The Gaisberg is, at above sea level, a mountain to the east of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It belongs to

Salzkammergut Mountains The Salzkammergut Mountains (german: Salzkammergut-Berge) are a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps, located in the Austrian states of Salzburg and Upper Austria. They are named after the Salzkammergut historic region, part of the Halls ...

, a range of the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (german: Nördliche Kalkalpen), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. ...

. The mountain is one of the Salzburg ''

Hausberg {{italic title ''Hausberg'' (lit.: "house mountain", plural: ''Hausberge'') is German for a prominent mountain or hill in the immediate vicinity of a village, town or city, usually located on its municipal territory, but outside the built up are ...

e'', a recreational area offering views over the city and the

Berchtesgaden Alps The Berchtesgaden Alps (german: Berchtesgadener Alpen) are a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps, named after the market town of Berchtesgaden located in the centre. The central part belongs to the Berchtesgadener Land district of southe ...

in the west. On the top of the mountain is the widely visible Gaisberg Transmitter.

Geography

The mountain is one of the foothills of the Osterhorn Group between the Lammertal valley and the Wolfgangsee; forming the eastern rim of the Salzburg Basin. The western slopes with the Kühberg spur extend to the Salzburg city limits, the adjacent parts belong to the neighbouring Koppl and

Elsbethen Elsbethen is a municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography The town lies directly south of the federal state capital, Salzburg, and borders Flachgau. Parts of the town have become infrastructur ...

municipalities. Since 1988 a small part of the woodland is designated as a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

. The Gaisberg has been a popular destination for daytrippers from Salzburg already in the 18th century. From 1887 until 1928 a

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

, the ''Gaisbergbahn'', provided easy access from the city to the top of the mountain until it was replaced in 1929 by a road. Today a public bus route starting from the Mirabellplatz square links a parking lot on the summit plateau, a starting point for

winter sport Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold are ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

, and

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...

to the city centre. The Gaisberg Transmitter, a high FM and TV transmitter facility located on its top, was erected in 1956.

Gaisberg race

The Gaisberg road became the venue of a car and motorcycle hillclimb race between 1929 and 1969, which was part of the

European Hillclimb Championship The FIA European Hill Climb Championship (FIA EHC) is an FIA-run motorsport competition held across Europe on closed public road courses. Unlike circuit racing, each driver competes alone, starting from a point at the base of a mountain and reac ...

Rudolf Caracciola Otto Wilhelm Rudolf CaracciolaBolsinger and Becker (2002), p. 63 (30 January 1901 – 28 September 1959) was a racing driver from Remagen, Germany. He won the European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the modern Formula One Wor ...

Manfred von Brauchitsch Manfred Georg Rudolf von Brauchitsch (15 August 1905 – 5 February 2003) was a German auto racing driver who drove for Mercedes-Benz in the famous "Silver Arrows" of Grand Prix motor racing in the 1930s. Racing career Brauchitsch won t ...

and Hans Stuck were among the 83 drivers of the first race on September 8, 1929 and contestants of later races included

Luigi Fagioli Luigi Cristiano Fagioli (; 9 June 1898 – 20 June 1952), nicknamed "the Abruzzi robber", was an Italian motor racing driver. Having won his last race at 53 years old, Fagioli holds the record for the oldest Formula One driver to win a race, and ...

Carlo Felice Trossi Count Carlo Felice Trossi (27 April 1908 – 9 May 1949) was an Italian racecar driver and auto constructor. Racing career During his career, he raced for three different teams: Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo and, briefly, Maserati. He won the 1947 I ...

Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips Wolfgang Alexander Albert Eduard Maximilian Reichsgraf Berghe von Trips (; 4 May 1928 – 10 September 1961), also known simply as Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips and nicknamed 'Taffy' by friends and fellow racers, was a German racing driver. He ...

Jean Behra Jean Marie Behra (16 February 1921 – 1 August 1959) was a Formula One driver who raced for the Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari and Porsche teams. Appearance and personality Behra was small in stature, stocky, and weighed 178 pounds.''B ...

Jochen Rindt Jochen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jochen Asche, East German luger, competed during the 1960s *Jochen Böhler (born 1969), German historian, specializing in the history of World War II *Jochen Babock (born 1953), East G ...

Rolf Stommelen Rolf Johann Stommelen (11 July 1943 – 24 April 1983) was a racing driver from Siegen, Germany. He participated in 63 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scored a total of 14 championship points. He also partici ...

and

Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in Formula ...

. Since 2003 the historical race has been revived and celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2004

External links

Live webcam pictures from top of the Gaisberg

Historical film of the motorcycle race in 1933

Paragliding information

GAISBERG , pure experience - Gaisberg informations by www.gaisberg.tv
{{Authority control Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Salzburg (state)