Short answers, pulled from the story.
Napoleon Bonaparte ordered his army to cross the Danube near Kaiserebersdorf on the 21st of May 1809. This crossing occurred during a major engagement that became Napoleon's first defeat in a significant battle.
Construction of the Danube-Oder Canal began in 1939 under Nazi rule and split the Lobau into Upper and Lower sections. Forced laborers including Soviet prisoners and Jews built the Lobau Oil Harbor refinery complex which became a target for Allied bombing raids.
UNESCO recognized the Lobau region as a Biosphere Reserve from 1977 until 2016. The area has maintained nature reserve status since 1978 covering parts of the Donaustadt district.
Engineers had completed 4.2 kilometers of navigable channel through the floodplain by the time work stopped. The canal project concept dated back to 1719 but only materialized decades later under authoritarian rule.
The 135-meter Josefsteg pedestrian bridge spanning the Schröderwasser stream was rebuilt in 2020 for public safety and accessibility. This structure is surrounded by common reed vegetation within the protected region.