The Wechsel is a low

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 eastern

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 ...

whose highest summit is the Hochwechsel (). It also has two other summits over 1700 m. The massif forms the border between the states 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 for about 15 km, southeast of the Semmering and northeast of the

Graz Basin Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

, between the

Feistritz Saddle The Feistritz Saddle (german: Feistritzsattel, elevation 1,298 m) is a high mountain pass in the Austrian Alps between the ''Bundesländer'' of Lower Austria and Styria. The pass leads between the Wechsel (1,743 m) and the Stuhleck (1,784 m). ...

and the eponymous

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places * Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits * Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...

Wechsel The Wechsel is a low mountain range in eastern Austria whose highest summit is the Hochwechsel (). It also has two other summits over 1700 m. The massif forms the border between the states of Lower Austria and Styria for about 15 km, sou ...

Geography

The Wechsel is part of the

Prealps East of the Mur The Prealps East of the Mur (german: Randgebirge östlich der Mur) are the easternmost mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. They comprise the eastern foothills of the Alpine crest beyond the Mur river and the adjacent southeastern Alpine ...

. It is – apart from the

Vienna Woods The Vienna Woods (german: Wienerwald) are forested highlands that form the northeastern foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Lower Austria and Vienna. The and range of hills is heavily wooded and a popular recreation area ...

which are half the height – the easternmost range in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

. Its highest point, at , is the ''Hochwechsel'', formerly called the ''Hoher Umschuss'', at the top of which is the Wetterkoglerhaus, an

Alpine Club hut Alpine club huts (german: Alpenvereinshütten) or simply club huts (''Clubhütten'') form the majority of the over 1,300 mountain huts in the Alps and are maintained by branches, or sections, of the various Alpine clubs. Although the usual English ...

belonging to the Austrian Alpine Club. From there the crest of the mountains runs northwest to the ''Umschußriegel'' (,) continuing to the ''Schöberlriegel'' (), and east to the ''Niederwechsel'' (). The Wechsel is the boundary between the Styrian ''

Joglland The Joglland is a heavily forested low mountain region in northeastern Styria in the districts of Bezirk Hartberg-Fürstenfeld, Hartberg-Fürstenfeld and Bezirk Weiz, Weiz. Today it forms the tourist region of ''Joglland–Waldheimat (Kraftspended� ...

'' and the ''

Bucklige Welt The Bucklige Welt is a region in southeast Lower Austria. It is also known as the "land of a thousand hills" (''Land der 1000 Hügel''). Geography The ''Bucklige Welt'' is a hill country area on the eastern edge of the Alps. Its height varies ...

'', which stretches from the

Vienna Basin The Vienna Basin (german: Wiener Becken, cz, Vídeňská pánev, sk, Viedenská kotlina, Hungarian: ''Bécsi-medence'') is a geologically young tectonic burial basin and sedimentary basin in the seam area between the Alps, the Carpathians and t ...

to the extreme southeast of Lower Austria. To the east this region transitions into the ''

Pinka The Pinka () is a river in Central Europe with a length of approximately . Its basin area is . Its source is located in Styria, eastern Austria, next to the provincial border of Burgenland. It passes into Hungary between the villages of and Fel ...

valley'', the '' Güns Mountains'' and the ''

Pannonian Plain The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only the ...

''. Important settlements at the foot of the Wechsel, which benefit from tourism associated with the mountain, are Aspang, Aspangberg-St. Peter, Dechantskirchen,

Feistritz am Wechsel Feistritz am Wechsel 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, locat ...

, Friedberg, Kirchberg am Wechsel,

Mönichkirchen Mönichkirchen is a market town in the district of Neunkirchen in the south of the Austrian state of Lower Austria with a population of 607 inhabitants (1.1.2013). Geography Mönichkirchen is situated on the east side of the Wechsel mountain ( ...

, Mönichwald,

Pinggau Pinggau is a municipality in the district of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld in Styria, 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 i ...

, Trattenbach, Sankt Corona am Wechsel,

Sankt Jakob im Walde Sankt Jakob im Walde is a municipality in the district of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld in Styria, Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the East ...

, Sankt Lorenzen am Wechsel,

Vorau Vorau is a municipality in the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld District in Styria, Austria. It is home to the Vorau Abbey Vorau Abbey is an abbey of the Austrian Congregation of Canons Regular located in Vorau, Styria, Austria. Founded in 1163, it co ...

, Waldbach and Wenigzell.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Mountain ranges of Lower Austria Mountain ranges of Styria Mountain ranges of the Alps Mountains of Lower Austria Mountains of Styria Mountains of the Alps Neunkirchen District, Austria Prealps East of the Mur Ski areas and resorts in Austria

Geography

References

Further reading

External links