Tauernbahn
The Tauern Railway (german: Tauernbahn) is an Austrian railway line between Schwarzach- Sankt Veit in the state of Salzburg and Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia. It is part of one of the most important north-south trunk routes (''Magistrale'') in Europe and also carries tourist traffic for the Gastein Valley. The standard gauge railway line is long and climbs the High Tauern range of the Central Eastern Alps with a maximum incline of 2.5%, crossing the Alpine crest through the long Tauern Tunnel. It is one of the highest standard gauge railways in Europe and the third highest in Austria. History Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the Cisleithanian government of Austria-Hungary had urged for a direct connection of the restored main Austrian seaport at Trieste with the Bohemian coalfields and iron works in the northern parts of the Monarchy. After lengthy discussions, the building of the ''Tauernbahn'' was set up as a part of the larger "New Alpine Railways" investmen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spittal An Der Drau
Spittal an der Drau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district (''Bezirk'') by area. Geography The town is located on the southern slopes of the Gurktal Alps (Nock Mountains), between the Lurnfeld Basin and the Lower Drau Valley. Despite its name, the historic core of Spittal originated on the banks of the small Lieser tributary, which flows into the Drau at the foot of Mt. Goldeck, a peak of the Gailtal Alps south of the town. Its summit can be reached by cable car. The municipal area consists of seven Katastralgemeinden: Amlach, Edling, Großegg, Molzbichl, Olsach, Spittal proper, and St. Peter-Edling. In Großegg (incorporated in 1973), the area of Spittal extends to the southern shore of Lake Millstatt. History The settlement was first mentioned in an 1191 deed issued by Archbishop Adalbert of Salzburg, when the local Carinthian counts Hermann I ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reißeck
Reißeck is a municipality in the district of Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia, Austria. Geography Situated within the valley of the Möll river, a tributary to the Drava, Reißeck is located about northwest of the district capital Spittal an der Drau. The present-day municipality established in 1973 consists of the four cadastral communities Kolbnitz, Zandlach, Penk, and Teuchl. It was named after the Reißeck massif (2,965m/9,727 ft) in the north, part of the Ankogel Group of the Hohe Tauern mountain range. South of the Möll Valley rises the Kreuzeck Group. Equidistant between the ski resorts of Ankogel/Mölltal Glacier and Lake Millstatt, facilities in Kolbnitz include a rafting centre, a riding centre, tennis courts, a small ski area and a swimming pool. Two funicular railway lines leave from the Möll valley bottom: the first runs up the Reißeck mountain to an altitude of 2236m/7336 ft to walking trails and a hotel; the second leads to the mountain rail station ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bad Hofgastein
Bad Hofgastein ( bar, Hofgoschdei) is a market town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The spa town is located in the Gastein Valley, a large ski resort belonging to the Ski Amadé network. Geography The Gastein valley is part of the High Tauern range of the Central Eastern Alps, it stretches from the broad Salzach valley at Lend southwards up to the Alpine divide and the border with Carinthia. Bad Hofgastein is located about halfway between Dorfgastein in the north and Bad Gastein in the south. It has access to the Tauern Railway line, running through the valley up to the Tauern Railway Tunnel. The municipal area comprises the cadastral communities of Bad Hofgastein proper, Harbach, Heißingfelding, Vorderschneeberg, and Wieden. Tourism Bad Hofgastein, together with Bad Gastein and Dorfgastein forms a Ski-region Gastein valley which is a part of a larger network Ski Amadé. The whole Gastein valley consists of 4 ski areas with a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Height Above Mean Sea Level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The combination of unit of measurement and the physical quantity (height) is called "metres above mean sea level" in the metric system, while in United States customary and imperial units it would be called "feet above mean sea level". Mean sea levels are affected by climate change and other factors and change over time. For this and other reasons, recorded measurements of elevation above sea level at a reference time in history might differ from the actual elevation of a given location over sea level at a given moment. Uses Metres above sea level is the standard measurement of the elevation or altitude of: * Geographic locations such as towns, mountains and other landmarks. * The top of buildings and other structures. * Flying objects suc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lurnfeld
Lurnfeld is a market town in the district of Spittal an der Drau in the Austrian state of Carinthia. The municipality consists of the two Katastralgemeinden: Möllbrücke and Pusarnitz, comprising several small villages. It is located within the eponymous valley of the Drava river, on the southern slope of the Ankogel Group of the Hohe Tauern range, west of the district's capital Spittal an der Drau. At Möllbrücke is the confluence of the Drava with the Möll tributary. In the west the valley is confined by the mountains of the Kreuzeck group and in the south by the Gailtal Alps. History The Lurnfeld valley around the Roman city of Teurnia is a very old settlement area, in ancient times called ''vallis Lurna''. In an 891 deed mentioned as ''Liburnia'', it became the centre of the Upper Carinthian counts in the mediæval Lurn'' gau'', who resided at Hohenburg Castle. Their dominions then stretched from west of Villach up the Drava to Lienz and the Tyrolean border. Pusarnitz a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mühldorf, Carinthia
Mühldorf is a municipality in the district of Spittal an der Drau in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography It is situated in the lower Möll Valley, between the High Tauern mountain ranges of the Reißeck group in the northeast and the Kreuzeck group in the southwest. The municipality has access to the Tauern Railway line at Mühldorf-Möllbrücke station. History The settlement was first mentioned in an 1177 deed; the name ''Mühldorf'' referred to the numerous mills in the area. The village probably arose around an older salt mine, once owned by the Benedictine monks of Millstatt Abbey, which soon was abandoned, however. In 1844 a loden cape production was established, the facility exists up to today. The present-day municipality was constituted in 1850. Incorporated into neighbouring Reißeck from 1973, the Mühldorf citizens again voted for independence in 1992. Politics Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2015 local elections: *Freedom Party of A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Burg Falkenstein (Niederfalkenstein)
Niederfalkenstein Castle is a medieval castle near Obervellach in Carinthia, Austria. It is part of the larger Falkenstein fortification complex; while the main fortress of Oberfalkenstein today is a ruin, the lower barbican of Niederfalkenstein is largely preserved. Location The fortification was erected on a rocky promontory on the southwestern slopes of the Reisseck Group in the Hohe Tauern mountain range, overlooking the Möll valley east of Obervellach. Niederfalkenstein is above sea level. The Tauern Railway line, opened in 1909, initially passed under the rock in a long tunnel. In the course of the double-tracked expansion carried out from 1971 to 1973, the rail tunnel was replaced by a wide arch bridge, the present-day Falkenstein Bridge passing between Ober- and Niederfalkenstein, with the longest of the line and one of the longest in Austria. The ruins of Oberfalkenstein comprise a ''Bergfried'' keep with surrounding moats and the foundations of a Romanesque pala ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Railroad Switch
A railroad switch (), turnout, or ''set ofpoints () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. The most common type of switch consists of a pair of linked tapering rails, known as ''points'' (''switch rails'' or ''point blades''), lying between the diverging outer rails (the ''stock rails''). These points can be moved laterally into one of two positions to direct a train coming from the point blades toward the straight path or the diverging path. A train moving from the narrow end toward the point blades (i.e. it will be directed to one of the two paths, depending on the position of the points) is said to be executing a ''facing-point movement''. For many types of switch, a train coming from either of the converging directions will pass through the switch regardless of the position of the points, as the vehicle's wheels will force the points to move. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Obervellach
Obervellach ( sl, Zgornja Bela) is a market town in the district of Spittal an der Drau, in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography The town is situated in the valley of the Möll river, on the southern slope of the High Tauern mountain range, where the Tauern Railway line descends from neighbouring Mallnitz and the southern Tauern Tunnel portal. The municipal area comprises the cadastral communities of Obervellach proper, Pfaffenberg, Lassach, and Söbriach. History The settlement of ''Velach'' was first mentioned in a 10th-century deed issued by the Bishop Abraham of Freising (d. 993/94), a Bavarian missionary among the East Alpine Slavs in the Duchy of Carinthia (former Carantania), known for the Slovene Freising manuscripts. The name is probably derived from Slavic ''bela'' ("white"). The local church was mentioned as 'Freising basilica' in 1072, it later became the seat of a deanery of the Salzburg archbishops. The traditional gold and silver mining area from the 12t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mallnitz
Mallnitz is a municipality in the Spittal an der Drau District in Carinthia, Austria. Geography It is situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range stretching southwards down to Obervellach on the Möll river and separating the Ankogel Group in the east from the Goldberg Group in the west. In the north the Alpine crest marks the border with the Austrian state of Salzburg. At Mallnitz the Tauern Railway enters into the south portal of the Tauern Tunnel. The municipal area consists of the cadastral communities of Mallnitz proper and Dösen. The northern parts belong to the High Tauern National Park territory. History A trade route across the mountain passes to the Gastein Valley in the north may already existed in the Bronze Age. It was used by the Celts from about 400 BC, and when the area was incorporated into the Roman Noricum province about 15 BC, these bridle paths were rebuilt as a Roman road. A first settlement on the ancient route was probably establis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tauern Railway Tunnel
The Tauern Railway Tunnel (german: Tauerntunnel) in Austria is the longest tunnel of the Tauern Railway crossing the main chain of the Alps. Currently, it has a length of . The highest point of the tunnel, which is also the highest point in all of the railway line, is at above sea level. The tunnel's north entrance is at Böckstein in the valley of Bad Gastein in the state of Salzburg, while the south entrance is near Mallnitz in Carinthia. The construction of the Tauern Railway Tunnel was first mooted during the late nineteenth century, although actual work on its construction was started in July 1902. The excavation was performed via a labour intensive process by a mostly Italian workforce overseen by the civil engineer Karl Wurmb. It was effectively finished during 1906, and formally opened three years later by Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria. While trains were initially operated by steam locomotives, the tunnel and wider line alike were electrified during the interwar period ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |