Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
Mühlviertler Bergkräuter
Record Number: 124
Disclosure Date
Cultivation of herbs in the region starting in the 13th century in the herb garden of Schlägl Abbey in the Mühlviertel.
Photo: BMLFUW/A...
Mühlviertler Bergkräuter
(Mühlviertel Mountain Herbs)
Abstract or claim
Cultivation of herbs for tea and seasoning following organic guidelines at 500 - 900 m altitude in the Mühlviertel, Upper AustriaCareful harvesting, drying and processing exclusively in the Mühlviertel region guarantee natural products of highest quality.
Name of product, Product class
Herbs, spices
Name of region
Mühlviertel, Upper Austria, Austria
Field of search
Food and agriculture
Name of information provider
Stefan Wagner
Kräuterkraftquelle Hirschbach
Name of applicant for title
---
Holder of knowledge or associated resources
37 herb farmers from the Mühlviertel, four Kräuterkraft farmers from the region
Grantee(s), holder(s), assignee(s) or owner(s) of title, if any
---
Descriptors
- History:
Herbs and spices in general:
Knowledge of cultivation and use of herbs and spices is thousands of years old.
Herbs and spices were employed because of their healing and magical effects.
Archaeological finds have revealed that the inhabitants of the Ice Age (Neanderthals) used plants for healing purposes. In 1960, a Neanderthal grave was found in Shanidar Cave in the Iraqi part of Kurdistan in which medicinal plants such as yarrow (Achillea sp.), ragwort (Senecio sp.), yellow star-thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), marsh-mallow (Althaea sp.), grape hyacinths (Muscari sp.) and ephedra (Ephedra altissima) were laid as grave offerings.
It is supposed that herbs and spices have been used to prepare food since the Stone Age. The addition of certain leaves and fruits made food easier to digest or improved its taste.
The first herb gardens were found in ancient Egypt in 3000 BC. The herbs cultivated in them were used to make salves, perfumes and body oils.
In Europe during the Middle Ages, it was in the monasteries that medicinal herbs and pot-herbs were cultivated. The Benedictines brought many herbs from their monastery in Monte Cassino (Italy) from the Mediterranean region to the lands beyond the Alps.
In the late Middle Ages, knowledge of the healing powers of herbs was transmitted to apothecaries. Almost every apothecary shop had its own herb garden.
Vanilla, cinnamon, almonds, basil and onion were regarded as aphrodisiacs. It was said that pepper, ginger, lavender, coriander, nutmeg and cloves protected against plague.
Many herbs were connected with superstitious ideas and customs. Brides (and grooms in Burgenland), baptised children and the dead were given sprigs of rosemary. Savoury was supposed to awaken impure desires. Sage was used for love spells. The belief in the aphrodisiac effect of herbs was strong. Basil was supposed to be able to be used as a love spell. Leaves worn on the breast or in stockings aroused desire and the affection of the unwilling partner.
The spice trade was lucrative and made many cities rich. At certain times, spices were as valuable as gold and were regarded as a status symbol. The use of spices was equated with wealth.
Herbs and spices are still highly important in medicine today. For example, yarrow is used for indigestion and marsh mallow for cough.
Saffron made its way to Austria in 1198.
Cultivation of herbs and spices in the Mühlviertel:
Like every abbey, Schlägl Abbey, which arose in the Mühlviertel at the beginning of the 13th century, had a herb garden. It was exploited by the kitchen staff as well as by the abbey’s apothecary, who had to dig up roots and grow, pick and mix herbs himself during the baroque period (1575-1770).
In the 19th century, herbs from the Mühlviertel were already being delivered to the Imperial Court at Vienna.
The farming population of the Mühlviertel (above all in the Upper Mühlviertel) have always had to secure their existence with secondary employment due to the unfavourable geographical and economic location and lack of development of trade in the region. Gathering herbs and berries thus had a special significance and was a very lucrative second job until after the Second World War. The inhabitants of the Mühlviertel didn’t gather herbs just to earn money; they also knew how to use them as medicine.
The medicinal herb garden in Klaffer was started in the 1970s, and it was awarded the environmental prize of the Province of Upper Austria in both 1994 and 2005. Today the 7,800 m2 garden consists of around 1,000 different medicinal plants.
In the 1980s, many Mühlviertel farmers could no longer earn a living solely by animal husbandry and cultivation of potatoes due to stony soils.
With help from the Austrian Association for Endogenous Regional Development (ÖAR), seventeen mountain farmers founded the Österreichische Bergkräutergenossenschaft (Austrian Mountain Herb Cooperative) to secure their existence by cultivating and selling organic herbs.
The previous extensive mode of production had preserved many field borders, hedges, brooks and mountain meadows whose ecological diversity was exploited by the Austrian Mountain Herb Cooperative. Many farmers have managed to remain employed full-time thanks to their income from herbs.
Parallel to the Mountain Herb Cooperative, several farmers from Hirschbach (Mühlkreis, political district Freistadt) began to grow herbs in the 1980s. They founded a drying cooperative in 1985 and built a drying facility in Oberndorf in 1986. Shortly afterwards, they also joined the Mountain Herb Cooperative.
The tourism association Kräuterkraftquelle Hirschbach was founded in 2004. Its goal is to position the municipality Hirschbach as a herb municipality in Upper Austria and throughout Austria. Its members are representatives from the areas marketing, nature/landscape, agriculture, trade, tourism, culture, youth and sport. The Kräuterkraftquelle Hirschbach also features the Austrian Mountain Herb Cooperative, the Farmer Furniture Museum and various associations.
In 2006, the name “Österreichische Bergkräuter” (Austrian Mountain Herbs) was registered as a word/picture trademark.
- Region:
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
Today the Mühlviertel consists of four districts, Perg, Freistadt, Rohrbach and Urfahr-Umgebung, and its 3080 km² make up 25.7% of the area of Upper Austria (11,980 m²).
The Mühlviertel is bounded in the east by the Lower Austrian Waldviertel region, in the south by the Danube, in the west by Bavaria and in the north by Bohemia.
Mühlviertler Bergkräuter (Mühlviertel Mountain Herbs) are cultivated on a total of about 75 ha of small fields at an altitude of 500-900 m.
The main areas of cultivation are the municipalities Hirschbach, Schenkenfelden, Königswiesen, Liebenau, Sarleinsbach, and Putzleinsdorf in the political districts Freistadt and Rohrbach.
Soil and climate:
Geologically, the Mühlviertel is the oldest landscape of Upper Austria and belongs to the Bohemian Massif (Austrian Granite Plateau).
The soil contains granite and crystal-clear water and offers optimal conditions for cultivating herbs and spices.
The Mühlviertel is located where Atlantic and continental influences meet (central European transition climate).
Mild summers with cool nights and harsh winters (highland climate) and evenly distributed precipitation and high humidity are typical of the region.
The annual average temperature is 7-8 o C.
The average temperature is -2 to -3 °C in January and 16 to 18 °C in July.
The average precipitation in the central Mühlviertel is about 700-800 mm. At higher altitudes it is 1200 mm.
The climate and soil provide favourable conditions for the cultivation of herbs and are directly responsible for the unique taste and aroma.
- Herbs and spices:
The term “spice” is used in a wide variety of ways both in everyday language as well as in specialist literature. There is no standard difference between spices and herbs. The designation “herbs” is not a botanical name but rather a term used in cooking.
Definition According to the Austrian Food Code:
According to the Austrian Food Code Chapter B 28 Gewürze und Gewürzextrakte (Spices and Spice Extracts), Gewürze (spices) are the parts of a plant suited to influencing the aroma and flavour of food due to the fact that they contain special substances.
Spices are mainly available for retail in a form in which they have been dried and finely chopped by mechanical means.
The Austrian Food Code divides spices into the following categories:
- Underground parts of plants
- Barks
- Leaves and herbs (basil, savoury, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage,
thyme, tarragon, bay leaves, lovage leaves)
- Blossoms and parts of the blossom
- Fruit and seeds
Further definitions:
It is often thought that spices are the dried parts of plants and herbs the fresh parts.
In some written sources, spices and herbs are divided into categories based on their origin: herbs grow in the cooler Northern countries while spices come from the tropical and subtropical areas of East Asia.
The American Spice Trade Association identifies spices as all dried plants that are mainly used for seasoning. This all-inclusive definition encompasses a wide variety of plants including herbs, spice seeds, dried vegetables and spice mixes.
Herbs and spices are also distinguished between by the parts of the plant that are used. Herbs are the leaves and blossoms of the plants used for seasoning.
- Mühlviertler Bergkräuter (Mühlviertel Mountain Herbs):
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
The correct choice of plants and locations, careful processing and strict quality control are decisive for the aroma of the herbs.
The position of the areas of cultivation at 500 - 900 m altitude results in a short vegetation period. These climatic conditions prevent high yields yet offer ideal conditions for growing high-quality herbs containing a great amount of secondary substances.
The amount of essential oils in mountain herbs is significantly higher. The amount of essential oils in peppermint produced in the Mühlviertel is around 3% while normal peppermint contains only approximately 0.9 % essential oils.
Mühlviertler Bergkräuter are naturally pure products to which neither artificial and natural flavourings nor herbs from conventional production have been added.
Mühlviertler Bergkräuter are produced exclusively according to organic guidelines.
The production of organic herbs in the Mühlviertel contributes to the preservation of a cultural landscape and ensures the existence of small-scale agriculture on small family farms.
Method of production:
Every January, the cooperative convenes to determine the demand for herbs, based upon which a plan for cultivating the plants is developed.
Many plants, above all mint, can only be propagated vegetatively. The cool conditions in the Mühlviertel allow farmers to propagate high-quality plants using cuttings that have been torn off rather than cut from the mother plant. For the second half of April to the first half of May, the young shoots including the adventive roots (lateral roots that do not grow from the radicle but that develop out of the stem axis or the leaves due to an external stimulus e.g. an injury) are torn off the mother plant and quickly replanted.
In contrast, annual plants (e.g. savoury, dill, and marigold) are grown from seed. The seeds come either from the farm or from domestic or foreign seed companies.
Since the herbs grow very slowly, they are only harvested once each growing season.
Fertiliser and weed control:
Production in fields is often only possible with manual labour without the use of chemical sprays and fertilisers. In organic agriculture, weeds can only be controlled mechanically.
Thanks to the optimal climatic conditions, Mühlviertler Bergkräuter do not have to be irrigated.
Harvesting and processing:
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
Around 100 tonnes of high-quality herbs and spices are currently being cultivated and harvested or gathered in the Mühlveirtel region.
One very important factor that affects quality is the time between harvesting and drying; it must be kept as short as possible.
After the harvest, the farmers finely chop the herbs and dry them. To preserve the active substances as much as possible, the herbs must be in the cooperative drying facility no later than two hours after they are harvested. They are dried there for 12-24 hours at a maximum of 40°C. To speed up the start of the drying process, six drying facilities are in operation in the Mühlviertel. Depending on the size of the area of cultivation, the drying facilities are operated either by the individual farmers or by cooperatives. In most cases, a drying facility is used by 2 to 3 farmers.
Finally, the dried herbs are packed into large sacks and brought to the premises of the Mountain Herb Cooperative in Hirschbach (political district Freistadt). The herbs are processed into organic products that are ready to be consumed (teas, spice mixes, etc.) and packaged. Herbs and spices are processed without any artificial flavourings or any chemical gas treatment.
Nutritional aspects of herbs:
Herbs contain numerous active ingredients that can have a positive impact on health. The most important are essential oils, resins, alkaloids, bitter agents, tannins and mucilage.
Depending on the herb, these can improve the flavour or stimulate the appetite and digestion. In addition, they can be antibacterial and antioxidative, improving circulation and immunity, relieving pain and helping against nausea, flatulence and indigestion.
Proof of origin:
Mühlviertler Bergkräuter can be traced from the herb farmers to the retailers by the batch number on the labels.
Quality control:
The Mühlviertel herb farmers follow the guidelines for organic agriculture.
Furthermore, the Austrian Mountain Herb Cooperative Hirschbach is certified by ISO and IFS (International Food Standard).
The farms are subject to ongoing inspections by Austria Bio Garantie. At least once a year, the farmers and the head office of the cooperative are visited by the independent organic inspection agency. All data pertaining to organic agriculture and processes (cultivation, harvesting and processing according to the organic regulations) as well as the quantity are checked. Furthermore, each farmer is audited at least once a year by an external production consultant.
During the quality assessment by an external production consultant or a sensory team (members of the cooperative who have been specially trained in sensory evaluation) who assesses the individual characteristics of the herbs very precisely. Not only are appearance, colour, aroma, etc. evaluated according to their sensory qualities; diverse results from analysis also have an influence on the overall assessment. The quality assessment scheme serves as the basis for classifying mountain herb products.
Both cultivated herbs from the gardens and wild-growing herbs from the forest are subject to this quality assessment.
Each producer must deliver a sample of the herbs to the cooperative so that its quality can be tested before the harvest begins. This also applies to herbs growing in the wild.
The farmer is also required to keep field records in which all pertinent data is recorded chronologically (e.g. cultures, varieties, number of harvests, fertilisers, field preparation, and harvest yields).
- Marketing:
Mühlviertler Bergkräuter (Mühlviertel Mountain Herbs) are marketed together under the word/picture trademark “Österreichische Bergkräuter” (Austrian Mountain Herbs) by the cooperative directly to restaurants and caterers, food retailers and natural food shops and over the Internet.
60 % of the harvested herbs are processed into tea and spice mixes and marketed in small packets. The remaining 40 % are sold as raw goods domestically and abroad. The main countries of export are Germany, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Canada.
Herbs and spices that do not thrive in Austria (e.g. pepper, vanilla, cinnamon, basil, lavender) or of which significant amounts cannot be harvested (e.g. anise) are purchased (e.g. from Burgenland) in order to offer the widest range of goods possible.
The purchased goods come from farmers who follow the strict rules of their national organic producers’ association and who are inspected regularly by the association. Products that contain purchased herbs or spices or those not produced in the Mühlviertel have a sticker on their packaging. Products from herbs produced in the Mühlviertel are labelled “aus Österreich” (from Austria), while products containing purchased herbs or spices or those not produced in the Mühlviertel are designated as specialities (Spezereien).
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
The 14 km-long mountain herb hiking trail in Hirschbach goes along fields of herbs to the Austrian Mountain Herb processing plant. Different herb stations invite the visitor to taste, see, smell and feel. The high point of the trail is the herb garden at Abraham farm, which lies at an altitude of nearly 800 m and where home-made fruit juice and herbs stand ready to be sampled. In the renovated space of the Edelmühle mill, an exhibition provides detailed information about the cultivation and processing of Mühlviertler Bergkräuter.
From May to July, it is possible to spend the night in the “herb bed in the cornfield”.
Connection with the geographical area and traditional knowledge
- The central European transition climate and soils containing granite favour
the cultivation of herbs in this region.
- A natural taste results from the optimal soil, water and climate and the
short distances and quick drying.
- Mühlviertler Bergkräuter are grown in harmony with nature following the
guidelines for organic production often in combination with arduous
manual labour.
- The production of Mühlviertler Bergkräuter is the result of traditional
knowledge passed down from generation to generation: traditional
knowledge and the experience of farmers (adaptation to the
environment, know-how of cultivation, harvesting and drying) and the
experience of the Mountain Herb Cooperative.
- Utilisation:
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
- Protection:
Word/picture trademark “Österreichische Bergkräuter“ (Austrian Mountain Herbs). Austrian Patent Office, registry no. 230 070, 17 February 2006.
Key Words
Food and agriculture, traditional knowledge, Austria, Upper Austria, region, Mühlviertel, herbs, herbs for tea and seasoning, Austrian Montain Herbs, Mühlviertler Bergkräuter, Mühlviertel Mountain Herbs
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All internet references last accessed on 9 November 2009.
Language Code
German
Product of www.genuss-region.at
Yes
Regional contact
Kräuterkraftquelle Hirschbach
Stefan Wagner
Unterhirschgraben 18
4242 Hirschbach im Mühlkreis
Phone: 07948/58895
E-mail: kraeuterkraftquelle@mywave.at
Authors: Doris Reinthaler, Eva Sommer, Erhard Höbaus
06.12.2011, Lebensministerium III/4