Ennstal Alps

Ennstal Alps
Highest peak	Hochtor ( 2369  m above sea level )
location	Styria , Upper Austria
Classification according to	AVE 16
Coordinates	47 ° 34 '  N , 14 ° 41'  E Coordinates: 47 ° 34 '  N , 14 ° 41'  E
The Hochtor in the Gesäuse from the east, the Hesshütte in the foreground

The Ennstal Alps are a mountain group of the northern Limestone Alps in the Eastern Alps . Its southern part is geologically assigned to the Grauwackenzone .

The mountain group is largely located in the Austrian state of Styria , only a small part in the northwest is in Upper Austria . The most famous landscape in the Ennstal Alps is the Gesäuse , an impressive breakthrough valley of the Enns through the limestone mountains. Its highest peak is the Hochtor ( 2369  m above sea level ).

Neighboring mountain groups

The Ennstal Alps border the following other sub-groups of the Alps:

• Upper Austrian Pre-Alps (in the north)
• Ybbstal Alps (in the northeast)
• Hochschwab (in the east)
• Lavanttal Alps (in the southeast)
• Seckauer Tauern (in the south)
• Rottenmanner and Wölzer Tauern (in the southwest)
• Dead Mountains (in the west)

topography

View over the ridge of the Admonter Warte (Haller Walls) to the Gesäuse Mountains

The Ennstal Alps are bordered by:

• the Liezen - Pyhrnpass - Windischgarsten line in the west
• the Hengstpass and the Laussabach in the north
• Enns (from Altenmarkt near Sankt Gallen to Hieflau ), Erzbach and Vordernbergerbach in the east
• Mur (from Leoben to St. Michael in Upper Styria ), Liesing and Palten in the south

The following mountain groups are part of the Ennstal Alps:

• Haller Mauern (highest peak: Großer Pyhrgas , 2,244 m)
• Gesäuse mountains with the Buchstein group (2,224 m), Reichenstein group (2,251 m) and Hochtor group ( Hochtor , 2,369 m) and the Lugauer (2,217 m).
• Eisenerzer Alps ( Eisenerzer Reichenstein 2,165 m) with the upstream mountain ranges of Reiting (with the Gößck as the main summit, 2,214 m) in the south and the Kaiserschild (2,105 m) in the north.

The mountain range is broken through by the Enns in the northern part . This section of the valley is called "Gesäuse". The valley is here accompanied by the only road and rail lines that run through the Ennstal Alps.

Settlement is not limited to the Gesäuse with the main towns of Admont , Hieflau and Großreifling ; some mountain valleys are also populated ( Radmer , Johnsbach , St. Gallen ). The cities of Leoben and Liezen as well as Eisenerz are located in the surrounding valleys .

List of peaks by Schartenhöhe

No.	summit	Height (m)	Notch height (m)
1.	Hochtor	2369	1520
2.	Big book stone	2224	1363
3.	Big Pyhrgas	2244	1290
4th	Gßeck	2214	832
5.	Admonter Reichenstein	2251	812
6th	Hochkogel	2105	800
7th	Bosruck	1992	684
8th.	Eisenerzer Reichenstein	2165	660
9.	Lugauer	2217	661
10.	Dürrenschöberl	1737	643
11.	Tamishbach Tower	2035	590
12.	Zeiritzkampel	2125	564
13.	Pleschberg	1720	537
14th	Hochzinödl	2191	492
15th	Great Maiereck	1764	492
16.	Sittlingerkogel	1110	439
17th	Stadelstein	2070	418
18th	Hocheck	1072	398

Geology and formation

The Ennstal Alps consist of two very differently structured sections: The northern part (Haller Mauern and Gesäuseberge) are part of the northern Limestone Alps and are therefore mainly made up of lime. Most of the Eisenerzer Alps belong to the Grauwackenzone , which is at its greatest width here. Accordingly, there are also numerous iron ore deposits here (in the case of Eisenerz and Radmer ).

Partial massifs and hiking trails

Eisenerzer Alps

The Eisenerzer Alps with their main peak, the Eisenerzer Reichenstein (2,165 m), form the southern part of the Ennstal Alps. Its main ridge runs west-east, but the upstream massifs of the Kaiserschild (2,085 m) and the Gößck (2,215 m), the main summit of the Reiting , give it a rhombic floor plan.

Gesäuse

The Gesäuse with its main summit Hochtor forms the northeastern part of the Ennstal Alps.

Hall walls

The Great Pyhrgas from SW

The Haller Walls with their main summit, the Großer Pyhrgas, form the north-western part of the Ennstal Alps.

Long-distance / long-distance hiking trails

Three of the ten Austrian long-distance hiking trails lead through the Ennstal Alps. these are

• the north alpine path 01 ,
• the north-south long-distance hiking trail 05 and
• the Eisenwurzenweg 08

The Via Alpina , a cross-border long-distance hiking trail with five partial routes through the entire Alps, also crosses the Ennstal Alps. The Violette Path of the Via Alpina runs in two stages through the Ennstal Alps as follows:

• Stage A24 from Trieben to Admont via Kaiserau
• Stage A25 from Admont to Spital am Pyhrn via the Rohrauerhaus

literature

• Günter Auferbauer, Luise Auferbauer: Mountain hikes in the Gesäuse. 50 selected hikes as well as a nine-day round trip in the Gesäuse Mountains and Eisenerzer Alps. Gesäuse with the Eisenerzer Alps. 2nd Edition. Bergverlag Rother, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-7633-4213-3 .
• Ernst Kren , Wolfgang Heitzmann: Gesäuse. National Park & ​​Ennstal Alps. Steirische Verlagsgesellschaft, Graz 2002, ISBN 3-85489-081-8 .
• Hubert Wolf, Josef Hasitschka: Gesäuse National Park. Styria, Graz a. a. 2002, ISBN 3-222-12997-5 .

Web links

Commons : Ennstaler Alpen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• http://www.xeis.at/index2.htm Gesäuse
• http://www.nationalpark.co.at/ Gesäuse National Park
• http://www.eisenerz.at/portal.htm Eisenerz
• www.eisenbahnen.at - Gesäuse Photos and map of the railway line through the Gesäuse
• www.eisenbahnen.at - Upper Ennstal Photos and map of the railway line through the Upper Ennstal