Leoganger Steinberge, Birnhorn und Passauer Hütte

The Leogang MountainsLichtenberger, Elisabeth (2000). ''Austria: society and regions'', Austrian Academy of Sciences, p. 173. . (german: Leoganger Steinberge, lit. "Leogang Rock Mountains") are a mountain range in

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 ...

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 ...

and form part 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. ...

within the

Eastern Alps Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide and down the Liro River to Lake Como in the ...

. They are located between the

Lofer Lofer is a market town in the district of Zell am See in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography Lofer is located in the historic Pinzgau region, in the valley of the Saalach river between the Chiemgau Alps and Reiter Alpe in the north and ea ...

valley,

Saalfelden Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer is a town in the district of Zell am See in the Austrian state of Salzburg. With approximately 16,000 inhabitants, Saalfelden is the district's largest town and the third of the federal state after Salzburg and Hallein ...

and

Leogang Leogang is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the state of Salzburg in Austria. It is a famous winter sports and summer mountain hiking resort. Population Sights :Mining and Gothic Museum :tourist mine Schwarzle ...

and, together with the

Lofer Mountains The Lofer Mountains or Loferer MountainsHeuss, Theodor (1955). ''Preludes to life: early memoirs'', University of Michigan, p. 143. (german: Loferer Steinberge, lit. "Lofer Rock Mountains") are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps in th ...

to the northwest form two mountain massifs that are separated by the saddle of the ''Römersattel'' (1,202 m), but which the Alpine categorisation of the Eastern Alps defines as a single sub-group (the Lofer and Leogang Mountains). The Leogang Mountains are separated from the

Kitzbühel Alps The Kitzbühel Alps (german: Kitzbüheler Alpen or ''Kitzbühler Alpen'') are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps surrounding the town of Kitzbühel in Tyrol, Austria. Geologically they are part of the western slate zone (greywacke zone) ...

to the south and the

Steinernes Meer The Steinernes Meer (literally "Rocky Sea") is a high karst plateau in the Northern Limestone Alps. As one of the nine sub-ranges of the Berchtesgaden Alps the Steinernes Meer belongs partly to Bavaria and partly to Salzburg. Location To the no ...

to the east by deeply incised valleys. Typical of the Steinberge are high plateaux with steep sides and sharply undulating high cirques. As typical

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

mountains the Leogang Mountains are also pierced by numerous

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s. The most famous of these is the

Lamprechtsofen Lamprechtsofen (also called Lamprechtshöhle, Lamprechtsofenhöhle or, together with a connected cave, Lamprechtsofen-Vogelschacht) is a limestone karst river cave in Austria. With a depth of , it is one of the deepest caves in the world. Before ...

, over 50 km long, located immediately next to the federal road between

and

. A prominent rock formation is the ''Melkerloch'' in the southeastern face of the Birnhorn mountain. At the ''

Birnhorn The Birnhorn (2,634 m) is an isolated mountain in the Leoganger Steinberge, Northern Limestone Alps, Austria. See also *List of Alpine peaks by prominence This is a list of the mountains of the Alps, ordered by their topographic prominence. For ...

'' is the highest peak in the range. The Hochfilzen Military Training Area used by the

Austrian Army The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...

lies in the west of the Leoganger Steinberge.

Neighbouring ranges

The Leogang Mountains border on the following mountain groups in the Alps: *

to the northwest * Berchtesgaden Alps to the east *

Salzburg Slate Alps The Salzburg Slate Alps (german: Salzburger Schieferalpen) are a mountain range of the Eastern Alps, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Situated within the greywacke zone, they could be regarded either as part of the Northern Limestone Alps or of ...

to the southeast *

to the south *

Kaiser Mountains The Kaiser Mountains (german: Kaisergebirge, meaning ''Emperor Mountains'') are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and Eastern Alps. Its main ridges – are the Zahmer Kaiser and south of it the Wilder Kaiser. The mountains are s ...

to the west

Peaks

: * Kuchelhorn: * Passauerkopf: * Grießener Hochbrett: * Signalkopf: * Großes Rothorn: * Dürrkarhorn: * Hochzint: * Mitterhorn: * Fahnenköpfl: * Brandhorn:

Tourism

Alpine Club huts

In the Leogang Mountains there are only two mountain huts. They belong to the DAV - Deutscher Alpenverein - German Alpine Club but are operated by local Austrians. The DAV operates a Recripical Rights system so that OEVA - Austrian Alpine Club member discounts, were applicable, can be enjoyed. * ''Lamprechtsofen-Höhlengaststätte'': Height: , only opened during the day in summer and winter, 6 mattress bunks, next to the ''

Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...

'' from Lofer to Saalfelden * '' Passauer Hut'': Height: , open in summer from mid-June to end of September, 45 mattress bunks, winter accommodation with 6 bedspaces, Valley destinations: Leogang, walking time: 2.75 hours.

Mountain huts

* '' Lettlkaser'': height: , open in summer, no winter accommodation, no bedspaces, Valley destinations: Pernerwinkel- Gerstboden (2h walk), Wiesersberg-Gerstboden (2.5h walk), Leogang (2h walk), Mitterbrand (1.5h walk)

References

External links

{{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Northern Limestone Alps Mountain ranges of Salzburg (state) Mountain ranges of Tyrol (state)