Baumgarten an der March is a small subdivision of the municipality of Weiden an der March in Lower Austria, Austria. It has only 192 inhabitants. It is a major location for the Austrian energy industry. Since the 1970s, Baumgarten has served a major transit point for the Russian natural gas imported by Western Europe. Baumgarten lies at the eastern end of the 380km long Trans Austria Gas Pipeline (TAG) that traverses Austria from east to west. Approximately one third of all gas exports from Russia to Western Europe pass through the OMV natural gas junction in Baumgarten. Exhausted gas fields in the area are now used for underground storage of large quantities of natural gas needed to compensate for fluctuations between winter and summer demand. Baumgarten's role as a natural gas hub will increase further with the construction of the Nabucco Pipeline. This project will connect Buamgarten in Austria with the eastern border of Turkey allowing for natural gas to be imported from the Middle East and the Caspian region to Western Europe.
