Stol (also Veliki Stol) or Hochstuhl, at , is the highest mountain of the

Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks ( sl, Karavanke; german: Karawanken, ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: ...

and straddles the border between

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and

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 ...

Etymology

The Slovene name ''Veliki Stol'', meaning 'great chair', is derived from the visual appearance of the mountain, especially when seen from the east. The German name ''Hochstuhl'' ('high chair'), was not introduced until the late 19th century. In previous times, the German designation was ''Stou'', a phonetic derivation of the Slovene name.

Geography

The Stol massif stretches from Žirovnica in Slovenia to the Austrian market town of Feistritz im Rosental in the north. The summit is part of the Karawanks main ridge and the watershed between the

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

and

Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

rivers. In the north, the

Dachstein Hoher Dachstein () is a strongly karstic mountain in central Austria and the second-highest mountain in the Northern Limestone Alps. It is situated at the border of Upper Austria and Styria, and is the highest point in each of those states. Pa ...

limestone rocks fall steeply to an over depth. The massif comprises several subpeaks, such as Mali Stol ('Little Chair'), at . In the east, the crest of the Karawanks leads to Mt. Vrtača and further down to

Loibl Pass The Loibl Pass (german: Loiblpass) or Ljubelj Pass ( sl, prelaz Ljubelj) is a high mountain pass in the Karawanks chain of the Southern Limestone Alps, linking Austria with Slovenia. The Loibl Pass road is the shortest connection between the Cari ...

Ascent

The first ascent of the mountain was made on 17 August 1794 by the Carniolan count and mountaineer Franz von Hohenwart (1771–1844) following an invitation from

Sigmund Zois Sigmund Zois Freiherr von Edelstein, usually referred as Sigmund Zois ( sl, Žiga Zois, formerly Slovenized as ''Cojs'' or ''Cojz''; ) (23 November 1747 – 10 November 1819) was a Carniolan nobleman, natural scientist and patron of the arts. He ...

(1747–1819). On 9 September 1906 two climbers first reached the Stol peak via the steep north face. A first

mountain 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 ...

south of the summit was erected by the

Austrian Tourist Club The Austrian Tourist Club (german: Österreichische Touristenklub) or ÖTK is the second oldest and third largest Alpine club in Austria. The foundation of the club goes back to an initiative by Gustav Jäger, publisher of ''Der Tourist'', the f ...

in 1883 and called

Valvasor Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor or Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor ( sl, Janez Vajkard Valvasor, ) or simply Valvasor (baptised on 28 May 1641 – September or October 1693) was a natural historian and polymath from Carniola, p ...

Refuge. The Stou Refuge north of the main ridge was opened by the

German and Austrian Alpine Club The German and Austrian Alpine Club (german: Deutscher und Österreichischer Alpenverein, DuÖAV) was a merger of the German, Austrian and German Bohemian Alpine Club that existed from 1873 to 1938. History In 1862 the ''Sektion Austria'' was fou ...

in 1886. Today there are numerous routes to the summit from Feistritz on the Austrian side via the

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

Lodge (''Klagenfurter Hütte''), built in 1906, as well as routes from Žirovnica in Slovenia, where the Prešeren Lodge (''Prešernova koča''), opened in 1910, stands below the secondary peak of Mali Stol. Both refuges were burned down during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Yugoslav partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

to prevent them from being used as base camps by

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

soldiers. The Klagenfurt Lodge re-opened in 1952 with 24 berths and a dormitory ('' Matratzenlager''); the Prešeren Lodge was rebuilt in 1966, it is nowadays open from mid-June to mid-September. It has 45 berths, a washroom, and two dining rooms with a seating capacity of 80.Slovenian Tourist Board
/ref> The ascent of the 500 m steep slope on the north face of the mountain is climbed by a

via ferrata A via ferrata (Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except n ...

(''Klettersteig'') built by the

Austrian Alpine Club The Austrian Alpine Club (german: Österreichischer Alpenverein) has about 573,000 members in 196 sections and is the largest mountaineering organisation in Austria. It is responsible for the upkeep of over 234 alpine huts in Austria and neighbour ...

in 1966/67, the use of which requires some mountaineering skills.

Gallery

File:Stol-Hochstuhl.jpg, Stol File:Stol Sr Vrh.jpg, Stol from

Begunjščica Begunjščica is a ridge mountain in the Karawanks. It rises from the western Smokuč mountain pasture ( sl, Smokuška planina) to St. Anne () on its eastern side. The mountain has three main peaks, the highest being Big Peak (, ). The western Mi ...

File:Hochstuhl, mountain, austria, summertime.JPG, File:Završnica - Stol 01.jpg

References

External links

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Photos, Route and Description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stol, Karawanks Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Upper Carniola Landforms of Austria Austria–Slovenia border International mountains of Europe Karawanks Two-thousanders of Austria Ridges of Slovenia Two-thousanders of Slovenia