The Große Bischofsmütze (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: "great bishop's mitre") is the highest peak in the Gosaukamm range of the

Dachstein Mountains The Dachstein Mountains (german: Dachsteingebirge) are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps. The term is used by the Austrian Alpine Club in its classification of the Eastern Alps as one of the 24 sub-ranges of the Northern Limestone A ...

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 ...

. Together with the Kleine Bischofsmütze (), the Große Bischofsmütze () forms a distinctive

twin-peak A double summit, double peak, twin summit, or twin peak refers to a mountain or hill that has two summits, separated by a col or saddle. One well-known double summit is Austria’s highest mountain, the Großglockner, where the main summit of t ...

, with the two summits separated by the ''Mützenschlucht'' ravine''.'' The mountain is in the state 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 ...

, near the border with

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

, and forms part of the larger

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. ...

History

The name of the mountain can be attributed to its characteristic shape, that resembles a bishop's

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

("Bischofsmütze"). The mountain has also been referred to historically as ''Gosauer Stein'' ("Stone of Gosau") due to its location overlooking the town of

Gosau Gosau is a municipality in the district of Gmunden in Upper Austria, Austria. Location Gosau is situated along the Gosaubach stream in the Salzkammergut region. The center of the town is at an elevation of 767m (2,516'). 58.9% of the municipalit ...

. The Große Bischofsmütze was first ascended on June 28, 1879 by Johann Anhäusler and Johann Steiner. Two major rockfalls occurred in 1993 that displaced 100,000 tonnes of rock into the valley below, altering the mountain's visual profile.Bischofsmütze bröckelt''
(in German) Retrieved 13/06/2020.

Geology

The upper parts of the mountain is composed of Dachstein limestone whilst the base is composed of

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

. The rocks date from the

Upper Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. ...

period.

Climbing

The summit of the Große Bischofsmütze can only be accessed through

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

. The "Normal route" has an approach from the south passing through the ''Mützenschlucht'', and on the UIAA climbing scale is graded III. The route is polished, and also commonly used for descent. Some

abseil Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to low ...

points are present. The Alpine club hut ' that is directly south of the mountain is a base for many ascents. With a history of rockfalls and a particular fragile eastern side, the mountain is currently monitored to identify changes to its internal structure and assess risk of rock collapse.

Gallery

File:West view of Bischofsmütze (2009).jpg, View from the west File:Bischofsmutze E.jpg, View from the east File:Bischofsmütze 1247 11-09-11.JPG, More detailed view from the south

References

External links