The Rax-Schneeberg Group (german: Rax-Schneeberg-Gruppe) is a
mountain range in the
Northern Limestone Alps on the
Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
n-
Lower Austrian border in
Austria.
Location
According to the official classification of the Eastern Alps by the Alpine Club (''
Alpenvereinseinteilung der Ostalpen''), the Rax-Schneeberg Group is bounded by the following divisions to neighbouring groups of mountains:
* to the north by the
Klostertaler Gscheid
The Klostertaler Gscheid is a high mountain pass
A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key r ...
– Klausgraben – Mamauwiese – Sebastiansbach –
Puchberg
* to the northeast by the valley of the River
Sierning
Sierning is a municipality in the district of Steyr-Land in the Austrian state of Upper Austria.
Geography
Sierning is located between the city of Steyr and the health resort Bad Hall
Bad Hall () is a market town in the Steyr-Land district of th ...
as far as
Ternitz
Ternitz is a town and municipality (14,823 inhabitants end 2014) in the district of Neunkirchen in the Austrian state of Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of ...
* to the south by the line: Ternitz –
Schwarza near
Gloggnitz –
Schottwien –
Semmering –
Mürzzuschlag –
Mürz near
Kapellen
* to the west by the Altenberg valley – Naßkamm – Naßbach –
Schwarza – Voisbach as far as the Klostertaler Gscheid.
Summits
The highest point in the limestone massif of the
Schneeberg is the ''Klosterwappen'' at . Its nearby
twin peak is known as the ''
Kaiserstein'' (). The two summits are the highest mountains in the state of Lower Austria. The highest two elevations in the
Rax
The Rax is a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps on the border of the Austrian federal provinces of Lower Austria and Styria. Its highest peak is the ''Heukuppe'' (2,007 m). The Rax, together with the nearby Schneeberg, are a tradition ...
massif are the ''
Heukuppe'' at 2,007 m and the ''Scheibwaldhöhe'' at 1,943 m.
Other peaks are the Große Scheibe (1,473 m), the Tratenkogel (1,565 m), the Ochnerhöhe (1,403 m) and the Kreuzberg (1,084 m).
Protected areas
The Rax Alpine region, together with the Schneealpe and Schneeberg belong to the river source protected area (''Quellschutzgebiet'') of the
First Vienna Mountain Spring Pipeline (''I. Wiener Hochquellenwasserleitung''). The Schneeberg and Rax are separated by the
Höllental valley and are two of
Vienna's "local mountains" or ''Hausberge''.
The Schneeberg and Rax lie within the Northeastern Border Alps: Hohe Wand-Schneeberg-Rax Special Area of Conservation (''FFH-Gebiet Nordöstliche Randalpen: Hohe Wand-Schneeberg-Rax'').
Natura_2000_FFH_Gebiet_Nordoestliche_Randalpen_Hohe_Wand_Schneeberg_Rax.pdf FFH - Gebiet Nordöstliche Randalpen: Hohe Wand - Schneeberg - Rax
'' niederoesterreich.gv.at (pdf)
Schneeberg Railway
The Schneeberg has been linked for over 100 years by the
Schneeberg Railway (''Schneebergbahn''), a
cog railway that climbs to a height of 1,800 m. The twin peaks may be reached from the valley station in one to two hours. The footpath runs eastwards over the ''Hengst'' or westwards through the ''Fadenwände.''
There are trails to the Rax from the mountain spa of
Puchberg am Schneeberg, and from the wild ''
Höllental'' valley to the south. In addition the Schneeberg may be approached from
Payerbach,
Prigglitz and
Reichenau via the ''
Gahns''.
References
External links
Bergsteigen.at: information about scrambling tours and huts in the Schneeberg/Rax region
{{Northern Limestone Alps
Mountain ranges of the Alps
Northern Limestone Alps
Mountain ranges of Lower Austria
Mountain ranges of Styria