The Hochschwab, Hochschwab Mountains, Hochschwab Alps or Hochschwab Group (german: Hochschwabgruppe) is a mountain range 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 ...
of
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 ...
. The range is in the
Styria. The highest peak is also called
Hochschwab and is 2,277
metres above the Adriatic
Metres above the Adriatic ( it, Metri sopra l'Adriatico, german: Meter über Adria, Serbo-Croatian: ''Metara iznad Jadrana'') is the vertical datum used in Austria, in the former Yugoslavian states of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Serbia, ...
.
Location
The mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Northern Alps in 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 state of
Styria.
According to the
Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps (AVE) the range is bounded as follows:
:
Großreifling –
Salza –
Gußwerk –
Wegscheid
Wegscheid is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany.
In November 1936, Fritz Wächtler
Fritz Wächtler (7 January 1891 – 19 April 1945) was a Nazi Party official and politician who served as the ''Gauleiter'' of ...
–
Seeberg Saddle
Seeberg Saddle (german: Seebergsattel, sl, Jezerski vrh), also just Seeberg (''Jezersko'') is a high mountain pass connecting Bad Eisenkappel in the Austrian state of Carinthia with Jezersko in the Slovenian region of Carinthia. It is located in ...
–
Seegraben –
Stübmingbach –
Thörlbach to its confluence with the
Mürz
The Mürz () is a river of Styria, Austria, with a length of . Its drainage basin is .
The Mürz begins at the confluence of the and near Kaltenbach, Neuberg and the border to Lower Austria. It passes through Mürzzuschlag. Along its course are ...
– Mürz to its confluence with the
Mur – Mur to
Leoben
Leoben () is a Styrian city in central Austria, located on the Mur river. With a population of about 25,000 it is a local industrial centre and hosts the University of Leoben, which specialises in mining. The Peace of Leoben, an armistice bet ...
–
Vordernberger Bach –
Präbichl –
Erzbach –
Hieflau
Hieflau is a former municipality in the district of Leoben in Styria, Austria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Landl, in the Liezen District
Bezirk Liezen is a district of the state of Styria in ...
–
Enns to Großreifling
Division of the Alps
' at bergalbum.de (private website)
It includes:
* the ''Hochschwab massif'' (the ''Hochschwab group'' in its specific sense):
[N.5, N.5a Hochschwabgruppe - Zeller Staritzen (Nordalpen)](_blank)
Umweltinformation Steiermark '', Natur und Landschaft , Landschaftsgliederung'' The extensive
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
plateau covers an area of about 400 km² and is bounded in the east by the
Seeberg Saddle
Seeberg Saddle (german: Seebergsattel, sl, Jezerski vrh), also just Seeberg (''Jezersko'') is a high mountain pass connecting Bad Eisenkappel in the Austrian state of Carinthia with Jezersko in the Slovenian region of Carinthia. It is located in ...
and in the west by the
Präbichl. Only this massif belongs to the high limestone peaks 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 Germa ...
.
** the ''Aflenzer Staritzen'' (may also be viewed as the eastern foothills of the Hochschwab
bergstock
An alpenstock (german: Alpen- "alpine" + "stick, staff") is a long wooden pole with an iron spike tip, used by shepherds for travel on snowfields and glaciers in the Alps since the Middle Ages. It is the antecedent of the modern ice axe.
Frenc ...
)
** the ''Zeller Staritzen'',
in the far northeast
** ''Polster, Hochturm,
Pribitz'' and ''
Meßnerin
, photo = Grüner See, spiegelt seine Umgebung.jpg
, photo_caption = The classic view of Messnerin
from Grüner See
, elevation_m = 1835
, elevation_ref =
, prominence_m = 616
, prominence_ref =
, map = Alps
, map_caption = Location in ...
'' – these are the southern prealps (''Vorstöcke'') of the Hochschwab east of Präbichl
** the northern perimeter mountains of the ''Aflenz Basin'', less clearly distinguished from the Hochschwab Group to the north, but with more of a lower mountain character: ''Ilgner Alpl, Aflenzer Bürgeralm, Oisching/Schießlingalm''
* part of the
greywacke zone
The greywacke zone is a band of Paleozoic metamorphosed sedimentary rocks that forms an east-west band through the Austrian Alps.
The greywacke zone crops out between the Mesozoic rocks of the Northern Calcareous Alps and the Austroalpine and Pe ...
:
** the mountains between ''Pichl-Großdorf'' and
Etmißl
Etmißl was an Austrian municipality in the District of Bruck-Mürzzuschlag, Styria.
As of 1 January 2015 it has been incorporated into Thörl.
Geography
Etmißl is located in a side valley of the Hochschwab
The Hochschwab in the Upper Styria ...
** the two groups around ''Kletschachkogel'' and ''Thalerkogel'' between the valleys of ''Vordernbergertal'' and ''Lamingtal''
** the group of the ''
Floning'' from the Lamingtal valley by the lower Thörlbach stream
Customarily only the limestone alpine region is described as the Hochschwab Group.
The area classified systematically by the Alpine Clubs as the southern parts (along the significant orographic line of the valley), which have a completely different appearance, are known hereabouts as the
Mürzsteg Alps
The Mürzsteg Alps or Mürztal Alps (german: Mürztaler or Mürzsteger Alpen) are a mountain range in the Eastern Alps (Northern Limestone Alps), which lie in the Austrian state of Styria, with a small part of the range in Lower Austria. The h ...
or Mürz Hills (''Mürzberge'').
Alpine huts
* Voisthaler Hut (
ÖAV, 1,654 m) - at the foot of the Edelspitzen
* Sonnschien Hut (ÖAV, 1,523 m)
* Leobner Hut (ÖAV, 1,582 m) - to the southwest of the mountain range, reachable from the
Präbichl pass. Currently closed.
* (ÖTK, 2,154 m) - northeast of the Hochschwab peak
* Fölzalm (1,484 m)
* Häuslalm (1,526 m)
* Gsollalm (1,201 m)
* Pfaffingalm (1,550 m)
Significant peaks
*
Hochschwab (2,277 m)
* Ringkamp (2,153 m)
*
Ebenstein (2,123 m)
* Trenchtling (Hochturm) (2,081 m)
* Großer Griesstein (2,023 m)
* Beilstein (2,012 m)
* Hohe Weichsel (Aflenzer Staritzen) (2,006 m)
* Brandstein (2,003 m)
* Riegerin (1,939 m)
*
Pfaffenstein
The Pfaffenstein, formerly called the ''Jungfernstein'', is a table hill,[''"Der Pfaffenste ...](_blank)
(1,871 m)
*
Meßnerin
, photo = Grüner See, spiegelt seine Umgebung.jpg
, photo_caption = The classic view of Messnerin
from Grüner See
, elevation_m = 1835
, elevation_ref =
, prominence_m = 616
, prominence_ref =
, map = Alps
, map_caption = Location in ...
(1,835 m)
* Hochblaser (1,771 m)
* Thalerkogel (1,655 m)
*
Floning (1,583 m)
* Pribitz (1,579 m)
* Kampeck (1,525 m)
* Kletschachkogel (1,457 m)
References
Literature
* Günter und Luise Auferbauer: ''Hochschwab''. Rother Wanderführer,
* Liselotte Buchenauer: ''Hochschwab'', 1960 (2nd edn., 1974), Leykam Verlag
* Rudolf Ägyd Lindner: ''Hochschwab''. H. Weishaupt Verlag
* Ewald Putz: ''Hochschwab.''
*
External links
Huts of the Hochschwab GroupHochschwab Museum, BodenbauerWater Supply Museum, Wildalpen*
{{Northern Limestone Alps
Mountain ranges of the Alps
Northern Limestone Alps
Mountain ranges of Styria