Koralpe

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Koralpe
Map of the Koralpe

Map of the Koralpe

The Koralpe seen from the west

The Koralpe seen from the west

Highest peak Großer Speikkogel ( 2140  m above sea level )
location Styria , Carinthia , Slovenia
Coordinates 46 ° 48 '  N , 14 ° 59'  E Coordinates: 46 ° 48 '  N , 14 ° 59'  E

The Koralpe ( Slovenian Golica ; also Koralm ) is a mountain range of the Lavanttal or Noric Alps in Austria between the Mur and Lavant . The highest peak is the Große Speikkogel at 2140  m above sea level. A.

topography

The Koralpe is bordered in the west by the Lavant valley, in the north by the Packsattel (to the Packalm ), in the east by the West Styrian hill country and in the south by the Soboth , a mountain saddle between the Drautal and Sulmtal . The border between the Austrian federal states of Carinthia and Styria runs along the mountain ridge . Although the highest areas of the mountain range , made up of crystalline rock , are characterized by high mountain character, most of the area is characterized by low mountain ranges .

The most important peaks are:

On the Soboth, in the very south of the mountain range, is the Soboth reservoir , whose water is used to generate electricity in Lavamünd . Here the Koralpe goes into Poßruck or Radlkamm (Slovenian Kozjak ) above. The southern roofing, which is partly in Slovenia , has the character of a low mountain range and is drained through partly canyon-like notch valleys towards the Drava. The highest elevation of the southern roof is the Hühnerkogel (Slovenian Košenjak , 1522  m ) on the border between Carinthia and Slovenia .

The Koralpe area is crossed by the north-south long-distance hiking trail (Austrian long -distance hiking trail 05).

The area east of the Speikkogel with the Seekar and Bärental is a nature reserve. The protected area includes the headwaters of the Seebach, Payerlbach, Karbach and the Schwarzen Sulm, in it is a distribution area of ​​the torrent chamois ( Doronicum cataractarum ), which only occurs on the Koralpe.

Alpine areas on the eastern slope of the Koralpe in the area of ​​the municipality of Schwanberg are protected as landscape protection areas. The protection brings about the preservation of the natural landscape elements and the preservation of the characteristics of the agriculturally shaped cultural landscape, in particular the preservation of landscape elements such as alpine mats, combat forest zones, rubble floors, crooked wood, natural flowing waters with their accompanying vegetation and habitats of wild animal and plant species. The ordinance on this protection was newly issued in 2015, according to which part of the previously protected part, the Glitzalm, no longer belonged to the protected area. It was assumed that this would improve the legal possibilities for the construction of a pumped storage power plant on the Schwarzen Sulm.

geology

The Koralpe consists of a large ceiling unit pushed onto the Stubalpe . Bounded in the west by the Saualpe , the Koralpe disappears in the east under the sediments of the Styrian Basin. In the south, the Koralpen crystal ( old crystal ) continues in the stream of the Bachern ( Pohorje in Slovenian ).

The mountain range was smoothed out by the ice age and erosion. It is made up of metamorphic rocks. Typical are the gneiss slabs , which are mined and marketed under the name “ Stainzer Platten ”. Another specialty are the eclogites that occur in the gneisses .

In the area of ​​the Weinebene pegmatites occur, which contain spodumene , a lithium-containing silicate and form the largest lithium deposit in Europe . Further raw materials found in the mountain range are quartz and marble for glass production, feldspar for the production of porcelain , mica for insulation purposes and hematite .

The depository records show a number of other ore and mineral deposits, such as B. also a gold deposit near Deutschlandsberg.

nature

One of the plant species that can only be found on the Koralpe is the torrent chamois ( Doronicum cataractarum ).

Development

Energy industry

The Koralpe power plant was built as a passive storage power plant in 1987–1991 and expanded into a pumped storage power plant in 2009–2011 . The Soboth reservoir serves as a reservoir . The power station is located near Lavamünd on the Drau . Two more pumped storage power plants are planned: On the Styrian side the Koralm pumped storage power plant , on the Carinthian side a pumped storage power plant in the municipality of Sankt Georgen im Lavanttal .

Mining

In the northern part of the Koralpe there is a deposit of hematite (iron mica) near Waldenstein . This is a common mineral with the main component iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ), which is mined in underground mining. The processing takes place near the mine . Traditional applications are anti-corrosion coatings , more than 95% of the production is exported.

There are lithium deposits in the area of ​​the wine plain. Since this alkali metal is important for photovoltaics and for electric cars , test drilling has been taking place since 2016. A reduction is planned for the 2021st

tourism

Especially the area around the Weinebene , a mountain saddle roughly in the middle of the mountains, is a popular hiking area with many hiking trails and mountain huts . From the Carinthian valley town of Wolfsberg , the Koralpenhaus and the Große Speikkogel can also be reached in an easy hike.

In addition, some small winter sports centers allow you to practice alpine and Nordic skiing .

Due to the local topographical conditions, there are excellent conditions for hang gliding, paragliding and model flying in the Waldrast area (district Wolfsberg-Rieding). From this point, hours of thermal or slope flights can be undertaken from spring to autumn.

Huts

almost all huts are in Styria:

  • Stoffhütte ( 1424  m ): on the way from the Weinebene to the Packsattel (in 2007 only managed to a small extent on a few weekends)
  • Rehbockhütte (Hebalmwirtshaus) ( 1365  m ): on the way from the Weinebene to the Packsattel approx. 1 km north of the Stoffhütte on the Hebalmstraße (connection Deutschlandsberg - Wolfsberg )
  • Freiländeralm-Hütte ( 1415  m ): about 2 km north of the Rehbockhütte, only managed during the alpine season (spring to autumn)
  • Grünangerhütte ( 1580  m ): on the way from Glashütten to the Großer Speikkogel, at the hut on the way to Bärental, the “Reiner Bründl” in memory of Sepp Reiner, the main collaborator in the extension of the hut in 1979.
  • Koralpenhaus ( 1966  m ): in Carinthia, just below the summit of the Großer Speikkogel
  • Glashütte ( 1314  m ): near the Soboth
  • Godingerhütte ( 1650  m ): hut of the SC Eitweg / Koralpe, to be reached via the Panoramaweg from the Koralpen car park
  • Grillitschhütte , formerly “Schafhütte” ( 1710  m ): on the Carinthian side between the Grosses Speikkogel and the Weinebene, the round building is striking
  • Gundisch Hut ( 1435  m ): right on the hiking trail from Speikkogel towards Soboth reservoir, Alm and bar during the summer months
  • Schwanberger Brendlhütte (approx. 1500  m ): Directly on the hiking trail from St. Anna towards the Großer Speikkogel
  • Großhöllerhütte at the Großer Kar ( 1790  m ): above the Poms waterfall in Carinthia

Ski area

The Koralpe is also a well-known ski area in the Lavant Valley . There is a four-person chair lift, four surface lifts, a practice lift and a conveyor belt. The ski area extends from 1550 to 2070  m above sea level with 28 km of ski slopes.

traffic

Exploration tunnel for the future Koralm tunnel

Lead from Carinthia to Styria (order from north to south):

as well as the Koralm railway, which is under construction

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "Koralm" in State Law Gazette No. 37/2005.
  2. ↑ Seekar-Bärental Nature Reserve (accessed June 30, 2015).
  3. ↑ Ordinance of the Styrian state government of June 11, 2015 on the declaration of areas of the Koralpe as landscape protection area No. 1, Styrian State Law Gazette No. 43/2015, issued on June 15, 2015.
  4. ^ Weekly newspaper Weststeirische Rundschau. Volume 88, No. 26, June 26, 2015, p. 1.
  5. ↑ Leopold Weber (Ed.): Handbook of the deposits of ores, industrial minerals and energy resources of Austria. Explanations of the metallogenetic map of Austria 1: 500,000 including industrial minerals and energy resources. (= Archive for deposit research. Volume 19). Geologische Bundesanstalt, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-900312-98-2 , p. 25. (List of the processed raw material deposits , sorted according to ÖK sheets ( PDF ; 43 MB))
  6. ^ IK Ferguson: Doronicum L. In: Thomas Gaskell Tutin and others: Flora Europaea . Volume 4, Cambridge University Press, 1976, ISBN 0-521-08717-1 , pp. 190-191.
  7. ↑ EIA negotiations on Koralm power plant started. In: ORF . October 8, 2018, accessed October 8, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Thomas Martinz: Mega power plant creates mega skepticism. In: Courier . February 6, 2017, accessed October 8, 2018 .
  9. ↑ The iron mica mining Waldenstein (pdf). (PDF) (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on December 30, 2018 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.kmi.at
  10. ^ Kärntner Montanindustrie (KMI), company presentation. (PDF) (No longer available online.) 2018, formerly in the original ; accessed on December 30, 2018 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.kmi.at
  11. ↑ Der Standard, Carinthian lithium deposits greater than expected. January 23, 2017, accessed December 30, 2018 .
  12. ^ ORF Carinthia, plans for lithium mining are becoming more concrete. June 18, 2018, accessed December 30, 2018 .
  13. ^ Weekly newspaper Weststeirische Rundschau. Volume 83, No. 12, March 26, 2010, p. 4.

See also

Commons : Koralpe  - collection of images, videos and audio files