The Rax is a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
in 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 Germa ...
on the border 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 ...
n federal provinces of
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
and
Styria. Its highest peak is the ''Heukuppe'' (2,007 m). The Rax, together with the nearby
Schneeberg, are a traditional mountaineering and mountain walking area, and are called the ''
Wiener Hausberge
Vienna's Hausberge (german: Wiener Hausberge) are the mountains of Raxalpe, Schneeberg and Hohe Wand in the south of the state of Lower Austria. These mountains may be reached from Vienna in about an hour and are therefore a popular recreation a ...
'' (
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
's local mountains). They are separated by the deep ''Höllental'' ("Hell Valley").
A
cable car, the ''Raxseilbahn'', starting at
Hirschwang at the north-eastern foot of the mountains and the first in Austria (construction began in 1925), takes visitors to the extensive, high plateau of the Rax at a height of about 1,500 m. This area is a particular favourite with hikers from Lower Austria and Vienna. The steep sides of the plateau offer climbing tours of various difficulty. These ''steige'' (mountain
trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...
s) and the ''hütten'',
alpine hut
A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization ...
s offering basic
accommodation, were built and are maintained kept by various Austrian
Alpine Club
The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as:
:"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of whi ...
s. They were erected in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Mountain huts
* Raxseilbahn mountain station, 1,540 m
* Ottohaus, 1,640 m
*
Gloggnitz
Gloggnitz is a mountain town in the Neunkirchen district of Lower Austria, Austria.
Gloggnitz is situated in the south-western part of the Vienna Basin in Lower Austria. It is surrounded by the highest mountains in Lower Austria, Mount Rax (20 ...
er Hut, 1,548 m
*
Habsburg Haus, 1,785 m
*
Karl Ludwig Haus, 1,804 m
* See Hut, 1,643 m
* Waxriegelhaus 1,361 m
* Wolfgang Dirnbacher Hut, 1,477 m (shelter only)
Some Hikes and Rises
*
Alpenvereins Steig: Großes Höllental – Ottohaus
* Amaliensteig: Preiner Gscheid – Heukuppe
* Bärenloch: Hinternasswald – Bärengraben
*
Bismarck Steig: Karl Ludwig Haus – Neue Seehütte
* Brandschneide: Kaiserbrunn – Bergstation Raxbahn
* Großes und kleines Fuchsloch: Preiner Gscheid – Heukuppe
* Gaislochsteig (former
Guido von List
Guido Karl Anton List, better known as Guido von List (5 October 1848 – 17 May 1919), was an Austrian occultist, journalist, playwright, and novelist. He expounded a modern Pagan new religious movement known as Wotanism, which he claimed was ...
Steig): Großes Höllental – Dirnbacher Hütte
* Göbl-Kühn-Steig: Waxriegelhaus – Neue Seehütte
* Gamsecksteig: Nasskamm – Grasboden Alm
*
Gretchen Steig: Preiner Gscheid – Karl Ludwig Haus
* Grosses Wolfstal (unmarkiert, Schiabfahrt!) Kaiserbrunn – Ottohaus
* Grosser Kesselgraben (Schiabfahrt!) Höllental – Gloggnitzer Hütte
* Gsolhirnsteig
* Gustav-Jahn-Steig: Verbindung Alpenvereinssteig – Ausstieg Gaislochsteig
* Hans-von-Haid-Steig: Prein an der Rax – Preiner Wand
* Hoyossteig: Großes Höllental – Rudolfsteig
*
Kaiser Steig: Rehboden – Scheibwald
* Karl-Kantner-Steig: Waxriegelhaus – Karl Ludwig Haus
* Kontrußsteig: Reißtalerhütte – Waxriegelhaus
* Peter Jokl Steig: Hinternasswald – Scheibwald
* Preinerwandsteig: Prein an der Rax – Preiner Wand
* Preintalersteig: Großes Höllental – Wachthüttelkamm
* Reißtalersteig: Preiner Gscheid – Heukuppe
* Rudolfssteig: Höllental – Klobentörl
* Schlangenweg: Waxriegelhaus – Karl Ludwig Haus
* Schüttersteig: Verbindungsstrasse Nasswald/Hinternasswald – Scheibwald
* Seeweg: Ottohaus – Neue Seehütte
* Teufelsbadstubensteig: Großes Höllental – Wachthüttelkamm
* Törlweg: Knappenhof – Ottohaus
* Wachthüttelkamm: Höllental – Ottohaus
* Waxriegelsteig: Predigtstuhl – Waxriegelhaus
* Wildes Gamseck: Nasskamm – Grasboden Alm
* Wildfährte: Hinternasswald – Grasboden Alm
* Zikafahnlsteig: Scheibwald – Habsburghaus
{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of the Alps
Northern Limestone Alps
Mountain ranges of Lower Austria
Rax-Schneeberg Group
Two-thousanders of Austria