Hohe Wand (mountain)

The Hohe Wand is a mountain ridge in Lower Austria and is part of the Gutenstein Alps. It lies west of Steinfeld in the Vienna Basin; its highest peak (the Plackles) attains a height of 1,132 m. It is one of Vienna's ''Hausberge''.

General

It derives its name, which means "High Wall", from the steep rock faces on its south and southeast side. The high plateau is about 8 km long and stretches from the area of the Plackles peak in the southwest to the so-called Wandeck in the northeast.

The plateau of the Hohe Wand may be accessed over a toll road built in 1931/32 that branches off the road between Stollhof and Maiersdorf. From 1965 until it was dismantled in 1994 there was also a double chairlift from Grünbach to the ''Plackles'' summit.
Easy, but little used, hiking trail runs from the Dürnbach valley, from Grünbach and from the "rear side", from Miesenbach, up the mountain. Most of the climbs on the southern and southeastern sides are more challenging, requiring sure-footedness and, in places a head for heights. In this area are most of the over 700 climbing routes of all levels of difficulty; there are also numerous '' Klettersteigs''.

There are 225 caves in the area of the Hohe Wand. The Unicorn Cave near Dreistetten is accessible to the public as a show cave.

Due to its location on the edge of the Vienna Basin and its accessibility by car, there are 3 popular take-off points on the Hohe Wand for paragliders and hang gliders. The most popular of these is the eastern one, the ''Oststartplatz'', the most challenging and the one most used by hang gliders is the southern one, the ''Südstartplatz''; there is also the less used ''Almfrieden Startplatz''. The Hohe Wand is especially suitable for flying due to its south-to-east wind situations and is also the local mountain for the Viennese.

On the plateau there is a large number of mountain inns and Alpine huts, but also numerous weekend houses, especially in Wanddörfl.

Part of the Hohe Wand has been placed under protection as the Hohe Wand Nature Park, but the name is used to market tourist attractions, some of which have been heavily criticised as being incompatible with a nature park (e.g. the "Skywalk" observation platform that juts out from the rocks).

Popular easy hiking routes

The following paths and climbs are listed in order beginning from those southwest of the Hohe Wand (the southern end of the rock faces) then via the mainly eastwards oriented rock faces, the north and northwest and back to the southwest (i.e. anti-clockwise).

* Pfarrersteig
* Grafenbergweg
* Wagnersteig
* SpringlessteigHauleitner: ''Hausberge'', pp. 50 f.
online
accessed on 4 October 2010.
* Leitergraben
* Straßenbahnerweg
* Krumme Ries (from Maiersdorf "Maier´s village")
* VöllerinsteigHauleitner: ''Hausberge'', S. 46 f.
online
accessed on 4 October 2010.
* LeiterlsteigWerner: ''Klettersteigatlas'', S. 126
online
accessed on 4 October 2010.
* DrobilsteigWerner: ''Klettersteigatlas'', S. 124
online
accessed on 4 October 2010.
* Einhornhöhlenweg "Unicorn Cave - Route"
* Waldeggersteig (Große Klause)Hauleitner: ''Hausberge'', S. 42 f.
online
accessed on 4 October 2010.
* Krumme Ries (Kleine Klause)

Popular ''Klettersteige'' (Via ferrata)

* Blutspur
* Drobilsteig
* Frauenluckensteig
* Ganghofersteig
* Hanselsteig
* HTL-Steig
* Kammerlingsteig
* Leiterlsteig
* Naturfreundesteig (Kleine Klause)
* Springlessteig
* Steirerspur
* Völlerinsteig
* Wagnersteig
* Währingersteig
* Waldeggersteig (Große Klause)
* Wildenauersteig

Popular climbing routes

* Austriasteig
* A-Steig
* direct Sonnenuhrwand
* Draschgrat
* Fredsteig
* Freundschaftssteig
* Grafenbergsteig
* Kanzelsteig
* Postlgrat
* Reineke Fuchs
* Tirolersteig
* Totenköpflsteig
* Turmsteig
* Weningersteig
* Wienersteig

Popular ''Klettergärten'' (Climbing garden)

* Almfriedenwände
* Baumgartnerturm
* Milak-Klettergarten
* obere und untere Naglplatte
* ÖTK-Klettergarten

Huts

* Gasthaus auf dem Geländ (1023 m), formerly TVN, now private
* Berghaus Plackles (1132 m), private
* Wilhelm Eichert Hut (1052 m), ÖTK
* Turmsteig Hut (1000 m), privat
* Hubertushaus (946 m), ÖGV
* Hochkogelhaus (932 m), TVN
* Alpengasthof Postl (892 m), private
* Herrgottschnitzerhaus (826 m), formerly ''Alpine Gesellschaft „D'Herrgottschnitzer“'' (Wien), now private
* Wiener Neustädter Haus (1035 m), formerly TVN, now private
* Kohlröserlhaus (900 m), private
* Stützpunkt der Berg- und Naturwacht
* Gasthof Jagasitz (Haslinger), closed
* Seiser Toni
* Klein-Kanzel-Haus (1092 m), private
* Sepp-Steinwender-Hut
* Dr.-Ferdinand-Nagl-Haus ÖTV
* Hohe-Wand-Naturfreundehaus (1050 m), TVN
* Scheimhut am Rastkreuzsattel, between Geländ and Hoher Wand.
* Waldegger Haus (1002 m)
* Turmsteighütte (1000 m), private
* Gasthaus Luf
* Kohlröserlhaus (900 m), privat
* Gasthaus Almfrieden
* Hanselsteighaus, closed
* Imbissstand near entry of Einhornhöhle "Unicorn Cave (Austria), Unicorn Cave"

References

External links

Hohe Wand Nature Park

*
Allerlei. Österreich. Eine Drahtseilbahn auf die Hohe Wand und auf den Schneeberg
'' Badener Zeitung, 2 April 1927, p. 5

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wand, Hohe
Gutenstein Alps
Mountains of the Alps
Landforms of Lower Austria
Ridges of Europe
One-thousanders of Austria