Kaisergebirge
Encyclopedia
The Kaisergebirge is a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps
and Eastern Alps.
It consists of two main mountain ridges – the Zahmer Kaiser to the north and the Wilder Kaiser to the south. The entire range is situated in the Austria
n state of Tyrol
between the town of Kufstein
and the market town of St. Johann in Tirol
. The Kaisergebirge offers some of the loveliest scenery in all the Northern Limestone Alps.
rock, and the Zahmer Kaiser, whose southern side is mainly covered by mountain pine
. These two mountain ridges are linked by the 1580 m high Stripsenjoch
pass, but are separated in the west by the valley of Kaisertal
and in the east by the Kaiserbach valley
. In total the Kaisergebirge extends for about 20 km in an east-west direction and about 14 km from north to south, giving a total area of some 280 square kilometres (108.1 sq mi). The Zahmer Kaiser only just breaks through the 2,000 metre barrier (in the Vordere Kesselschneid
). The highest elevation in the Wilder Kaiser is the Ellmauer Halt
in the borough of Kufstein at 2344 metres (7,690.3 ft). There are around forty other summits, including many well-known climbing peaks such as the Karlspitzen
, Totenkirchl
, Fleischbank
, Predigtstuhl
, Goinger Halt
, Ackerlspitze
and Maukspitze
.
, which was officially opened on 19 April 1963. The reserve, which covered all the peaks of the Wilder and Zahmer Kaiser, has an area of 102 sqkm and lies within the territories of the municipalities of Kufstein, St. Johann in Tirol, Ebbs
, Ellmau
, Going
, Kirchdorf in Tirol
, Scheffau
and Walchsee
. The height of the nature reserve's terrain ranges from 480 m up to 2344 m at the summit of the Ellmauer Halt. The only man-made lift in the protected area is the chair lift to the Brentenjoch saddle. Other lift projects were not realized because of the nature reserve. For a long time, the construction of a road into the Kaisertal valley was hotly contested as it was the only inhabited valley in Austria without road access. The Kaisertal road, which now runs from Ebbs through the Anna Tunnel (813 m long) into the Kaisertal, was opened on 31 May 2008. It was built by the parish of Ebbs as a private road for use only by a very narrow group of beneficiaries: residents, farmers, authorities and organisations with safety functions.
The flora
and fauna
of the nature reserve is very rich. In the Kaisergebirge there are about 940 different flowering plants, 38 different species of fern
and over 400 different mosses. The colonies of fungi and lichen
are very rich, with 100 and 236 different species
respectively being represented. The forest region comprises mainly mixed forest with beech
, fir
and spruce
. In the submontane area there are also ash and sycamore maple
, and, in sunny areas, alder
. Hay meadows, poor grassland and pastures are typical of the alpine meadows
. In the subalpine
region we find the typical dwarf shrub types such as mountain pine
and Alpenrose, and the rare Dwarf Alpenrose. Alpine
polsterrasen ("cushion grasslands") are found all the way up to the summit areas. There are various wetland
s also stocked with typical plants. As a product of ice age
processes the Kaisergebirge is also home to a number of rare, partly endemic invertebrates, such as Allobobophora smaragdina (a yellow-green earthworm
), a door snail, and a number of spider
s and butterflies. Typical vertebrate
s are the Alpine
and Fire Salamander
s, Smooth Snake
, Viper
(unusual color variants), Edible Dormouse
, Hazel Dormouse
and Bank Vole
. In higher regions there are Chamois
, Stoat
, Snow Vole
and Mountain Hare
. Typical birds are Wood Warbler
, the Red-breasted Flycatcher
(for North Tyrol
endemic), Alpine Chough
, Raven
, Crag Martin, Alpine Willow Tit
, Lesser Redpoll
(Carduelis linaria rufescens), Alpine Accentor
, Alpine wallcreeper
and Black Grouse
- Capercaillie and Rock Ptarmigan. Raptors
occurring in the Kaisergebirge are the Northern Goshawk, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Golden Eagle
, Tawny Owl
, Pygmy Owl and Tengmalm's Owl
.
and consists mainly of Wetterstein limestone
and dolomite
. The Wetterstein limestone has a maximum thickness of about 1000 m, which corresponds to the maximum height of the rock faces (Felsabbrüche) of the Kaisergebirge. The younger dolomites are mainly found in the valley hollows. Extensive moraine fields are a remnant of the Würm glaciation. The Kaisergebirge is drained in the west by the Sparchenbach, which flows through the Kaisertal and later empties into the Inn; in the east by the Kaiserbach, which flows through the Kaiserbachtal and discharges into the Großache
which in turn flows into the Chiemsee
lake; in the north by the Weissenbach and in the south, in the area west of the so-called Ellmauer Tor, by the Weißache
- which also drains into the Inn; and to the east of the Ellmauer Tor (watershed) by the Goinger Hausbach and Rettenbach, both of which flow into the Reither Ache, another tributary of the Großache. Between Fleischbank and the Goinger Halt is a small cirque glacier
that will probably disappear soon as average temperatures rise. In the far west of the mountain range is Lake Hinterstein which is used as a bathing lake.
hunters in the Tischofer Cave
. Other discoveries have revealed the presence of Bronze Age
settlers in the cave. Documentary evidence of human settlement in the Kaisertal in the Middle Ages
date back at least to 1430. There is a purchase agreement from that year for a farm called Hinterkaiser. The name "Kaiser" for the area is older and already appears by 1240 in a Kitzbühel directory of goods which speaks of a Gamsgiayt an dem Chaiser. In 1611 there is an annotation to a picture in the maps of Matthias Burgklehner that states "There is in the dominion of Kufstein the Kayser, a very high mountain range, which is just like an imperial crown, on account of its many peaks, and also because it appears from an altitude and miles away as if it is round and crowned." (original: "Es ist in der Herrschaft Khueffstein der Kayser, ein sehr hoches Gepürg, so einer kaiserlichen Cron gleich ist, seiner vilfeltigen Zinggen halber, dann auch, dass er in der Heche vil Meils Wegs weit, als ob er rund und gekrönt ware, gesehen wird.")
The touristic development of the Kaisergebirge began in the second half of the 19th century. Most of the documented first ascents of its summits date from that time until the turn of the century. It is likely, however, that most of the peaks had already been climbed from time to time by locals, without any records having been kept.
The time from the late 19th century to the First World War was a period when the limestone faces of the Wilder Kaiser were the cradle of Munich's climbing scene, when well-known climbing pioneers like Hans Dülfer
developed entirely new climbing technique
s and styles.
The sometimes highly technology-centric climbing styles and techniques developed mainly before the First World War influenced climbing in the Kaiser until the 1960s. In 1977, grade VII climbing was introduced with the free ascent of the Pumprisse by Reinhard Karl
and Helmut Kiene on the Fleischbank. In the 1970s and 1980s a whole range of sometimes extremely difficult sport climbing routes were opened in the Kaiser mountains. The most difficult currently is the "The Emperor's New Clothes" route (Des Kaisers neue Kleider, grade X+) by Stefan Glowacz
on the Fleischbank pinnacle.
, Ebbs
, Durchholzen
, Kiefersfelden
, Walchsee
, Kössen
, Schwendt
, Kirchdorf in Tirol
, St. Johann in Tirol
, Going
, Ellmau
, Scheffau
, Söll
Northern Limestone Alps
The Northern Limestone Alps are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the latter group, where the higher peaks are located, is based on differences in geological composition...
and Eastern Alps.
Eastern Alps
Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of the Splügen Pass in eastern Switzerland. North of the Splügen Pass, the Posterior Rhine forms the border, and south of the pass, the Liro river and Lake Como form the boundary line.-Geography:The...
It consists of two main mountain ridges – the Zahmer Kaiser to the north and the Wilder Kaiser to the south. The entire range is situated in the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n state of Tyrol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
between the town of Kufstein
Kufstein
Kufstein is a city in Tyrol, Austria, located along the river Inn, in the lower Inn valley, near the border with Bavaria, Germany, and is the site of a post World War II French sector United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Displaced Persons camp.Kufstein is the second largest city...
and the market town of St. Johann in Tirol
St. Johann in Tirol
-History:St. Johann is situated in the Leukental, which extends from Jochberg to the Streichen close to the Bavarian border. This region was already settled in the 4th century BC by a Celtic tribe, the Ambisontiers, who pursued copper mining in the surrounding mountains.In 15 B.C...
. The Kaisergebirge offers some of the loveliest scenery in all the Northern Limestone Alps.
Divisions
The Kaisergebirge is divided into the Wilder Kaiser chain of mountains, formed predominantly of bare limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
rock, and the Zahmer Kaiser, whose southern side is mainly covered by mountain pine
Mountain Pine
Pinus mugo, the Mountain Pine or Mugo Pine, is a high-altitude European pine, found in the Pyrenees, Alps, Erzgebirge, Carpathians, northern Apennines and Balkan Peninsula mountains from 1,000 m to 2,200 m, occasionally as low as 200 m in the north of the range in Germany and Poland, and as high...
. These two mountain ridges are linked by the 1580 m high Stripsenjoch
Stripsenjoch
The Stripsenjoch is a small mountain pass in Austria with a height of , which forms a bridge between the mountain ridges of the Zahmer Kaiser and the Wilder Kaiser, the two halves of the Kaisergebirge. In addition it marks the watershed between the Kaisertal in the west and the Kaiserbach valley...
pass, but are separated in the west by the valley of Kaisertal
Kaisertal
The Kaisertal is a striking mountain valley between the mountain chains of the Zahmer and Wilder Kaiser in Austria's Kaisergebirge range in the Tyrol. In the ravine on the valley floor flows the stream of the Kaiserbach , which discharges north of Kufstein into the Inn...
and in the east by the Kaiserbach valley
Kaiserbach valley
The Kaiserbach valley is a mountain valley in the Austrian province of Tyrol in the district of Kitzbühel. The Kaiserbach valley runs from Griesenau to Stripsenjoch; it therefore lies in the eastern part of the Kaisergebirge mountains. To the north it is bordered by the Feldberg, which belongs to...
. In total the Kaisergebirge extends for about 20 km in an east-west direction and about 14 km from north to south, giving a total area of some 280 square kilometres (108.1 sq mi). The Zahmer Kaiser only just breaks through the 2,000 metre barrier (in the Vordere Kesselschneid
Vordere Kesselschneid
At the Vordere Kesselschneid is the highest summit in the Kaisergebirge, the northern chain of the Kaisergebirge in the Austrian state of Tyrol....
). The highest elevation in the Wilder Kaiser is the Ellmauer Halt
Ellmauer Halt
The Ellmauer Halt is the highest peak in the mountain massif of the Wilder Kaiser in the Kaisergebirge range in the Austrian state of Tyrol. To the east is the summit of the Kapuzenturm, a striking and isolated rock pinnacle...
in the borough of Kufstein at 2344 metres (7,690.3 ft). There are around forty other summits, including many well-known climbing peaks such as the Karlspitzen
Karlspitzen
The Karlspitzen is a twin-peaked mountain in the middle of the Kaisergebirge range of the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria. The two peaks are the northern Hinteren Karlspitze and the southern Vorderen Karlspitze with its summit cross; they are linked by a sharp, exposed, rocky arête...
, Totenkirchl
Totenkirchl
The Totenkirchl is mountain, 2,190 m high, in the Wilder Kaiser range in the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria, east of Kufstein in Tyrol....
, Fleischbank
Fleischbank (Kaisergebirge)
The Fleischbank is a 2,187 m high mountain in the Wilder Kaiser range in the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria, east of Kufstein in the Tyrol....
, Predigtstuhl
Predigtstuhl (Kaisergebirge)
The Predigtstuhl is a 2,116 m high mountain in the Wilder Kaiser range in the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria, east of Kufstein in the Tyrol.The mountain is one of the well-known climbing mountains in the Northern Limestone Alps...
, Goinger Halt
Goinger Halt
The Goinger Halt is a mountain in the Kaisergebirge range in the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria. It has a double summit: a northern summit to the rear, the Hinterer Goinger Halt , and a higher, southern peak in front, the Vorderer Goinger Halt...
, Ackerlspitze
Ackerlspitze
At 2,329 metres above sea level, the Ackerlspitze is the second highest peak in the Kaisergebirge range in the east of the Austrian state of Tyrol. The mountain is located in the eastern part of the range, also referred to as the Ostkaiser or East Kaiser. To the east it is flanked by the...
and Maukspitze
Maukspitze
The Maukspitze is a high peak in the Kaisergebirge in the Northern Limestone Alps.- Location :The Maukspitze represents the easternmost independent summit of the Kaisergebirge mountains. To the east is the crest of the Niederkaiser, to the west the Maukspitze borders on the Ackerlspitze...
.
Nature reserve
As early as the 1920s individual nature lovers, including the "Emperor Pope", Franz Nieboer, called for greater protection of the unique natural region of the Kaisergebirge. The primary aim of this protection was to prevent over development of the Kaisergebirge by cable cars and roads. In those days such ideas were unsuccessful. In 1961, following a referendum, it was decided to establish a nature reserveNature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
, which was officially opened on 19 April 1963. The reserve, which covered all the peaks of the Wilder and Zahmer Kaiser, has an area of 102 sqkm and lies within the territories of the municipalities of Kufstein, St. Johann in Tirol, Ebbs
Ebbs
Ebbs is a municipality in the Kufstein district and is located7 km north of Kufstein at the border to Bavaria, Germany. The village has 7 parts and was mentioned for the first time as „Episas“ in 788. Rumor has it that settlement already began in the roman age. Main source of income is tourism but...
, Ellmau
Ellmau
Ellmau is a municipality in the district of Kufstein in the Austrian region of Sölllandl. It can be found 12 km southeast of Kufstein as well as 9 km west of Sankt Johann in Tirol. It is located at an elevation of 820 m above sea level. It has a population of 2,660 on an area of...
, Going
Going am Wilden Kaiser
Going am Wilden Kaiser is a municipality in the district of Kitzbühel in the Austrian region of Sölllandl. It is located 8.5 km northwest of Kitzbühel and 5 km west of Sankt Johann in Tirol. The village has 1851 inhabitants, 5 sub-districts and was mentioned as Gouwingen for the first time in 1160....
, Kirchdorf in Tirol
Kirchdorf in Tirol
Kirchdorf in Tirol is a municipality in the Kitzbühel district and is located 12.20 km north of Kitzbühel as well as 3 km north of Sankt Johann in Tirol at the Kitzbühler Ache. The area is the 2nd largest one in size in the district. The village has got its name from an old church which was...
, Scheffau
Scheffau am Wilden Kaiser
Scheffau am Wilden Kaiser is a municipality in the district Kufstein in the Austrian region of the Sölllandl. It is located 8.50 km southeast of Kufstein as well as 13 km northwest of Kitzbühel and has 3 sub-districts. Main source of income is Summer tourism; the village possesses a...
and Walchsee
Walchsee
Walchsee is a municipality in Tyrol, Austria, in the Kufstein district. It is located in the lower Inn valley and belongs to the "Kaiserwinkl" and the "Untere Schranne".-Geography:...
. The height of the nature reserve's terrain ranges from 480 m up to 2344 m at the summit of the Ellmauer Halt. The only man-made lift in the protected area is the chair lift to the Brentenjoch saddle. Other lift projects were not realized because of the nature reserve. For a long time, the construction of a road into the Kaisertal valley was hotly contested as it was the only inhabited valley in Austria without road access. The Kaisertal road, which now runs from Ebbs through the Anna Tunnel (813 m long) into the Kaisertal, was opened on 31 May 2008. It was built by the parish of Ebbs as a private road for use only by a very narrow group of beneficiaries: residents, farmers, authorities and organisations with safety functions.
The flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
of the nature reserve is very rich. In the Kaisergebirge there are about 940 different flowering plants, 38 different species of fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
and over 400 different mosses. The colonies of fungi and lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
are very rich, with 100 and 236 different species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
respectively being represented. The forest region comprises mainly mixed forest with beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
, fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
and spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
. In the submontane area there are also ash and sycamore maple
Sycamore Maple
Acer pseudoplatanus, the sycamore maple, is a species of maple native to central Europe and southwestern Asia, from France east to Ukraine, and south in mountains to northern Spain, northern Turkey, and the Caucasus. It is not related to other trees called sycamore or plane tree in the Platanus...
, and, in sunny areas, alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
. Hay meadows, poor grassland and pastures are typical of the alpine meadows
Alpine Meadows
The term Alpine Meadows may refer to:* Alpine Meadows, California, an unincorporated community in California* Alpine Meadows Lodge, outside Golden, British Columbia* Alpine Meadows Ranch, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Darby, Montana...
. In the subalpine
Subalpine
The subalpine zone is the biotic zone immediately below tree line around the world. Species that occur in this zone depend on the location of the zone on the Earth, for example, Snow Gum in Australia, or Subalpine Larch, Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir in western North America.Trees in the...
region we find the typical dwarf shrub types such as mountain pine
Mountain Pine
Pinus mugo, the Mountain Pine or Mugo Pine, is a high-altitude European pine, found in the Pyrenees, Alps, Erzgebirge, Carpathians, northern Apennines and Balkan Peninsula mountains from 1,000 m to 2,200 m, occasionally as low as 200 m in the north of the range in Germany and Poland, and as high...
and Alpenrose, and the rare Dwarf Alpenrose. Alpine
Altitudinal zonation
Altitudinal zonation in mountainous regions describes the natural layering of ecosystems that occurs at distinct altitudes due to varying environmental conditions. Temperature, humidity, soil composition, and solar radiation are important factors in determining altitudinal zones, which consequently...
polsterrasen ("cushion grasslands") are found all the way up to the summit areas. There are various wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s also stocked with typical plants. As a product of ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
processes the Kaisergebirge is also home to a number of rare, partly endemic invertebrates, such as Allobobophora smaragdina (a yellow-green earthworm
Earthworm
Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
), a door snail, and a number of spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and butterflies. Typical vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s are the Alpine
Alpine Salamander
The Alpine Salamander is a shiny black salamander. It is found in the Central, Eastern and Dinaric Alps, at altitudes above 700 meters. The Western Alps are inhabited by a similar species Salamandra lanzai in only one small area. There are no differences in length between sexes and sex ratio...
and Fire Salamander
Fire Salamander
The fire salamander is probably the best-known salamander species in Europe. It is black with yellow spots or stripes to a varying degree; some specimens can be nearly completely black while on others the yellow is dominant. Shades of red and orange may sometimes appear, either replacing or mixing...
s, Smooth Snake
Smooth Snake
Coronella austriaca is a harmless colubrid species found in northern and central Europe, but also as far east as northern Iran. The EMBL currently recognizes three subspecies, including the typical form described here.-Description:Both sexes grow to an average length of about 50 cm...
, Viper
European viper
European viper may refer to:* Vipera berus, the common European adder, a venomous snake widespread in Europe and Asia.* Vipera aspis, the European asp, a venomous snake found in southwestern Europe....
(unusual color variants), Edible Dormouse
Edible dormouse
The edible dormouse or fat dormouse is a large dormouse and the only living species in the genus Glis.-Description:...
, Hazel Dormouse
Hazel Dormouse
The Hazel Dormouse or Common Dormouse is a small mammal and the only living species in the genus Muscardinus....
and Bank Vole
Bank Vole
The bank vole is a small vole with red-brown fur and some grey patches, with a tail about half as long as its body. A rodent, it lives in woodland areas and is around in length. The bank vole is found in western Europe and northern Asia...
. In higher regions there are Chamois
Chamois
The chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra, is a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand...
, Stoat
Stoat
The stoat , also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip...
, Snow Vole
European Snow Vole
The European Snow Vole or Snow Vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.-Description:...
and Mountain Hare
Mountain Hare
The Mountain Hare , also known as Blue Hare, Tundra Hare, Variable Hare, White Hare, Alpine Hare and Irish Hare, is a hare, which is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. It is distributed from Fennoscandia to eastern Siberia; in addition there are isolated populations in the Alps,...
. Typical birds are Wood Warbler
Wood Warbler
The Wood Warbler is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains...
, the Red-breasted Flycatcher
Red-breasted Flycatcher
The Red-breasted Flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in eastern Europe and across central Asia and is migratory, wintering in south Asia. It is a regular passage migrant in western Europe, whereas the Collared Flycatcher which breeds further west is...
(for North Tyrol
North Tyrol
North Tyrol, or North Tirol is the main part of the Austrian state of Tyrol, located in the western part of the country. The other part of the state is East Tyrol, which also belongs to Austria, but does not share a border with North Tyrol....
endemic), Alpine Chough
Alpine Chough
The Alpine Chough , or Yellow-billed Chough, is a bird in the crow family, one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax. Its two subspecies breed in high mountains from Spain east through southern Europe and North Africa to Central Asia, India and China, and it may nest at a higher altitude...
, Raven
Common Raven
The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
, Crag Martin, Alpine Willow Tit
Willow Tit
The Willow Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and northern Asia. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related Marsh Tit, which explains it breeding much further north...
, Lesser Redpoll
Lesser Redpoll
The Lesser Redpoll is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Carduelis in the finch family, Fringillidae. It is the smallest, brownest and most streaked of the redpolls...
(Carduelis linaria rufescens), Alpine Accentor
Alpine Accentor
The Alpine Accentor, Prunella collaris, is a small passerine bird found throughout the mountains of southern temperate Europe and Asia at heights above 2000 m. It is mainly resident, wintering more widely at lower latitudes, but some birds wander as rare vagrants as far as Great Britain.It is...
, Alpine wallcreeper
Wallcreeper
The Wallcreeper is a small passerine bird found throughout the high mountains of Eurasia. It is the only member of the genus Tichodroma.-Taxonomy and etymology:...
and Black Grouse
Black Grouse
The Black Grouse or Blackgame is a large bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, breeding across northern Eurasia in moorland and bog areas near to woodland, mostly boreal...
- Capercaillie and Rock Ptarmigan. Raptors
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
occurring in the Kaisergebirge are the Northern Goshawk, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
, Tawny Owl
Tawny Owl
The Tawny Owl or Brown Owl is a stocky, medium-sized owl commonly found in woodlands across much of Eurasia. Its underparts are pale with dark streaks, and the upperparts are either brown or grey. Several of the eleven recognised subspecies have both variants...
, Pygmy Owl and Tengmalm's Owl
Tengmalm's Owl
Boreal Owl, Aegolius funereus, is a small owl. It is also known as the Tengmalm's Owl after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm. Other names for the owl include Richardson's Owl, Funeral Owl , Sparrow Owl and Pearl Owl...
.
Geology and hydrology
The Kaiser is part of the Northern Limestone AlpsNorthern Limestone Alps
The Northern Limestone Alps are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the latter group, where the higher peaks are located, is based on differences in geological composition...
and consists mainly of Wetterstein limestone
Wetterstein limestone
Wetterstein limestone and Wetterstein dolomite are the most common names for a carbonate rock from the Middle Triassic epoch of the Ladinian stage, comparable to the German stage in which muschelkalk rock strata were formed....
and dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
. The Wetterstein limestone has a maximum thickness of about 1000 m, which corresponds to the maximum height of the rock faces (Felsabbrüche) of the Kaisergebirge. The younger dolomites are mainly found in the valley hollows. Extensive moraine fields are a remnant of the Würm glaciation. The Kaisergebirge is drained in the west by the Sparchenbach, which flows through the Kaisertal and later empties into the Inn; in the east by the Kaiserbach, which flows through the Kaiserbachtal and discharges into the Großache
Großache
The Großache is a river, long, in the east of the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Bavarian region of Chiemgau.-Names:The river is known by four different names, each applying to a different section of its course: above Kitzbühel it is the Jochberger Ache, from Kitzbühel to St...
which in turn flows into the Chiemsee
Chiemsee
Chiemsee is a freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany, between Rosenheim, Germany, and Salzburg, Austria. It is often called the Bavarian Sea. The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien flow into the lake; the river Alz, out of it...
lake; in the north by the Weissenbach and in the south, in the area west of the so-called Ellmauer Tor, by the Weißache
Weißache
The Weißache is a river in the Söllandl, a valley between the Kaisergebirge mountains and the Hohe Salve. It rises at about on the Zinsbergund in the Weißachergraben and discharges near Kufstein/Endach into the River Inn....
- which also drains into the Inn; and to the east of the Ellmauer Tor (watershed) by the Goinger Hausbach and Rettenbach, both of which flow into the Reither Ache, another tributary of the Großache. Between Fleischbank and the Goinger Halt is a small cirque glacier
Cirque glacier
A cirque glacier is formed in a cirque, bowl-shaped depressions on the side of or near mountains. Snow and ice accumulation in corries often occurs as the result of avalanching from higher surrounding slopes....
that will probably disappear soon as average temperatures rise. In the far west of the mountain range is Lake Hinterstein which is used as a bathing lake.
History
The first dated evidence of human settlement in the Kaisergebirge goes back 4000 to 5000 years. These are discoveries of the remains of Stone AgeStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
hunters in the Tischofer Cave
Tischofer Cave
The Tischofer Cave is a cave in the Kaisertal valley in the Kaisergebirge mountains in Austria. It was important locally as a gathering place and weapons cache for local rebels during the Napoleonic Wars....
. Other discoveries have revealed the presence of Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
settlers in the cave. Documentary evidence of human settlement in the Kaisertal in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
date back at least to 1430. There is a purchase agreement from that year for a farm called Hinterkaiser. The name "Kaiser" for the area is older and already appears by 1240 in a Kitzbühel directory of goods which speaks of a Gamsgiayt an dem Chaiser. In 1611 there is an annotation to a picture in the maps of Matthias Burgklehner that states "There is in the dominion of Kufstein the Kayser, a very high mountain range, which is just like an imperial crown, on account of its many peaks, and also because it appears from an altitude and miles away as if it is round and crowned." (original: "Es ist in der Herrschaft Khueffstein der Kayser, ein sehr hoches Gepürg, so einer kaiserlichen Cron gleich ist, seiner vilfeltigen Zinggen halber, dann auch, dass er in der Heche vil Meils Wegs weit, als ob er rund und gekrönt ware, gesehen wird.")
The touristic development of the Kaisergebirge began in the second half of the 19th century. Most of the documented first ascents of its summits date from that time until the turn of the century. It is likely, however, that most of the peaks had already been climbed from time to time by locals, without any records having been kept.
The time from the late 19th century to the First World War was a period when the limestone faces of the Wilder Kaiser were the cradle of Munich's climbing scene, when well-known climbing pioneers like Hans Dülfer
Hans Dülfer
Hans Dülfer was a German mountain climber .Dülfer started studying medicine from 1911 in Munich, and then changed to law and later to philosophy...
developed entirely new climbing technique
Climbing technique
A climbing technique is any type or combination of body posture, movement, or hold used in climbing. In this article, several different climbing techniques are listed, and briefly described.-Bridging, or stemming:...
s and styles.
The sometimes highly technology-centric climbing styles and techniques developed mainly before the First World War influenced climbing in the Kaiser until the 1960s. In 1977, grade VII climbing was introduced with the free ascent of the Pumprisse by Reinhard Karl
Reinhard Karl
Reinhard Karl was a German mountaineer, photographer and writer.-Early life:Karl was born in Heidelberg. At the age of 14, he started working as a mechanic apprentice. Later on, he joined night classes to complete the high school. When he was admitted to daily school, he left his work as mechanic...
and Helmut Kiene on the Fleischbank. In the 1970s and 1980s a whole range of sometimes extremely difficult sport climbing routes were opened in the Kaiser mountains. The most difficult currently is the "The Emperor's New Clothes" route (Des Kaisers neue Kleider, grade X+) by Stefan Glowacz
Stefan Glowacz
Stefan Glowacz is a professional rock climber and adventurer. He started climbing at the age of 15 and advanced to one of the world's best sports climbers only few years later...
on the Fleischbank pinnacle.
Important peaks and routes in the Wilder Kaiser
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Totenkirchl The Totenkirchl is mountain, 2,190 m high, in the Wilder Kaiser range in the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria, east of Kufstein in Tyrol.... (2.190 m) Fleischbank (Kaisergebirge) The Fleischbank is a 2,187 m high mountain in the Wilder Kaiser range in the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria, east of Kufstein in the Tyrol.... (2.186 m) Hackenköpfe The Hackenköpfe are a row of peaks in the western Kaisergebirge range in Austria. Their maximum height is . They are located in the ridge running west from the Sonneck between the Treffauer and Scheffauer. To the north their rock faces, up to 800 metres high, drop into the Kaisertal valley; to the... (2.126 m) Lärcheck The Lärcheck is a high mountain in the Kaisergebirge range of the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria.- Location :The Lärcheck forms the mighty northeastern buttress of the Wilder Kaiser; its rock faces towering over the Kaiserbach valley. It belongs to the impressive backdrop of the Ostkaiser ... (2.123 m) Predigtstuhl (Kaisergebirge) The Predigtstuhl is a 2,116 m high mountain in the Wilder Kaiser range in the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria, east of Kufstein in the Tyrol.The mountain is one of the well-known climbing mountains in the Northern Limestone Alps... (2.118 m) Scheffauer The Scheffauer is a high mountain in the Kaisergebirge range of the Northern Limestone Alps. It forms the western buttress of the Wilder Kaiser and is one of the most frequented summits in the Kaisergebirge.- Location :... (2.111 m) |
Important peaks in the Zahmer Kaiser
Neighbouring mountain groups
The Kaisergebirge borders on the following other mountain groups in the Alps:- Chiemgau AlpsChiemgau AlpsThe Chiemgau Alps are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and therefore belong to the Eastern Alps. Their major part is situated in Bavaria, Germany and only a small section crosses the Austrian border into the states of Salzburg and Tirol...
(to the north) - Loferer SteinbergeLoferer SteinbergeThe Loferer Steinberge are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps in the Eastern Alps of central Europe. They are located in Austria in the federal states of Tyrol and Salzburg...
(to the east) - Kitzbühel Alps (to the south)
- Rofangebirge (to the southwest)
- Bavarian Pre-Alps (to the northwest)
Mountain huts
- Alpine Club huts: Vorderkaiserfelden HutVorderkaiserfelden HutThe Vorderkaiserfelden Hut is an alpine hut in the Kufstein district, Austria. It is located at on the southwest slope of the Zahmer Kaiser below the Naunspitze and high above the Kaisertal valley in the Kaisergebirge mountain range...
, Anton Karg HausAnton Karg HausThe Anton Karg Haus is an Alpine club hut belonging to the Kufstein Section of the Austrian Alpine Club in the Kaisergebirge mountains in the Austrian state of Tyrol...
/Hinterbärenbad, StripsenjochhausStripsenjochhausThe Stripsenjochhaus is an Alpine club hut owned by the Kufstein branch of the Austrian Alpine Club in the Kaisergebirge mountain range in the Austrian state of Tyrol.- Location :...
, Gaudeamus HutGaudeamus HutThe Gaudeamus Hut is an Alpine club hut in the Kaisergebirge mountains in Tyrol. It is run by the Main-Spessart section of the German Alpine Club.- Location :...
, Grutten HutGrutten HutThe Grutten Hut is an Alpine club hut in the Kaisergebirge in Tyrol in Austria. It is owned by the Turner Alps Kränzchen Section of the German Alpine Club.- Location :...
, Fritz Pflaum HutFritz Pflaum HutThe Die Fritz Pflaum Hut is an Alpine club hut belonging to the Bayerland Section of the German Alpine Club, located in the Kaisergebirge mountains in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol.- Location :...
, Ackerl HutAckerl HutThe Ackerl Hut is an Alpine club hut in the Wilder Kaiser mountains in Austria. It is run by the Kitzbühel section of the Austrian Alpine Club and lies at a height of below the south faces of the Regalmspitze, Ackerlspitze and Maukspitze.- Facilities:...
- Private huts: Berghaus Aschenbrenner, Brentenjoch Hut, Hans Berger HausHans Berger HausThe Hans Berger Haus is a refuge hut belonging to the Kufstein section of the Austrian Friends of Nature, located in the Kaisergebirge mountains in Tyrol. The tenants run a well-known climbing school here.- Location :...
, Griesner Alm, Kaindl HutKaindl HutThe Kaindl Hut is a privately-run mountain hut at a height of in the Kaisergebirge mountains in the Austrian state of Tyrol.- Location :The Kaindl Hut lies in the western part of the Kaisergebirge on an Alpine meadow, the Steinbergalm, and at the foot of the Zettenkaiser, Scheffauer and...
, Pfandlhof, Riedl Hut, Rietzaualm, Veitenhof, WalleralmWalleralmThe Walleralm is an alp with a mountain inn that lies at a height of above sea level at the foot of the Zettenkaiserkopf, a fore peak of the Zettenkaiser in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The alp is easily and quickly reached by mountain bike or on foot from Lake Hinterstein near Scheffau am Wilden...
, WeinbergerhausWeinbergerhausThe Weinbergerhaus is a privately-run mountain hut, 1,270 metres high, in the Kaisergebirge mountains in Austria above the town of Kufstein/Tyrol.- Location :...
, Wochenbrunner Alm
Valley settlements
KufsteinKufstein
Kufstein is a city in Tyrol, Austria, located along the river Inn, in the lower Inn valley, near the border with Bavaria, Germany, and is the site of a post World War II French sector United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Displaced Persons camp.Kufstein is the second largest city...
, Ebbs
Ebbs
Ebbs is a municipality in the Kufstein district and is located7 km north of Kufstein at the border to Bavaria, Germany. The village has 7 parts and was mentioned for the first time as „Episas“ in 788. Rumor has it that settlement already began in the roman age. Main source of income is tourism but...
, Durchholzen
Durchholzen
Durchholzen is a village in the municipality of Walchsee in the Austrian state of Tyrol and has 570 inhabitants.- Geography :The lowest point in the parish is Durchholzen at 650 m, the highest is the Pyramidenspitze mountain at...
, Kiefersfelden
Kiefersfelden
Kiefersfelden is a municipality with about 7000 inhabitants in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria in Germany....
, Walchsee
Walchsee
Walchsee is a municipality in Tyrol, Austria, in the Kufstein district. It is located in the lower Inn valley and belongs to the "Kaiserwinkl" and the "Untere Schranne".-Geography:...
, Kössen
Kössen
Kössen is a municipality in the Kitzbühel district and is located 24 km north of Kitzbühel as well as 15.50 km north of Sankt Johann in Tirol at the Kitzbühler Ache near the border to Germany.-Geography:...
, Schwendt
Schwendt
Schwendt is a municipality in the Kitzbühel district and is located 17 km north of Kitzbühel as well as 6 km below Kössen. The name of the village comes from the old word „schwenden“. Main sources of income are tourism and agriculture. It has 766 inhabitants....
, Kirchdorf in Tirol
Kirchdorf in Tirol
Kirchdorf in Tirol is a municipality in the Kitzbühel district and is located 12.20 km north of Kitzbühel as well as 3 km north of Sankt Johann in Tirol at the Kitzbühler Ache. The area is the 2nd largest one in size in the district. The village has got its name from an old church which was...
, St. Johann in Tirol
St. Johann in Tirol
-History:St. Johann is situated in the Leukental, which extends from Jochberg to the Streichen close to the Bavarian border. This region was already settled in the 4th century BC by a Celtic tribe, the Ambisontiers, who pursued copper mining in the surrounding mountains.In 15 B.C...
, Going
Going am Wilden Kaiser
Going am Wilden Kaiser is a municipality in the district of Kitzbühel in the Austrian region of Sölllandl. It is located 8.5 km northwest of Kitzbühel and 5 km west of Sankt Johann in Tirol. The village has 1851 inhabitants, 5 sub-districts and was mentioned as Gouwingen for the first time in 1160....
, Ellmau
Ellmau
Ellmau is a municipality in the district of Kufstein in the Austrian region of Sölllandl. It can be found 12 km southeast of Kufstein as well as 9 km west of Sankt Johann in Tirol. It is located at an elevation of 820 m above sea level. It has a population of 2,660 on an area of...
, Scheffau
Scheffau am Wilden Kaiser
Scheffau am Wilden Kaiser is a municipality in the district Kufstein in the Austrian region of the Sölllandl. It is located 8.50 km southeast of Kufstein as well as 13 km northwest of Kitzbühel and has 3 sub-districts. Main source of income is Summer tourism; the village possesses a...
, Söll
Literature
- Schubert, Pit (2000). (Alpenvereinsführer extrem) Kaisergebirge. Bergverlag RotherBergverlag RotherBergverlag Rother is a German publisher with its headquarters in Oberhaching, Upper Bavaria. Since 1950 the company, that formerly went udern the name of Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, has published the Alpine Club Guides in cooperation with the German Alpine Club , the Austrian Alpine Club and the...
. ISBN 3-7633-1272-2. - Höfler, Horst and Piepenstock, Jan (2006). (Alpenvereinsführer alpin) Kaisergebirge. Bergverlag Rother. ISBN 3-7633-1257-9.
- Stadler, Markus (2009). Kletterführer Wilder Kaiser, Vol 1 (Niveau 3-6). Panico-Alpinverlag, 3rd ed. ISBN 3-936740-06-2.
- Stadler, Markus (2004). Kletterführer Wilder Kaiser, Vol 2 (Niveau 6-10). Panico-Alpinverlag, 1st ed. ISBN 3-936740-13-5.
- Stadler, Markus, Strauß Andrea and Andreas (2009). Bildband Kaisergebirge. Bergverlag Rother, 1st ed. ISBN 978-3-7633-7050-4.