Schneeberg (Rax-Schneeberg Group)

Schneeberg
	East view of the Schneeberg massif with the town of Puchberg am Schneeberg in the foreground
height	2076 m above sea level A.
location	Lower Austria , Austria
Mountains	Rax Schneeberg Group
Dominance	49.3 km → Ringkamp
Notch height	1348 m ↓ Kalte Kuchl
Coordinates	47 ° 46 '33 " N , 15 ° 48' 27" E Coordinates: 47 ° 46 '33 " N , 15 ° 48' 27" E
rock	Wetterstein lime
Age of the rock	Anisium - Carnium
First ascent	1574 Charles de l'Écluse (first known tourist climb)
	View over the high plateau "Ochsenboden" in east direction

The summit region of the Schneeberg seen from Ochsenboden, monastery coat of arms on the left, Kaiserstein on the right

The Schneeberg seen from the Rax; left the highest elevation in Lower Austria: the monastery crest summit

Empress Elisabeth Memorial Church on Schneeberg

Church and mountain station

The Schneeberg is a mountain massif in the Rax-Schneeberg Group in Lower Austria , which is at 2076 m above sea level. A. high monastery coat of arms culminates. It is the highest mountain in Lower Austria and the easternmost and northernmost two-thousand-meter peak in the Alps . Its dominance of almost 50 km is only exceeded in Austria by the Grossglockner . Since 1897 the Schneeberg plateau has been made accessible by the Schneebergbahn with a rack railway.

Location and structure

The striking mountain massif made of Wetterstein limestone with several peaks between 1,800 and 2076 m has steep mountain slopes on three sides and forms a geological unit with the Rax ( 2007 m ) to the west - separated by the deep Höllental . The Hochschneeberg has a double peak: a gentle ridge connects the monastery coat of arms, which is further south-west, with the Kaiserstein ( 2061 m ) immediately above the Fischerhütte . Directly next to the summit on the monastery coat of arms there is a radio relay station of the Austrian Armed Forces for air surveillance.

The strongly structured, karstified plateau has been supplying the Austrian capital with drinking water via the 120 km long I. Vienna High Spring Water Pipeline since 1873 . With a few exceptions (route of the Schneebergbahn, Berghaus Hochschneeberg), the properties on the Schneeberg have belonged to the City of Vienna since 1935 .

Tourist development

Together with the Rax, 13 km southwest ( 2007 m above sea level ), the Schneeberg is one of Vienna's local mountains and on clear days from Vienna (65 km as the crow flies). The mountain has been accessible since 1897 with the Schneebergbahn , a rack railway , up to an altitude of 1796 m . The cogwheel railway takes the “Salamander” diesel multiple unit train to the Hochschneeberg mountain station at 1,800 m above sea level in 40 minutes. At the weekend and on public holidays, it is supplemented by a steam-powered nostalgic train. All trains stop at the middle station ("Baumgartner" stop) to avoid oncoming trains. The catering business at this stop is known for its “ Schneebergbuchteln ”.

The Schneeberg and its surrounding areas are popular family excursion destinations on nice days and are summarized under the term "Schneebergland". The region with and around the Hohe Wand , the Myra Falls and the Johannesbachklamm are also included here.

The two peaks of the Schneeberg can be reached in one to two hours from the mountain station via the Ochsenboden . In 1927 the construction of a cable car to the Schneeberg was considered. The Elisabethkirche is not far from the mountain station of the Schneebergbahn .

In addition to the rack railway line, water and sewage pipes were laid to the mountain station of the railway in 2003. In 2009 the huts (Damböckhaus, Fischerhütte) were also connected. Since the entire limestone stock is an important part of the water protection area of the 1st Vienna High Spring Water Pipeline , the construction of the infrastructure was a big step towards keeping it clean. The supply of electricity and a telephone line could already be achieved in the late 1970s to early 1980s (e.g. Fischerhütte 1981).

The footpath from Puchberg am Schneeberg mainly leads along the route of the rack railway on the south side of the elongated Hengst to the mountain station and on to the summit. This side of the Schneeberg can also be reached from Prigglitz , Payerbach , Reichenau and Kaiserbrunn further south via the Gahns or the Krummbachstein .
From Losenheim west of Puchberg the Fadensteig leads through the north-facing Fadenwand . This leads directly to the Kaiserstein .
From the Höllental in the west, the Schneeberg opens up through the Weichtalklamm (via ferrata, difficulty A – B) or the parallel Ferdinand-Mayr-Weg as well as the Kuhschneeberg.
The climbs through the north-eastern flank of the mountain (Nandlgrat, Novembergrat, Herminensteig, Schneidergraben) place higher demands on the surefootedness and are in places associated with easy climbing. The Bürklesteig and Gamsgartlgrat can only be tackled with climbing equipment.

The most famous ski run leads over the Breite Ries .

The wolf in the Rax-Schneeberg spring protection area

Due to multiple evidence of the presence of wolves in the deserted Rax-Schneeberg spring protection area belonging to the City of Vienna , as well as the related sighting of a male and a female wolf, there is talk of the possibility of a resettlement there. The situation is comparable with the German Lausitz area in the 1990s. After the first wolf immigrated there, increased wolf tourism developed. Sightings of the extremely shy animal by tourists are rare.

With regard to the Rax-Schneeberg spring protection area, the real estate representative for the forestry office of the City of Vienna prepared a specially commissioned Wolf study , Wölfe - Study on behalf of the City of Vienna , which was also distributed to schools.