Almbach Gorge
The Almbachklamm is a gorge between Ettenberg and Maria Gern in the Berchtesgaden Alps , through which the Almbach flows.
Creation of the Almbach Gorge
The history of the Almbachklamm begins with the melting of the glaciers of the last ice age about 15,000 years ago. The meltwater and later the rainwater cut into the once contiguous old land surfaces of Ettenberg and Maria Gern and separated them.
Coming from a high valley , the Almbach reached the Berchtesgadener Ache as a Seitenbach via a waterfall , then began to cut deeper and deeper. The steep valley flanks and the waterfalls in the lower gorge area are of the youngest age due to their shape. The upper portion of Almbaches between Rauhekopf and Berchtesgaden Hochthron goes into its formation to a system constituted by local glaciers Kar back, which is further divided today by the numerous tributaries and tributaries of Almbaches.
Geotope
The Almbachklamm has been designated as a valuable geotope (geotope number: 172R014) and natural monument by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment .
Flora
The Almbachklamm is a diverse habitat for the flora. At a very short distance there are locations as diverse as the cool and humid ravine forest with ash and sycamore maple next to sunny, warmth-loving snow heather and pine forests; there are also steep, moist crevices where only algae and moss can survive. Another special feature of the flora of the Almbachklamm is due to the geographical conditions. The catchment area of the gorge extends over the tree line up to an altitude of approx. 1900 m. Therefore, plants or their seeds from the higher regions are transported as so-called " floating debris " to the deeper gorge areas , so that plants occur next to each other in a very small space, which would naturally be found at different altitudes. Taken all together, these conditions make the Almbachklamm a particularly diverse habitat for the flora, where lower altitudes and high mountains meet in a very small space. Common species are the hare lettuce ( Prenanthes purpurea ), the Kahle Alpendost ( Adenostyles glabra ) and the dwarf bellflower ( Campanula cochleariifolia ). The Almbachklamm is also one of the few places where the cyclamen ( Cyclamen purpurascens ) is found.
Wildlife
The inaccessible gorge walls offer a wide variety of different habitats for the animal world. Numerous insects and butterfly species populate the higher-lying sunny locations, which are mostly hidden from the visitor or inaccessible. Conversely, those who visited the gorge on foggy, rainy and not too cold days, is certainly the fire salamander encounter: as adult animal he prefers, although the warm moist deciduous forests, on the other hand Salamander females need the flow poorer pools of Almbaches to her in the spring larvae settle. Caddis fly larvae up to one centimeter in size can also be found in quiet places in the streambed throughout the summer . Larger mammals such as the chamois are only brief summer guests in the Almbachklamm; For them it is too cold and too shady here in winter, and the slopes are then also very vulnerable to avalanches.
Rocks of the Almbachklamm
Lime and dolomite are the defining rocks on the Untersberg . The Dachstein limestone forms the steep walls of the Untersberg and the plateau sloping to the northwest . It goes down into a dolomite, in which the remains of the rock-forming marine organisms can often still be seen. This is followed by the thin band of the Raibler layers , which act as water reservoirs and, thanks to their deeper soil formation, enable more lush vegetation. The most common rock in the gorge area is the bright Ramsaudolomite . The dolomite, which is very closely related to lime, has a much higher proportion of magnesium , which makes it hard and brittle and prevents its karstification. However, dolomite is susceptible to mechanical weathering : water bursts the rock when it freezes, resulting in debris. At the beginning of the gorge there are clayey-sandy Werfener layers that become more marl and calcareous upwards, until they finally merge into a dolomite without any sharp border.
Rainfall and runoff
The discharge conditions on the Untersberg are determined by the rock layers . Since the rock has tilted to the northwest, the main drainage also runs in this direction. The Dachstein limestone is deeply criss-crossed with fissures, crevices and caves, the rainwater flows off in the rock. At the northern foot of the Untersberg it only emerges again and is also used there for the water supply to Salzburg . The Raibler layers beneath the thin dolomite act as water reservoirs. There are therefore smaller springs that drain to the east and south. The catchment area of the Almbach begins here. Surface runoff occurs on the dolomite below; it is criss-crossed by deep gullies and gullies. The Almbach ramifies and drains the former Karboden. Through his incision, he has also opened up the catchment area of the Ludlgraben and part of Ettenberg, the water reaches the Almbach via the Sulzer waterfall . However, the Sulzer waterfall, which has not yet been cut, shows that this only happened a short time ago. In a few thousand years, however, a side ridge of the Almbach will have emerged here.
Hiking trail through the gorge
The 3 km long hiking trail through the gorge was built within a month in 1894 by soldiers of the 2nd and 4th companies of the Ingolstadt Pioneer Battalion. A tunnel , 29 bridges and 320 steps were created to overcome the 200 m difference in height. Floods , which occur especially during the snowmelt and summer storms, destroyed the path several times, the last time on June 26, 1998. The restoration of the paths and bridges cost 400,000 DM at that time. Since 1999 the path through the gorge has been from the beginning of May to the end Open October. A fee will be charged at the Hammerstiel entrance and exit. The gorge is freely accessible from Ettenberg. Due to the danger of avalanches and slippery ice, as well as snow and ice breaking , the gorge is closed to the public in the winter months.
Sights in the gorge
In addition to numerous waterfalls, other interesting structures can be found in the Almbachklamm. At the exit of the gorge, a marble ball mill powered by water power is still in operation. It is the last stone ball mill still in production in Germany. Stone balls and marbles, mainly from Untersberg marble, have been produced here for over 300 years .
In the upper part of the gorge is the Theresienklause , which was named after Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen , Queen of Bavaria. Up to 15,000 m³ of water could be dammed up above the dam of the gorge. During the wood drift , which was carried out in the Almbach Gorge until 1963, a tidal wave was created by opening the lock , which carried logs up to 4.5 m long through the gorge.
Hiking opportunities
- At the end of the Almbachklamm to Theresienklause to Ettenberg, walking time approx. 2.5 hours.
- At the end of the Almbachklamm to Maria Gern and back, walking time approx. 3 hours.
- Almbachklamm to footbridge 19 with a visit to the Sulzer waterfall, walking time approx. 1.5 hours.
opening hours
The opening times are (non-binding and may vary): from the beginning of May to the end of October, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
literature
- Günther Gödde: Interesting facts about the Almbachklamm near Berchtesgaden , Marktschellenberg municipality 1994
- [Ed.] Günther Gödde: Contributions to the drift system in Berchtesgaden. A photo report about the wood drift in the Almbachklamm , Gödde, Berchtesgaden 1994
- Bernhard Kühnhauser: Alpine Club Guide Berchtesgaden Alps with Hochkönig . 20th edition. Bergverlag Rother , Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-7633-1127-9 , pp. 123-127 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bavarian State Office for the Environment, Geotop Almbachklamm W von Kugelmühle (accessed on October 19, 2017).
- ↑ Ursula and Wolfgang Eckert: The Berchtesgadener Land. From the Watzmann to the Rupertiwinkel. Du Mont landscape guide . Du Mont, Cologne 1992, ISBN 3-7701-2514-2 , p. 162
- ↑ Permalink Austrian Library Association
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 40 '12.9 " N , 13 ° 1' 5.8" E