of the wonderful Mura floodplains is explored to show the values of the still existing floodplain forests at Mura and threats to the River and its floodplains.

The Natura 200 site in Austria covers 34 km along the Mura River, which shares its border with Slovenia. It marks the origin of the free-flowing lower stretches of the Mura and hosts the second largest floodplain forests in Austria. Nevertheless, the river´s course has been regulated in the past and many side branches have been cut off from the river. EU-funded restoration projects are now trying to restore natural conditions.

More information about Ramsar Convention
More information on the Ramsar hike along Mura river