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 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 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 ...

. 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"). Reichenau - Raxseilbahn, Kabine und Stütze

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** Bi ...

, 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. Th ...

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 d ...

s offering basic accommodation, were built and are maintained kept by various Austrian Alpine Clubs. They were erected in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Mountain huts

Schwarzau im Gebirge - Rax, Habsburghaus

* 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 The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

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 Steig): Großes Höllental – Dirnbacher Hütte * Göbl-Kühn-Steig: Waxriegelhaus – Neue Seehütte * Gamsecksteig: Nasskamm – Grasboden Alm *

Gretchen Gretchen (, ; literal translation: "Little Grete" or "Little Greta") is a female given name of German origin that is mainly prevalent in the United States. Its popularity increased because a major character in Goethe's ''Faust'' (1808) has th ...

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 ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...

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