The Rax-Schneeberg Group (german: Rax-Schneeberg-Gruppe) 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 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 ...

on the Styrian-

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 ...

n border 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 ...

Location

According to the official classification of the Eastern Alps by the Alpine Club (''

Alpenvereinseinteilung der Ostalpen The Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps (german: Alpenvereinseinteilung der Ostalpen, AVE) is a common division of the Eastern Alps into 75 mountain ranges, based on the Moriggl Classification (ME) first published in 1924 by the German a ...

''), the Rax-Schneeberg Group is bounded by the following divisions to neighbouring groups of mountains: * to the north by the Klostertaler Gscheid – Klausgraben – Mamauwiese – Sebastiansbach – Puchberg * to the northeast by the valley of the River Sierning as far as Ternitz * to the south by the line: Ternitz – Schwarza near

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 ...

–

Schottwien Schottwien is a town in the district of Neunkirchen in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the ...

– Semmering –

Mürzzuschlag Mürzzuschlag is a town in northeastern Styria, Austria, the capital of the former Mürzzuschlag District. It is located on the Mürz river near the Semmering Pass, the border with the state of Lower Austria, about southwest of Vienna. The popu ...

–

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 ...

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 Twin Peak may refer to: *Twin Peaks, television series *The Twins, two mountains in Canada known as: **North Twin Peak **South Twin Peak See also * Twin peak * Double summit A double summit, double peak, twin summit, or twin peak refers to a m ...

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

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

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 The First Vienna Mountain Spring Pipeline (I. Wiener Hochquellenwasserleitung) is a major part of Vienna's water supply and was the first source of safe drinking water for that city. The 95 km long line was opened on 24 October 1873, after fo ...

(''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 A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack and pinion, rack rail, usually between the running Track (rail transport)#Rail, rails. The trains are fitted with one or ...

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