Highlights Around Salzburg

Explore the Unique Surroundings of Salzburg

The area surrounding the festival city of Salzburg, such as the Salzkammergut, Berchtesgaden country and the mountainous Gebirgsgaue offer a rich variety of attractions. The abundance of stunning sights in the immediate vicinity is unmatched worldwide. Historical monuments from different centuries, world famous artists’ work and unique natural phenomena provide unforgettable experiences! We’ll be happy to advise you on planning an impressive and exciting day in the beautiful surroundings of Salzburg!

The Pilgrimage Church of Maria Plain

Built by Prince-Bishop Max Gandalf von Khuenburg in 1674, the basilica is not only a symbol for the village of Bergheim!

A much-loved excursion site, it also offers the visitor a one of a kind panorama of Salzburg and the surrounding Alps. W.A. Mozart composed his famous Coronation Mass in honor of the sacred painting of the Coronation of the Virgin Mary found in this church.

It was to honor the Virgin Mary and mark the crowning of its sacred painting that W.A. wrote his famous “Coronation Mass”.

History

  • 1633 the miraculous painting remains unharmed by a fire
  • 1652 to venerate the painting, it is displayed in the Ursprungskapelle
  • 1671 – 1673 today’s church is built
  • 1674 consecrated by Archbishop Max Gandolf von Khuenburg
  • 1681 the “Maria Trost” society is founded
  • 1686 – 1692 the Mount Calvary chapels are built
  • 1732 the original painting is transferred into the church
  • 1751 the painting is crowned by Archbishop Andreas Jakob Graf Dietrichstein
  • 1824 Maria Plain is conveyed to St. Peter’s
  • 1845 the 40-hour prayer is introduced
  • 1952 the church is raised to the status of “Basilica minor”
  • 1959 new chimes are forged (six bells);
    the biggest is the “Bell for the Land’s Missing” weighing 3,700 kg, donated by the provincial veterans’ association
  • 2013/14 Extensive renovations conducted in the interior of the basilica
Plainbergweg 38
5101 Bergheim

+43 662 450194
mariaplain@bergheim.at

THE BACHSCHMIEDE

Wals-Siezenheim’s Culture Center.

The Bachschmiede in Wals-Siezenheim is a cultural center which hosts a wide range of events. It also contains an exhibit area and a museum containing a meticulously-restored blacksmith shop and tool collection.

The museum provides a glimpse into the art of blacksmithing, as well as into the everyday life of a blacksmith. In the exhibit hall, visitors can admire the works by various artists from the local region and beyond.

The Bachschmiede is a regional museum that sees its role as a venue for on-going cultural exchange and as a site for intercultural interaction. The museum provides an insight into the regional and transnational cultural work in the Salzburg-Bavaria region. The goal of the museum is to use historical items to bridge the past and the present, thereby making current cultural collaboration more understandable.

Jakob-Lechner-Weg 2 - 4
5071 Wals-Siezenheim

+43 662 855329
+43 662 855329-55
office@diebachschmiede.at

The Untersberg Cable Car

A popular excursion destination, the Untersberg Mountain is home to numerous hiking trails.

Guests can reach the summit at 1,850 meters by riding the cable car located in the village of St. Leonhard. From atop the mountain, visitors can enjoy the indescribably beautiful panoramic view of the Salzburg Basin and the Berchtesgaden Region. On a very clear day, alpine lakes and Lake Königsee in Bavaria are also visible.

The summit of the Untersberg can also be reach by several hiking paths, including the Dopplersteig, the Reitsteig and a trail that passes by the ice caves. Hiking along the Untersberg plateau is especially beautiful. For those less-experience hikers, there are multiple trails along base of the mountain offering rest and relaxation. Maps are available at the local information center.

Dr. Ödlweg 2
5083 Grödig

+43 6246 72477
untersbergbahn@aon.at

Salzburg Open-Air Museum

Over 100 original buildings from agriculture, trade, commerce and industry (15th - 20th century).

A 2 km long museum railway with three stops, House of Sounds, old tractors and steam engines, walking paths, inn, adventure playground, nature Kneipp facility, handicraft demonstrations.

Salzburg open-air museum

The Salzburg Open Air Museum is located on a 500,000 m² site in the middle of the Untersberg Nature Park near the city of Salzburg - divided into five areas:

  • Flachgau
  • Tennengau
  • Pongau
  • Pinzgau
  • Lungau

60 farms, barns, mills, craftsmen"s houses, alpine pastures from five centuries, as well as permanent and special exhibitions worth seeing and a variety of craft demonstrations will make your visit to one of the largest sights near the city of Salzburg in Grossgmain an unforgettable experience in the open air.

Just like the Salzburger Land, the buildings have been grouped together and rebuilt

The Salzburg Open-Air Museum documents rural building, living and business in the province of Salzburg from the 16th to the 20th century. There are 60 farms, houses, blacksmiths, sawmills, mills, barns and much more from all over the country on display. Several permanent and special exhibitions worth seeing and a variety of craft demonstrations make your visit an unforgettable experience and also offer visitors a cultural and leisure experience of great memorable value. A stop at the historic museum restaurant "Salettl" rounds off an eventful museum visit with local culinary delicacies. Children can let off steam in the adventure playground next to the Salettl.

The museum quiz invites you to search and discover

Adventure playground with water playground, tree house, partner swing and many other play possibilities. The multimedia-supported tractor exhibition with its own climbing tractor will delight young and old.

Hasenweg 1
5084 Großgmain
+43 662 850 011
salzburger@freilichtmuseum.com

The World of Salt in Hallein

Salt from the Dürrnberg mine gave the city and region of Salzburg their names. Known as white gold, it enabled the ecclesiastical authorities to finance what is now known as the magnificent baroque Altstadt, or city center, of Salzburg.

The Mountain, the Elector and the City built by Salt

A visit to the Salzwelten (World of Salt) leads visitor through the 2,500-year old tradition of salt mining. The mine railway, a miners’ slide and a raft usher visitors to the center of the mountain and into a mystical world. There guests will meet the Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, “the Salt-Prince”, whose meteoric rise and tragic demise will not only inspire you, but will also make the history of salt mining come to life. Children ages four and above are permitted to visit the underground Salzwelten complex.

The Salzwelten will take you into two thousend five hundred years of salt mining tradition. The pit railway, the miners slides and a raft will convey you to mystical places in the depths of the mountain. There you will meet the Salt Prince Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau whose rise to power and fall from glory are both a moving story and closely connected to the history of salt mining.

The salt of Bad Dürrrnberg once gave name to the land and city of Salzburg. Since 3rd April 2004, Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau himself has been guiding our visitors through the redesigned salt mine of Bad Dürrnberg. He tells about the white gold that already 2,500 years ago was mined by the Celtic people.

The Prince Archbishop became a wealthy man and used the money he earned by mining salt to build one of Europes most beautiful cities. In order to mine larger quantities a new technologie had to be invented.

Salt not only made him a rich and well known man but also was one of the reasons why he was sent to the dungeon of Salzburg´s fortress. There he stayed until his death and was not allowed to meet his lover Salome or one of his children. Enjoy:

  • the long miners´ slides
  • the crossing over the underground salt lake
  • the trip on the miners train
  • the Celtic village

Children are admitted to the mines from the age of 4 years

Ramsaustraße 3
5422 Bad Dürrnberg

+43 6132 2002400
info@salzwelten.at

Silent Night Chapel

A historical attraction for guests from all over the world.

Each year, guests from around the world visit this modest and deliberately simple chapel. In fact, it is precisely this modesty that makes the chapel so precious. After a construction period of twelve years, the chapel was consecrated in 1937.

Financed by donations, the chapel is built on the site where the St. Nicholas church once stood. The two stained glass windows depict the hymn’s creators, Joseph Mohr and Franz Xavier Gruber. The altarpiece contains a wooden relief by Hermmann Hutter and dates from the year 1915.

Silent night chapel
Stille-Nacht-Platz 2
5110 Oberndorf bei Salzburg
Tourismusverband Oberndorf
T: +43 6272 4422
E .: office@stillenacht-oberndorf.com

The Aiderbichl Estate

The place where humans and animals both feel at peace.

Guests will be greeted by one of our enthusiastic co-workers who will guide them through the Aiderbichl Estate. They will see the many diverse animal groups, their stalls and routines, and their happy lives. In addition to learning about the philosophy that guides our work, guests will be shown a very moving film will hear the about the countless and remarkable “happy endings” our animals have enjoyed.

Gut Aiderbichl
Berg 20
5302 Henndorf am Wallersee

SchafbergBahn Railway

Come on up to the most beautiful destinations in the Salzkammergut region.

Since 1893 – now more than 100 years – trains of the SchafbergBahn have been in operation.

Distance: 5.85 km, and climbing more than 1,190 meters with three stations.

The SchafbergBahn railway has enjoyed more than 100 years of success, carrying about 600,000 passengers per year.

History of the SchafbergBahn railway

For more than 100 years, the SchafbergBahn railway has attracted enthusiastic tourists, visitors and travelers from the four corners of the globe to ride 5.85 kilometers to its summit at 1,783 meters. The railway climbs a total of 1,188 meters in just about one hour.

Hohenwerfen Fortress

A tour of the Hohenwerfen fortress takes you back to the 11th century!

Visitors experience a high-altitude encounter with the past at Hohenwerfen Fortress, a castle dating back over 900 years. This tall, jutting rock, high above the Salzachtal valley floor, offers a gusty view of the surrounding mountains. The feathered hunters of the province’s falconry centre, the dashing weaponry, the museums and the dark corners all encourage visitors to investigate the mighty walls of the castle from within.

Welcome to Hohenwerfen Fortress!

The mighty castle of Hohenwerfen has towered over the 155 metre high craggy rock pillar above the Salzachtal valley for more than 900 years. The powerful fortifications were built at the same time as Hohensalzburg Fortress and are some of the best preserved late medieval defences and rooms on the continent. Over the centuries they have seen countless attacks and sieges, and several great rulers and lords, such as Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, were held prisoner in the castle.

Greetings from the middle ages

A tour of the castle includes a walk around the castle chapel, the pitch kitchen, the armoury and arsenal featuring an exhibition of the weapons over the ages, the battlements, the bell tower and the adapted rooms of the regents. The illuminated exhibition on the history of building progress and the new, interactive exhibition – ‘To arms! Power, Honour, Submission’ – give visitor fascinating insights into medieval life. All year round Hohenwerfen Fortress stages a wide range of events, festive weekends, saga trails, evening tours, falconry demonstrations, and at Christmas an Advent market.

The high art of falconry

For a protracted period Hohenwerfen Fortress was used by the archbishops of Salzburg as a hunting base. One obvious sign is the existence of the falconry centre. As well as the ‘Landesfalkenhof’ the castle is also home to Austria’s very first museum of falconry featuring a special educational trail for those interested in learning about birds of prey. There are daily demonstrations of the high art of falconry as practised in a number of countries to this day.

The mighty castle of Hohenwerfen has towered over the 155 metre high craggy rock pillar above the Salzachtal valley for more than 900 years. The powerful fortifications were built at the same time as Hohensalzburg Fortress and are some of the best preserved late medieval defences and rooms on the continent. Over the centuries they have seen countless attacks and sieges, and several great rulers and lords, such as Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, were held prisoner in the castle.

Bulwark from the 11th century

Adventurers and culture buffs will find exactly what they´re looking for at Hohenwerfen Fortress: a variety of attractions including tours of the fortress, a weapons exhibit, a romantic castle tavern, a medieval shop and the historic Falconry Center with daily flight demonstrations, the first Austrian Falconry Museum as well as changing special exhibitions.

Extensive social program

Special evening programs with an extensive social program are offered during the summer months of July and August. The visitors program is rounded off by countless afternoons offering folklore, theater performances and the special falconry programs.

The fortress is accessed up a shaded footpath (approx. 15 minutes to walk). An elevator carrying passengers straight up to the fortress courtyard is available at an extra charge.

History of Hohenwerfen Fortress

Approx. 40 km south of the city of Salzburg, Hohenwerfen Fortress towers above the Salzach Valley as a strategic bulwark built atop a 155 meter rock.

The castle is majestically surrounded by the mighty Tennengau and Hagen mountain ranges. The fortification is a "sister" of Hohensalzburg Fortress and also dates back to the 11th century. The Salzburg district administration took possession of the castle in 1938. It was used as a training camp by the Austrian rural police until 1987. It was enlarged and renovated several times over the centuries.

Hohenwerfen served as a prison for many centuries. Rulers such as Archbishop Adalbert III (1198), Graf Albert von Friesach (1253), the Styrian governor Siegmund (1525) and Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (1611) were held captive here.

Today the castle is used as an "Adventure Castle" featuring a variety of events such as concerts, theater performances and folklore evenings as well as castle celebrations.

The historic Falconry Center is a special attraction, offering daily flight demonstrations by various birds of prey.

Erlebnisburg Hohenwerfen
Burgstraße 2
5450 Werfen

+43 6468 7603
+43 6468 7603-4
office@burg-hohenwerfen.at

The World of the Ice Giants Werfen

The largest ice-caves in the world.

Experience the mountains from a different angle and enjoy the wonders of the world’s largest ice caves. Here you will find crystal-clear ice palaces that invite you into a wintry world, even on the warmest summer day. The entrance to the ice caves is quite large, nearly 20 meters wide and 18 meters high, and is visible from quite a distance.

The entire cave system is over 42 kilometers in length, whereas the first segment (about 1 kilometer) contains the Ice Giants, and is a part of the guided tour. The temperature in the interior of the caves during the summer months averages 0° Celsius.

Eisriesenwelt Werfen
Eishöhlenstrasse 30
5450 Werfen

+43 662 8426 9014
oedlhaus@sbg.at

A Boat Ride on Lake Königssee

Located in the middle of the picturesque Berchtesgaden National Park is the crystal clear, fjord-like Lake Königsee.

Lake Königssee – sheer Bavarian pleasure

Walled in by huge rock faces, the emerald green lake Königssee near Berchtesgaden is the main point of attraction down Berchtesgaden way.

The lake, embedded as it is in the landscape, like a fjord, is 8 km in length and up to 1250 m wide and it lies just 602 m above sea level. With a maximum depth of 190 m, the water is relatively cold, even in the height of summer, since the lake is mainly fed by deep underground inflows.

The lake was in fact generated from the hollow that was formed before the ice age and became increasingly deeper as a result of the powerful ice movements.

With the dwindling of the glaciers, the water that had melted collected in the valley. Between Watzmann to the west and Jenner and Gotzenberg to the east, the Königssee completely fills the valley and has a surface of 5.2 sq. km. The idyllic upper part of Königsee became separated by a terminal moraine. A professional fisherman runs the fishery in St. Bartholomä.

Because of the excellent quality of the water, the fish (saibling, brook trout, salmon, pike, perch, minnows, whitefish, eelpout) are accustomed to a limited diet. Since it is not exactly overfed, the saibling, served as smoked “Schwarzreuther”, makes for a particular delicacy. In earlier times, splendid samples of trout used to be depicted in portrait form. Such a collection of paintings can be seen at the St. Bartholomä guesthouse. In 1976 a fantastic trout weighing 27.5 kilos was caught and can be viewed there, prepared in a glass display stand.

The jetties – an encounter with nature

The Königssee fleet comprises 19 electrical boats accommodating 1650 persons. Each year it transports about 650,000 people over the lake. There are three landing stages:

  • Kessel
  • St. Bartholomä
  • Salet.

Lake Königssee:
Near the landing stage there is a car park. You can obtain everything you need there for your journey. There are Bavarian postcards, souvenirs, maps as well as restaurants. The boats leave here every 30 minutes

St. Bartholomä:
The one-way trip takes about 35 minutes. The royal hunting lodge and the St. Bartholomä church dating back to 1134 is worth seeing and makes an ideal starting point for a visit to the so-called Eiskapelle, the ice chapel, a dome-like vault out of ice, which never melts, even in summer.

Salet:
From Königssee, the return journey takes about two hours. You can break your journey in St. Bartholomä and Salet. A short walk will give you a splendid view of the upper lake and Röthbachfall. The Fischunkel alpine pastures are another 45 minutes away.

Kessel:
This landing stage is the starting point for a great number of alpine tours, such as to Gotzenalm (1685m), Königsbachalm (1150 m) or Kahlersberg (2350 m). But careful! You need to be really fit!

Seestraße 55
83471 Schönau am Königssee

Kehlsteinhaus – Eagle’s Nest

The Kehlsteinhaus features an inn steeped in history and located atop the Obersalzberg Mountain in Berchtesgaden.

The impressive edifice with its meter thick walls is situated atop the Kehlstein mountain offering guests a breathtaking view over the Berchtesgaden area.
The theatrical aspects of the project are already encountered with the 124 m (406 ft) marble-like stone tunnel that leads to a splendid brass elevator. In only 41 seconds, the lift travels another 124 meters into the Eagle´s Nest building itself.

The History

The Eagle´s Nest was designed as a birthday present for Adolf Hitler´s 50th birthday by Martin Bormann on behalf of the NSDAP (Nazi Party). Hitler in fact seldom visited the Eagle´s Nest. The allied bombing of World War II did not damage the Eagle´s Nest and thanks to the intervention of former Governor Jacob, the Eagle´s Nest was spared being blown up after the war.

Today the Eagle´s Nest remains in its original state. In 1960, on the occasion of the 150th celebration of Berchtesgaden´s incorporation into Bavaria, the Bavarian government relinquished its control of the building to a trust that ensures that the proceeds are used for charitable purposes.

Kehlstein Busabfahrt
Hintereck
83471 Berchtesgaden

+498652 2969
info@kehlsteinhaus.de

The Rossfeld Panorama Road

The highest panorama road in Germany leads its visitors through the unique Alpine world of the Berchtesgaden countryside.

The Rossfeld Panorama Road can be reached easily by car, motorcycle, motor coach or by public busses from Berchtesgaden via the Obersalzberg, or from Unterau via Oberau.

There are large parking lots at the summit section, where a gorgeous panoramic view over the huge mountain massif of Hoher Göll, Kehlstein, Tennen- and Dachsteingebirge, Untersberg as well as over the Berchtesgadener and Salzburger Land awaits the visitor.

The Rossfeld scenic road is an ideal starting point for a great variety of hikes for different physical demands. Two nicely located mountain inns and a kiosk invite visitors to stop and rest, while enjoying the view and some refreshments. As a skiing resort for families, the Rossfeld offers the most reliable snow conditions in all of the Berchtesgadener Land during the winter season. It comprises various ski-lifts including an approx. 6 km long slope to Oberau.

Roßfeldstraße 111
83471 Berchtesgaden, Germany
+49 861 57-410 oder 57-415
+49 861 57-426
info@rossfeldpanoramastrasse.de

Northern toll station (Oberau)
+49 8652 2808

Southern toll station (Obersalzberg)
+49 8652 2016

The Großglockner Mountain

At 3,798 meters, the Großglockner is not only Austria’s highest mountain, but also one of the highest peaks in the Alps.

For as longs as time has existed, mankind’s encounters with mountains have always brought danger. Difficult weather conditions and the lack of secure trails have made traversing the mountains unthinkable. However, traces of ancient trails testify to human courage. Relics such as pre-Celtic bronze knives, Celtic jewelry, a Roman statuette of Hercules, a bridle from the middle Ages and chains from 17th Century galley slaves attest to the fact that humans have been crossing these mountain passes for almost four millennia. Prior to the 17th Century, the Großglockner pass was the third most-traveled trade route behind the Brenner and Radstädter passes and accounted for nearly 10% of all trade in the eastern Alps.

However, not only danger was found in the mountains, but also fascination. The first ascent of Mont Blanc was a tremendous sensation and also brought forth brave men here at home. But only the second Glockner expedition in 1800 led to success. Victory and failure also accompanied other expeditions. The Pallavicini Gully was named after Margrave Alfred Pallavicini, who died on the Glockner in 1886.

With the building of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, the majestic peak acquired a new dimension. As a popular excursion destination it is the epitome of an impressive natural experience for many people: size and power can be felt here, one is subject to the fascination of the eternal ice and the elemental force of nature.

The First Ascent of the Grossglockner
Finds prove that people sometimes crossed the alpine passes as long as 5,000 years ago. But until into the 17th century hardly anybody other than hunters, poachers and adventurers seeking gold or other precious minerals dared to enter the mountains. Only at the beginning of the Enlightenment did the inquisitiveness of natural scientists overcome the widespread fear of the mountains and daring explorers took off into an unknown new world – without maps, marked climbs, route descriptions, refuge huts, adequate equipment or competent mountain guides. The first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786 was a tremendous sensation. This event moved the enlightened Carinthian Prince-bishop Franz Xaver Graf von Salm-Reifferscheid (1749 – 1822) to organise the first attempt at the Grossglockner. Not only was the highest peak in Austria, at 3.798m, to be conquered, scientific knowledge was also to be sought. Salm thus formed a “party so numerous and select that every department of natural history and physics had a man present.”

In the spring of 1799 Salm ordered that “several mountain dwellers” were to explore the apparently easiest route on the Grossglocker through the Leiter Valley and to “built a hut at about the half-way point” (the Salm Hut stands today near the original location). In August 1799 thirty persons with thirteen riding and pack horses set off from the then remote Heiligenblut, which was described by a doctor three years later as: “A Gothic church, two brick-built houses, eight to twelve wooden huts and fifteen cherry trees.”

The first expedition failed due to heavy snowfalls. Six men were only able to climb the Kleinglockner (3,783m). Despite great applause from science, this performance was insufficient for Salm. For the year after he ordered “everything brought to ease the journey on the Glockner and the entire ascent.”
On 26 July 1800 the second expedition set off from Heiligenblut: 62 persons, including twelve “dignitaries” (Salm and his scientists) as a “riding party” and sixteen horses. Due to favourable weather, almost all of the “dignitaries” reached the Eagle’s Rest (3,434m) within two days and five men actually conquered the Grossglockner and erected a summit cross.

The expedition’s chronicler, visibly impressed, described how Salm celebrated this victory at the wooden hut in the Leiter Valley: “The prince honoured the Glockner climbers with a good meal. One would believe that with the supplies of victuals, including peaches, figs, melons and pineapples that one was more at a royal table in the capital than in an alpine hut. Champagne, Tokay and Malaga flowed as if they were pressed from the nearby glacier.”

The scientific yield offered a special opportunity for celebration. Together with the geographical length and width of the peak, its height was also barometrically and trigonometrically ascertained at 3,761m – although 37m too few, but less inexact than 1799 at 4,216m. The Problem: one may well have been able to measure exactly the altitude difference between Heiligenblut and the peak, but not the altitude of Heiligenblut over the far-distant Adriatic. New knowledge was given by, among other things, series of tests with snow melting, boiling points of water, humidity and pulse and respiratory frequencies. And a barometer was erected next to the summit cross, which returned data for 52 years.

The total cost of this undertaking was somewhat vaguely given, rather than declared, in the expedition reports. But we know what the wages, prices and travel costs were at that time, when a ride in a stagecoach cost almost as much as an overland journey in a taxi today. According to the currency value of 2005, the wealthy Prince-bishop Salm spent at least 50,000 euro for both Glockner expeditions.

Pioneering by High Dignitaries
The first chapters of alpine history around the Grossglockner were written by clerical dignitaries. Salm accompanied his second Glockner expedition in 1800 as far up as the Eagle’s Rest, his vicar-general Count Sigmund von Hohenwart (later the first bishop of Linz) overcame in 1802 his openly admitted fear of the airy notch between the Kleinglockner and the Grossglockner, and at the age of 57 achieved the hotly covered peak victory. The next generation of mountaineering clerics was led by the Salzburg Cardinal Prince Friedrich Schwarzenberg, who studied theology at Salzburg and had undertaken several first ascent in the Limestone Alps. Schwarzenberg later served as the Archbishop of Prague. In 1841 he achieved the risky first ascent of the Hohen Tenn (3,368m) and followed this exceptional performance with the climb of the Wiesbachhorn (3,564m) from Ferleiten over the 2,400m east flank – in a single day, there and back.

Clerical dignitaries also later undertook some daring performances: the Franciscan Corbinian Steinberger achieved in a solo climb in 1851 “with a pint of wine and a piece household bread” the Glockner tour from Heiligenblut in a single day, there and back. The Heiligenblut priest Franz Francisci made the first ascent in winter in 1953.

But then secular dignitaries turned their attention to the Glockner Group. It began in 1856 with the “highly honoured visit of his majesty Emperor Franz Josef to his crown-land (Carinthia)” in Heiligenblut. The 26-year-old monarch hiked in four hours from Heiligenblut up to the terrain level, which has since been known as the “Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe”. His imperial wife “Sisi” was satisfied with a ride to the Elisabeth Rest, which was named poetically after her.

Pallavicini2019s Triumph and Tragedy
To ease the stage of 2,500 altitude metres from Heiligenblut to the peak of the Grossglockner, in 1876 the Alpine Association erected the “Glocknerhaus” at a select location at 1,700 altitude metres to ease the ascent, and soon 3,000 visitors were counted annually. Shortly after the consecration of this base, a man spent the night there who with a challenge offered by fate was to excite special attention: the 28-year-old Margrave Alfred Pallavicini, said to be “Vienna’s strongest man”. With three mountain guides he dared to undertake the ascent on the Grossglockner from the Pasterze through the 600m-high and 52°-steep ice gulley, which has since borne his name. With bravery in place of sufficient safety – ice picks were first invented in only 1924 – a guide undertook the cutting of steps in the ice. The ice cutter was to have been relieved after a while.

But this was unsuccessful due to the steep ice and the man continued cutting – 2,500 steps in seven hours, almost to the point of exhaustion, but still to a peak victory. This performance can be judged by the fact that it was twenty-three years later that someone dared to enter this ice gully. In 1886 Pallavicini took on the forbidding Glockner face with three companions. Just below the peak, a snow drift broke off and tore this roped team from the face. Only Pallavicini survived the fall. He wandered through a confusion of crevices down into the valley. He was found a week later cowered at the edge of a glacier crevice, dead, an out missing and his nose completely shattered. Pallavicini was put to rest at the church wall in the graveyard of Heiligenblut, opposite the metal book, which bears the names of the victims of the Grossglockner for posterity on its pages.

Großglockner Hochalpenstraßen Aktiengesellschaft
Zeller Fusch 26
5672 Zeller-Fusch

+43 662 873 6730
info@grossglockner.at

Our offers

ONLY BOOKABLE HERE ON THE HOMEPAGE!


Take a look at our offers, maybe there is something suitable for you? Each offer is of course individually extendable with extra nights (depending on room availability).