The Kamnik–Savinja Alps () are a mountain range of the
Southern Limestone Alps
The Southern Limestone Alps (, ), also called the Southern Calcareous Alps, are the mountain range, ranges of the Eastern Alps south of the Central Eastern Alps mainly located in northern Italy and the adjacent lands of Austria and Slovenia. The ...
. They lie in northern
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
, except for the northernmost part, which lies in
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 ...
.
The western part of the range was named the Kamnik Alps () in 1778 by the scientists
Belsazar Hacquet
Belsazar de la Motte Hacquet (also Balthasar or Balthazar Hacquet) ( – 10 January 1815) was a Carniolan physician of French people, French descent in the Enlightenment Era. He was a war surgeon, a surgeon in the mining town of Idrija, and a prof ...
and
Franz Xaver von Wulfen, after the town of
Kamnik (''Stein'') in the valley of the
Kamnik Bistrica River. Its eastern part was named the Savinja Alps (''Sanntaler Alpen'') or Solčava Alps (''Sulzbacher Alpen'') by the mountaineer
Johannes von Frischauf in 1875, after the settlement of
Solčava (''Sulzbach'') and the main river, the upper
Savinja
The Savinja () is a river in northeast Slovenia which flows mostly in the Upper and Lower Savinja Valley () and through the cities of Celje and Laško. The Savinja is the main river of the Savinja Alps (Sln. ''Savinjske Alpe''). It flows into ...
(''Sann'').
Geography
The Kamnik–Savinja Alps are located south of the
Karawanks range at the border of Austria and Slovenia, stretching from the
Sava River in the west to the Savinja in the east, where the adjacent
Slovenian Prealps with the
Pohorje range, the
Celje
Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...
Hills at the
Dravinja River, as well as the
Sava Hills
The Sava Hills () are the eastern part of the Slovene Prealps. They are oriented in the east-west direction and are located to the north and south of the Sava River in central and eastern Slovenia, among the Ljubljana Basin to the west, the Ce ...
are located. In the northwest, the valley of Vellach Creek (at ) leading to
Bad Vellach is the southernmost point of both the Austrian state of
Carinthia
Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
and Austria as a whole.
The entire main chain is today part of Slovenia. Historically it formed the border between the
Inner Austrian duchies of
Carinthia
Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
,
Styria
Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
, and
Carniola. The
tripoint
A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...
was located at the Carinthia Mount Rinka ().
There is also a small
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
below Mount
Skuta, which is the easternmost glacier in the Southern Alps.
Mountains and passes
The most important peaks are:
*
Grintovec –
*
Kočna –
*
Skuta –
*
Carinthia Mount Rinka –
*
Planjava –
*
Ojstrica –
*
Brana –
*
Kalce Ridge –
*
Cold Mountain –
*
Storžič –
*
Krofička –
In total, 28 peaks surpass 2,000 m. The total area of the Slovene part is about 900 km
2. About three-quarters of the area is covered with forest, and many of the higher peaks are bleak and rocky.
The most important
passes are the
Seebergsattel () between Austrian Carinthia and Slovenia's
Municipality of Jezersko, as well as the
Pavlič Pass. On the Slovenian side, there is a skiing area, whereas tourism in the Vellach Valley focuses on health
spas.
Gallery
Image:Kamniske Alpe.JPG, The Kamnik–Savinja Alps; the highest peak in the picture is Storžič.
Image:Kranj 06.jpg, The Kamnik–Savinja Alps seen from Kranj
Kranj (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fourth-largest city in Slovenia and the largest urban center of the traditional region of Upper Carniola (northwestern Slovenia) and the Slovene Alps. It is located approximately northwest o ...
Image:Kranj 19.jpg, Kranj
Kranj (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fourth-largest city in Slovenia and the largest urban center of the traditional region of Upper Carniola (northwestern Slovenia) and the Slovene Alps. It is located approximately northwest o ...
and the Kamnik–Savinja Alps in background
File:Upper Kamnik valley and Alps.JPG, A portion of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps with the northern suburbs of Kamnik in the foreground
Image:Blick von Kärnten zu den SteinerAlpen.jpg, The Kamnik–Savinja Alps seen from Carinthia
Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
See also
*
List of mountains in Austria
*
List of mountains in Slovenia
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
Kamnik–Savinja Alps on Hiking TrailKamnik-Savinja Alps on kamdoalp.cz - Hikes description, Photos, GPX files to download (en)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamnik-Savinja Alps
Southern Limestone Alps
Mountain ranges of the Alps
Mountain ranges of Carinthia
Mountain ranges of Slovenia
Natura 2000 in Slovenia