The Kaiser Mountains (, meaning ''Emperor Mountains'') are a mountain range in the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (), 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 Germany. The distinction from the ...

and

Eastern Alps The Eastern Alps are usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley, up to the Splügen Pass at the Main chain of the Alps, Alpine divide, and down the Liro (Como), Liro River to Lake Como in the south. ...

. Its main ridges – are the Zahmer Kaiser and south of it the Wilder Kaiser. The mountains are situated in the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n province of

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

between the towns of

Kufstein Kufstein (; ) is a town in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the administrative seat of Kufstein District. With a population of about 20,000 it is the second largest Tyrolean town after the state capital Innsbruck. The greatest landmark is Kufstein For ...

and St. Johann in Tirol. The Kaiser Mountains offer some of the loveliest scenery in all the Northern Limestone Alps. Reynolds, Kev (2005). ''Walking in the Alps'', 2nd ed., Cicerone, Singapore, p. 430, .

Divisions

The Kaiser Mountains are divided into the Wilder Kaiser or Wild Kaiser chain of mountains, formed predominantly of bare

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

rock, and the Zahmer Kaiser ("Tame Kaiser"), whose southern side is mainly covered by

mountain pine ''Pinus mugo'', known as dwarf mountain pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, Swiss mountain pine, bog pine, creeping pine, or mugo pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and So ...

. These two mountain ridges are linked by the 1,580-metre-high Stripsenjoch pass, but are separated in the west by the valley of

Kaisertal The Kaisertal (formerly ''Sparchental'') is a striking mountain valley between the mountain chains of the Zahmer and Wilder Kaiser in Austria's Kaisergebirge range in the Tyrol (state), Tyrol. In the ravine (''Sparchenklamm'') on the valley flo ...

and in the east by the Kaiserbach valley. In total the Kaiser extends for about in an east-west direction and about from north to south, giving a total area of some . The Zahmer Kaiser only just breaks through the 2,000 metre barrier (in the Vordere Kesselschneid). The highest elevation in the Wilder Kaiser is the Ellmauer Halt in the borough of Kufstein at . There are around forty other summits, including many well-known climbing peaks such as the Karlspitzen, Totenkirchl, Fleischbank, Predigtstuhl, Goinger Halt, Ackerlspitze and Maukspitze. Kaiser pano 1

Nature reserve

As early as the 1920s individual nature lovers, including the "Emperor Pope", Franz Nieberl, called for greater protection of the unique natural region of the Kaiser. The primary aim of this protection was to prevent over development of the Kaiser Mountains by cable cars and roads. In those days such ideas were unsuccessful. In 1961, following a referendum, it was decided to establish a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

, which was officially opened on 19 April 1963. The reserve, which covered all the peaks of the Wilder and Zahmer Kaiser, has an area of and lies within the territories of the municipalities of Kufstein, St. Johann in Tirol, Ebbs, Ellmau, Going, Kirchdorf in Tirol, Scheffau and

Walchsee Walchsee is a municipality in the Austrian state of Tyrol in the Kufstein district The Bezirk Kufstein is an administrative district (bezirk) in Tyrol, Austria. It borders Bavaria (Germany) in the north, the Kitzbühel district in the southeast, ...

. The height of the nature reserve's terrain ranges from 480 m up to 2344 m at the summit of the Ellmauer Halt. The only man-made lift in the protected area is the chair lift to the Brentenjoch saddle. Other lift projects were not realized because of the nature reserve. For a long time, the construction of a road into the Kaisertal valley was hotly contested as it was the only inhabited valley in Austria without road access. The Kaisertal road, which now runs from Ebbs through the Anna Tunnel (813 m long) into the Kaisertal, was opened on 31 May 2008. It was built by the parish of Ebbs as a private road for use only by a very narrow group of beneficiaries: residents, farmers, authorities and organisations with safety functions. The

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

of the nature reserve is very rich. In the Kaiser Mountains there are about 940 different flowering plants, 38 different species of

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

and over 400 different

mosses Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ho ...

. The colonies of

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

are very rich, with 100 and 236 different

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

respectively being represented. The forest region comprises mainly mixed forest with

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

and

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

. In the submontane area there are also ash and sycamore maple, and, in sunny areas,

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

. Hay meadows, poor grassland and pastures are typical of the

alpine meadows Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

. In the

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

region we find the typical dwarf shrub types such as

and alpenrose, and the rare dwarf alpenrose. Alpine ''polsterrasen'' ("cushion grasslands") are found all the way up to the summit areas. There are various

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s also stocked with typical plants. As a product of

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

processes the Kaiser is also home to a number of rare, partly endemic invertebrates, such as ''Allobobophora smaragdina'' (a yellow-green

earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...

), a door snail, and a number of

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s and

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

. Typical

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

s are the alpine and

fire salamander The fire salamander (''Salamandra salamandra'') is a common species of salamander found in Europe. It is black with yellow spots or stripes to a varying degree; some specimens can be nearly completely black while on others the yellow is dominant ...

s, smooth snake,

viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

(unusual color variants),

edible dormouse ''Glis'' is a genus of rodent that contains two extant species, both known as edible dormice or fat dormice: the European edible dormouse ''(Glis glis'') and the Iranian edible dormouse (''Glis persicus''). It also contains a number of fossil spe ...

hazel dormouse The hazel dormouse or common dormouse (''Muscardinus avellanarius'') is a small dormouse species native to Europe and the only living species in the genus ''Muscardinus''. Distribution and habitat The hazel dormouse is native to northern Europe ...

and

bank vole The bank vole (''Clethrionomys glareolus'') is a small vole with red-brown fur and some grey patches, with a tail about half as long as its body. A rodent, it lives in woodland areas and is around in length. The bank vole is found in much of Eu ...

. In higher regions there are

chamois The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpa ...

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...

, snow vole and

mountain hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a species of Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution ...

. Typical

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

are

wood warbler The wood warbler (''Phylloscopus sibilatrix'') is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asian Russia in the southern Ural Mountains. This warbler is stro ...

, the red-breasted flycatcher (for

North Tyrol North Tyrol, rarely North Tirol (), is the main part of the Austrian federal state Tyrol, located in the western part of the country. The other part of the federal state is East Tyrol, which also belongs to Austria, but doesn't share a border wi ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

), alpine chough,

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

, crag martin, alpine willow tit, lesser redpoll (''Carduelis linaria rufescens''), alpine accentor, alpine wallcreeper and

black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large Aves, bird in the grouse family. It is a Bird migration, sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in m ...

capercaillie ''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse. Feathers from the bird were used to create the characteristic hat of the bersaglieri, an Italian ace infantry formation. ...

and

rock ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in Europe. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿ� ...

. Raptors occurring in the Kaiser are the northern goshawk,

Eurasian sparrowhawk The Eurasian sparrowhawk (''Accipiter nisus''), also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred ...

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

tawny owl The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is a stocky, medium-sized owl in the family Strigidae. It is commonly found in woodlands across Europe, as well as western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. The tawny owl' ...

, pygmy owl and Tengmalm's owl.

Geology and hydrology

The Kaiser is part of the

and consists mainly of Wetterstein limestone and dolomite. The Wetterstein limestone has a maximum thickness of about 1000 m, which corresponds to the maximum height of the rock faces (''Felsabbrüche'') of the Kaiser. The younger dolomites are mainly found in the valley hollows. Extensive moraine fields are a remnant of the

Würm glaciation The Würm glaciation or Würm stage ( or ''Würm-Glazial'', colloquially often also ''Würmeiszeit'' or ''Würmzeit''; cf. ice age), usually referred to in the literature as the Würm (often spelled "Wurm"), was the last glacial period in the ...

. The Kaiser Mountains are drained in the west by the Sparchenbach, which flows through the Kaisertal and later empties into the

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

; in the east by the Kaiserbach, which flows through the Kaiserbachtal and discharges into the Großache which in turn flows into the

Chiemsee Chiemsee () is a freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany, near Rosenheim. It is often called "the Bavarian Sea". The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien (river), Prien flow into the lake from the south, and the river Alz flows out towards the north. The ...

lake; in the north by the Weissenbach and in the south, in the area west of the so-called ''Ellmauer Tor'', by the Weißache - which also drains into the Inn; and to the east of the ''Ellmauer Tor'' (watershed) by the Goinger Hausbach and Rettenbach, both of which flow into the Reither Ache, another tributary of the Großache. Between Fleischbank and the Goinger Halt is a small cirque glacier that will probably disappear soon as average temperatures rise. In the far west of the mountain range is Lake Hinterstein which is used as a bathing lake.

History

The first dated evidence of human settlement in the Kaiser Mountains goes back 4000 to 5000 years. These are discoveries of the remains of

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

hunters in the Tischofer Cave. Other discoveries have revealed the presence of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

settlers in the cave. Documentary evidence of human settlement in the Kaisertal in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

date back at least to 1430. There is a purchase agreement from that year for a farm called ''Hinterkaiser''. The name "Kaiser" for the area is older and already appears by 1240 in a Kitzbühel directory of goods which speaks of a ''Gamsgiayt an dem Chaiser''. In 1611 there is an annotation to a picture in the maps of Matthias Burgklehner that states ''"There is in the dominion of Kufstein the Kayser, a very high mountain range, which is just like an imperial crown, on account of its many peaks, and also because it appears from an altitude and miles away as if it is round and crowned."'' (original: ''"Es ist in der Herrschaft Khueffstein der Kayser, ein sehr hoches Gepürg, so einer kaiserlichen Cron gleich ist, seiner vilfeltigen Zinggen halber, dann auch, dass er in der Heche vil Meils Wegs weit, als ob er rund und gekrönt ware, gesehen wird."'') The touristic development of the Kaiser began in the second half of the 19th century. Most of the documented first ascents of its summits date from that time until the turn of the century. It is likely, however, that most of the peaks had already been climbed from time to time by local herders and poachers, without any records having been kept. The time from the late 19th century to the First World War was a period when the limestone faces of the Wilder Kaiser were the cradle of Munich's climbing scene, when well-known climbing pioneers like Hans Dülfer developed entirely new

climbing technique Climbing technique refers to a broad range of physical movements used in the activity or sport of climbing. Notable sub-groups of climbing technique include: *Aid climbing technique as is used in aid climbing *Big wall climbing technique as is ...

s and styles. Other well-known climbers from various periods who opened new routes on the Kaiser are Paul Preuss, Matthias Rebitsch, Hermann Buhl, and

Alexander Huber Alexander Huber (born 30 December 1968) is a German rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of rock climbing. Huber came to prominence in the early 1990s as the world's strongest sport c ...

. The sometimes highly technology-centric climbing styles and techniques developed mainly before the First World War influenced climbing in the Kaiser until the 1960s. In 1977, grade VII climbing was introduced with the free ascent of the ''Pumprisse'' by Reinhard Karl and Helmut Kiene on the Fleischbank. In the 1970s and 1980s a whole range of sometimes extremely difficult sport climbing routes were opened in the Kaiser mountains. The most difficult currently is "The Emperor's New Clothes" route (''Des Kaisers neue Kleider'', grade X+) by Stefan Glowacz on the Fleischbank pinnacle.

Important peaks and routes in the Wilder Kaiser

Gallery

File:Wilder_kaiser_nordwand.jpg, Wilder Kaiser, north side (Scheffauer) File:Wilder_kaiser.jpg, Wilder Kaiser, south side File:Kaisergebirge-von-Osten.jpg, Wilder Kaiser, east side File:Zahmer Kaiser Oberaudorf-1.jpg, The Zahmer Kaiser seen from

Oberaudorf Oberaudorf () is a municipality in the district of Rosenheim (district), Rosenheim in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the river Inn (river), Inn. Oberaudorf is the birthplace of Maria Ratzinger (née Peintner), the mother of German Pope Benedict XVI ...

Important peaks in the Zahmer Kaiser

* Vordere Kesselschneid () * Pyramidenspitze () * Roßkaiser () * Elferkogel () * Jovenspitze () * Feldberg () * Stripsenkopf () * Petersköpfl () * Naunspitze ()

Neighbouring mountain groups

The Kaiser borders on the following other mountain groups in the Alps: *

Chiemgau Alps The Chiemgau Alps () are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and belong to the Eastern Alps. They are crossed by the Austria–Germany border: their major part is situated in Bavaria, Germany, and only a small section is within the ...

(to the north) * Loferer Steinberge (to the east) * Kitzbühel Alps (to the south) * Rofan (to the southwest) * Bavarian Pre-Alps (to the northwest)

Mountain huts

* Alpine Club huts: Vorderkaiserfelden Hut, Anton Karg Haus/

Hinterbärenbad The Anton Karg Haus, formerly the Neue Hinterbärenbad Hut, is an Alpine club hut belonging to the Kufstein Section of the Austrian Alpine Club in the Kaisergebirge mountains in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol. The hut is named afte ...

, Stripsenjochhaus, Gaudeamus Hut, Grutten Hut, Fritz Pflaum Hut, Ackerl Hut * Private huts: Berghaus Aschenbrenner, Brentenjoch Hut, Hans Berger Haus, Griesner Alm, Kaindl Hut, Pfandlhof, Riedl Hut, Rietzaualm, Veitenhof, Walleralm, Weinbergerhaus, Wochenbrunner Alm

Valley settlements

, Ebbs, Durchholzen,

Kiefersfelden Kiefersfelden is a municipality with about 7000 inhabitants located in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria, Germany, on the border with Tyrol, Austria. Geography Geographical location Kiefersfelden is located in the foothills of the Alps, in t ...

, Kössen, Schwendt, Kirchdorf in Tirol, St. Johann in Tirol, Going, Ellmau, Scheffau, Söll

References

Literature

* Schubert, Pit (2000). ''( Alpenvereinsführer extrem) Kaisergebirge''. Bergverlag Rother. . * Höfler, Horst and Piepenstock, Jan (2006). ''( Alpenvereinsführer alpin) Kaisergebirge''. Bergverlag Rother. . * Stadler, Markus (2009). ''Kletterführer Wilder Kaiser, Vol 1 (Niveau 3-6)''. Panico-Alpinverlag, 3rd ed. . * Stadler, Markus (2004). ''Kletterführer Wilder Kaiser, Vol 2 (Niveau 6-10)''. Panico-Alpinverlag, 1st ed. . * Stadler, Markus, Strauß Andrea and Andreas (2009). Bildband ''Kaisergebirge''. Bergverlag Rother, 1st ed. . {{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Northern Limestone Alps Mountain ranges of Tyrol (federal state) Kitzbühel District Ramsar sites in Austria