Turracher Höhe Pass
Encyclopedia
Turracher Höhe, also called Turracherhöhe, refers to a village, a pass across the Alps
, and a countryside in the Gurktaler Alps in Austria
. The village and the Turracher Lake at the pass, which both share the same name, are separated by the border of the two federal states of Styria and Carinthia
. Because of its distance to early settlement areas and its high location, the region was not settled until relatively late. In the 17th century, mining was started below the Turracherhöhe. The opening up of the top of the pass by a paved road did not occur until later. During the 20th century, the region was gradually developed for tourism. Efforts are being made to maintain the
diversity of flora
and fauna
of the Turracherhöhe by means of landscape conservation areas and careful and nature-oriented extension of the tourist facilities.
The Turracherhöhe is situated in the Nock mountains, the western part of the Gurktaler Alps. The area extends from the peaks of the Rinsennock (2,334 m) in the west to the Lattersteighöhe (2,264 m) in the east; in the north-south direction, it extends from the village of Turrach to the plain of Reichenau
in the south. Somewhat farther away are the peaks of Eisenhut (2,441 m), Großer Königstuhl (2,331 m), and Gruft (2,232 m).
The highest point of the approx. two km long pass summit has an altitude of 1,795 m above sea level south of the Turracher Lake. The lake has a water level of 1,763 m above sea (Adria
) level and is connected to the village. The Turracher Höhe, as a "classic" pass summit, is also part of a drainage divide between the Mura valley and the Upper Gurk River, whose source is beneath the Lattersteighöhe at approx. 2,000 m above sea level.
The Turracher Road (B95), which goes from Salzburg
along the western shore of Turracher Lake, connects the Styrian Upper Mura valley in the north with the Upper Gurk valley in Carinthia
, and it continues further to Feldkirchen
and the basin of Klagenfurt
in the south. The road on the pass (from Turrach to the Reichenau plain) has a length of 16 km; the section between the junctions to the Murauer Road (B97) in Predlitz and the Kleinkirchheimer Road (B88) near Patergassen is 35 km long.
A total of three municipalities share the region of Turracher Höhe: Styrian Predlitz-Turrach
in the north and the Carinthian municipalities of Reichenau
and Albeck
in the south. There are no direct roads onto the pass summit from Albeck.
Today, the village on the pass summit has around 100 inhabitants, and there are more than 400 secondary residences. Like the Turracher Lake, it belongs partly to the Styrian municipality of Predlitz-Turrach
and partly to the Carinthian municipality of Reichenau
. The border of the federal states runs roughly through the middle of the village and the lake. The northern part, which belongs to Styria, has the postal code 8864, the southern part on Carinthian territory has the postal code 9565; on the other hand, the telephone area code is the same for the whole village (04275).
Thus, there are formally two villages on Turracher Höhe, where the Styrian part belongs to the district of Turrach in the municipality of Predlitz-Turrach, and the village of Turracherhöhe (official spelling) on the Carinthian side is a district of the municipality of Reichenau. But no town signs were installed within the village; a town sign at the entrance of the village announces the Reichenau district of "Turracherhöhe" on the Carinthian side, and a sign bears the inscription "Fremdenverkehrsgebiet Turracher Höhe" (Tourist Region Turracher Höhe) at the entrance to the Styrian village. Those who are not aware of the division of the village due to administrative politics can only suspect that the border between the two states runs here because of the two state flags along the former federal road.
In the wide saddle of the pass summit, where the road runs horizontally for two kilometres, there are two luxury hotels, a resort belonging to the German trade union IG Bau and over 30 small and medium-sized hotels and guest houses. There are many vacation houses in the southern and western stone pine
forest, as well as the eastern side of the lake. However, these houses are predominantly concealed by trees or are situated in hollows, so they barely stand out from the natural surroundings.
The facilities include a bank and some shops for athletic items and souvenirs. But there is no grocery store or gasoline station in Turracher Höhe, for example. For a long time, there was also no church or chapel. An ecumenical
place of worship was not built until 1985, at the suggestion of the inhabitants. It is administered by the parish of Stadl an der Mur
and is available for all Christian creeds.
, with a height of 447 m above sea level, is 1300 m lower than Turracher Höhe. Its average temperature in January is -5.8 °C, its average temperature in July is 18.3 °C, and its yearly median is 7.7 °C.
The precipitation of 1,218 mm is rather low for the mountains. Snowfall normally starts in October at the latest, and a dense blanket of snow quickly forms, which remains until April or sometimes even until May. On average, there is snow for 158 days on Turracher Höhe.
, as well as in the rest of Austria.
While the region around today's Predlitz and the Mur was already colonised by Slavs in the 6th century, the first clearings and settlements south of Turracher Höhe are known to be from the early 14th century. Politically, the region was initially part of the duchy of Carinthia, but it was already divided among three territories in the 12th and 13th centuries, due to the splitting off of the Lungau
to Salzburg
and Murau
to the duchy of Styria. Until tourism began to develop in the late 1920s, there had only been a few farmsteads north and south of the pass summit since the late Middle Ages
, but no compact settlement. Also Turracher Höhe played no role as a traffic route for a long time. During the Middle Ages and early modern times
, connections over the Katschberg in the west and over the Flattnitz in the east were the main traffic routes in the north-south direction, while routes over Turrach had only local importance, e.g. for the transport of salt from the Salzkammergut
to Reichenau
(first documented mention in 1332), where there was a branch of the toll office.
In the upper Mura valley north of Turracher Höhe, the region around Predlitz (first documented mention in 1311) was sparsely populated because the slopes to the right of the Mura were less suitable for cultivation. During the Middle Ages, the dominant settlement of this region was Murau
, which belonged to Liechtenstein
. But south of Turracher Höhe, rural colonization around Reichenau, where there was also a regional court in 1520, provided more compact settlements and single farms.
, the sovereign right for mining in the district of Murau, which contains the region around Turracher Höhe. However, concrete indications of mining in the Turrach region cannot be found either in this document or in the following centuries.
In 1657, Johann Adolf Count Schwarzenberg
, who ruled Murau, initiated the search for copper
ore
. In the Steinbachgraben, huge amounts of limonite
(a type of iron ore) were found, whereupon the count asked Emperor Leopold I
for a license for mining and smelting
, which was issued on January 31, 1660. Already in the same year, Johann Adolf ordered the building of a bloomery
for smelting iron in Turrach, and in 1662, the first tapping was performed. Initially the mining and smelting took place mainly on the Styrian side around the village at the northern foothill. In 1783, Count Johann Nepomuk Anton of Schwarzenberg ordered the extension of the road, which was 15 km long, from Predlitz to his factory in Turrach, in order to facilitate the ore transport. But there were routes for transporting wood and charcoal above the village, too, which reached today's pass summit.
The general economic crisis resulting from the Napoleonic Wars
and their consequences also reached Turrach's mining in the first two decades of the 19th century. Following that, the iron business—under Peter Tunner senior (the father of Peter Tunner), who led the company from 1823 to 1844—underwent a considerable advancement, due to the streamlining of working methods and the introduction of modern technologies. In the middle of the 19th century, the annual quantity of ore delivered by the approximately 60 miners amounted to about 100 to 120,000 quintal
s (approx. 5,600 to 6,700 t). At that time, mining was only done during the winter, because the ore had to be pulled to the smelting facilities in bags.
As of 1863, a rocking Bessemer converter
, which made the steel production more efficient, was used in Turrach. In 1865, three converters with a capacity of 35 to 40 quintals and two blast furnace
s were available. At that time, the iron smelting facility was Styria's largest and was considered to be one of the most modern in Europe. In spite of the technical innovations, there was soon an economic decline. As of the 1870s, the sales worsened; the production of raw iron decreased from 3,800 to 1,500 t between 1869 and 1885. Besides increasing coal prices, Turrach's disadvantageous location off the major transport routes caused high transportation costs, which were responsible for the decreasing competitiveness of the iron companies. In 1899, the iron smelting facility was leased out, which brought no improvement, so the furnace in Turrach was finally shut down in the spring of 1909.
Besides iron mining, copper mining occasionally played a role. Other natural resources are small amounts of high-grade anthracite coal
, which was mined until the 1950s and 1960s. The mining of cinnabar
at the Kornock can already be proven in the 17th century. A former stone pit at Lake Turrach, as well as a magnesium carbonate
and a slate
pit, are evidence of the mining activities around Turracher Höhe, which however were entirely given up in the course of the 20th century for economic reasons.
In the 19th century, the first housing was built on the pass summit at the Turracher Lake. It served as accommodations, as well as for serving the lumberjacks, stonemasons and miners. Thus, it is known that at the provably oldest inn still existing today on the Turracher Höhe, the "Seewirt", there was already an Alpine public house in operation in 1830. Already at the end of the 19th century, the first tourists came for hiking on the Turrach and shortly before the First World War
, the first skiers came for extended ski trips. Little by little, other hotels and inns also opened, among which are the "Jägerwirt" (1905), "Siegel" (1911) and "Hochschober" (1929), which still exist today.
It has not been recorded when an old mountain track was converted into a road. On the south side, it is known that the stone "Teufelsbrücke" (Devil's Bridge) was built over the ravine of the Stangenbach in 1893. Between the wars, the streets, which already at that time essentially had the same course they have today, were adapted to the demands of modern automobile traffic. On the south side, bus service was established in 1928, and the bus line Predlitz–Passhöhe followed in the north in 1929. However, the first tourists were nevertheless forced to walk for kilometres to their quarters on the Turracher Höhe in the winter, since the buses could not manage the steep climb under winter conditions. The first private holiday home was erected on a small hill on the north side of Turracher Lake in 1936.
In the winter after the Second World War, the first English tourists already came to Carinthia,
which was occupied by the British troops. They were quartered in the seized businesses of Siegel, Hochschober, Jägerwirt and in the small holiday home. In 1946, a T-bar lift was built at about the same height as today's Kornockbahn and it was at first reserved for use by the English. Because of that, a lift on the Turracher Alpe is still called "Engländerlift" (Englishman's Lift) today. In the 1950s, the first single chairlift came, and the Panorambahn, as well. It was replaced in 1983 by a new single chairlift. This was also replaced in September 2006 by a new combination chairlift/cabin-lift. In 1966, the "Pauli Schlepplift" went into operation, named for Paul Pertl, which is still there today. A ski tow on the beginner's meadow was also added. In December 1976, the double chairlift, "Kornockbahn", opened, which was replaced with a six-person chairlift equipped with heated seats. The newest acquisition is the new stone pine forest six-person lift, as of 2006/2007.
As of the 1970s, the crowd of winter athletes on the Turracher Höhe increased and as a result, the gradient of the federal road was evened out little by little by adjustments of the route. From 1978 until 1980, a new section of the road, which had been affected time and again by avalanches, was opened on the Kornock above the old road, with avalanche barriers.
The steepest Alpine road in Europe at times, with a gradient of up to 34 % at kilometre 60 (reckoned from Klagenfurt), was also sometimes a test stretch of the automobile manufacturer, Porsche
, produced after the Second World War in nearby Gmünd in Carinthia, because of its high demands on automobiles. In January 1978, Audi
presented the newly-developed Audi Quattro
to the company leadership on the Turracher Höhe, where the performance of the new all-wheel drive could be convincingly demonstrated on the steep, curvy and snowy road of the pass.
The pass road has a maximum gradient of "only" 23 % today on a short section on the Carinthian side. It is well cleared in the winter and only has to be closed very rarely.
in total, of which 5,804 ha are commercial forest and barrier woodlands, as well as 2,607 ha of Alpine and miscellaneous areas at an altitude between 930 and 2,434 metre above sea level. The trees felled by the forest administration of Turrach amount to around 24,000 solid cubic metres (or stère
s) per year, of which 79 % is from clearcutting
and 21 % is from selection cutting
.
The woodlands on the southern side of the Turracher Höhe are also privately owned for the most part; 90 % of the entire forest land of the municipality of Reichenau is distributed over plots of land of under 200 ha. The yield is mostly sold as logs; there are no sawmills or other wood processing operations in the immediate vicinity of the Turracher Höhe.
. Up until then, electricity was produced by generators by each piece of property. With the construction of a district heating plant in 1997, hotels and many vacation homes are connected to an environmentally friendly supply of heating.
The Turracher Straße (B95) crossing the Turracher Höhe has a comparatively low importance as a national north-south connection between Carinthia and the federal states bordering to the north, Salzburg
and Styria. It was known as the steepest Carinthian pass road, however, it is more gentle today because the roadway was moved, so that no escape route is necessary. The roads which are used considerably more by long-distance traffic are the Tauernautobahn (A10) and the Katschberg Straße (B99) from Bischofshofen
to Spittal
on the west, which runs parallel to the A10, and the Friesacher Straße (B317) from Judenburg
to Klagenfurt
east of the Turracher Höhe.
The Turracher Höhe is only sparsely served by public transportation. From Predlitz, where the "Predlitz Turracher Höhe" train station of the Murtalbahn
is located, a bus line of the Verkehrsverbund Steiermark (Styrian Transport Association) runs to the pass summit a few times a day, and the same for a bus connection of the ÖBB
(Österreichischen Bundesbahnen, Austrian Federal Railways) to Reichenau and further to Klagenfurt.
The Turracher Höhe was developed for summer tourism as well as winter tourism. There were 233,000 overnight stays registered recently, two-thirds of them in the winter season of 2004/05 and one third in the summer season of 2005. A total of 1,350 commercial and 570 private beds were offered for guests. On average, 320 people are employed in the tourism trade per year. The extension of the tourist offerings has happened in a careful and natural way since the first national regional development concept of 1963. A development model for the years 2005 through 2015 (see External links) plans further development according to these principles. In summer of 2007, the new 1600 m long year-round toboggan
run was opened.
In total, 25 km of cross-country ski runs have been laid, with winter hiking paths beside them. On the lake, areas for ice skating
and curling
are kept free of snow. The "Seetaxi" is unique. It is a snowmobile
with holding rods, which shuttles along the border between Styria and Carinthia between the ski lifts east and west of the lake and pulls skiers over the frozen lake without charge.
In addition, the Turracher Höhe is at the eastern edge of the Nationalpark Nockberge. About one kilometre before the Reichenau plain, the Nockalmstraße, a toll road, branches off to the national park from the Turracher Straße.
In the village of Turrach at the foot of the Turracher Höhe, there is another museum, "Holz und Eisen" (Wood and Iron), which exhibits items from the time of mining in the region and also offers tours of the old buildings and mining tunnels. Additional articles from the mining and smelting operations can be viewed in the "Eisensaal" (Iron Hall) of Castle Murau
. The famous Bessemer converter from Turrach is in the Technische Museum in Vienna
today.
construction of the Turracher Höhe is characterised by various kinds of rock, as well as the effects of the tectonic
movements, which became visible here and finally led to the formation of the Alps
in the late Mesozoic
era about 100 million years ago. The eastern Central Alps got their current structure at the end of the Tertiary
Period.
From the geological viewpoint, the Turracher Höhe and its further surroundings belong to the Gurktal layer, whose Paleozoic
rocks slid over the more recent rock layer of the so-called Stangalm Triassic Period. On and under the course of the sliding, there are a whole series of smaller and larger deposits of siderite
and limonite
. Those are among the ones in Steinbachgraben and Rohrerwald near Turrach, which were the basis for the iron smelting there.
The most commonly appearing minerals on the Turracher Höhe are the Gurktal phyllite
(created in the Lower Silurian
) and Eisenhutschiefer (Upper Silurian to Middle Devonian
), and on the other side of the Gurktal layer also Altkristallin (paragneiss
, mica schist
, amphibolite
), some of which were created in the Ediacaran
Period. The narrow strips of the Stangalm Triassic Period, which lie between them, consist of limestone
and dolomite
.
During the various ice ages of the Quaternary
Period, the Turracher Höhe was glaciated. In the Würm glaciation, there were partial currents of the Mura glacier, which flowed out of the feeding area of the Niederen Tauern to the south. About 20,000 years ago, a strong warming within 1,000 to 1,500 years made the glacial net melt off. As a rare relic of the Würm ice age, there is a glacial mill
west of Turracher Lake. Further effects of the glaciation can be observed in the shape of the terrain, as well as in many individual places of the Turracher Höhe. The rounded off mountain tops with tub-like depressions between them (cirque
s) are the results of the tectonic movements as well as the glaciation. One example of that is the Hohe Kor. There is also a further result of ice age glacial activity there, a moraine
embankment.
There are three lakes on the Turracher Höhe. According to legend, they were formed from the tears God shed when He saw the beauty He had created. By far the largest of them is the Turracher See (Turracher Lake), with an area of 19.4 ha. About 300 m away towards the east is the Schwarzsee (Black Lake, 2.6 ha). In the southern direction is the Grünsee (Green Lake, 1.48 ha). The two smaller lakes, left to nature, are less well known, since they are in a protected landscape area and no building is allowed on their shores, and because they can only be reached by footpaths.
The surface of the up to 33 metre deep Turracher See is completely frozen over for up to six months of the year. Since water from the lake is used to create artificial snow, the water level in the lake can vary by a few metres in the winter.
Aside from the lakes, marshes and bog
s were also formed from the glaciers of the ice age because of the high level of the ground water. In the area of the pass summit, there are various types of bogs. In the area of the pass summit there are mainly fen
s with some smaller transitional mires and raised bogs. On the Kornock there is a vale moor in more than 2,000 m above sea level. The most important bog area adjoins the Schwarzsee and is probably a part of this body of water which has already silted up.
The Turracher Höhe is in the area between montane and alpine vegetation. From the lower areas going upwards, there are secondary spruce forests, interrupted by commercial grasslands, spruce-larch forests, stone pine and stone pine-larch forests, then heaths of dwarf shrubs and subalpine and alpine grasses.
The predominant, extensive stands of stone pine
here are worth commenting on. They belong to the largest in Carinthia. The subalpine forests are often thinned out like a park, with an undergrowth including the ubiquitous rusty-leaved alpenrose
(Rhododendron ferrugineum), as well as the dwarf common juniper
(Juniperus communis subsp. alpina) and the spotted gentian
(Gentiana punctata). On the Rauterriegel southeast of the Eisenhut, there is a spruce forest with a lot of stone pines. In the green alder
(Alnus viridis) bushes at the avalanche slope southeast of the Rinsennock, there are many herbaceous tall forbs, such as monkshood
(Aconitum napellus subsp. tauricum), masterwort
(Peucedanum ostruthium), and Austrian doronicum
(Doronicum austriacum). On the Kilnprein, there are large fields of mugo pine
(Pinus mugo).
On the pass summit, there is a transitional mire: in the mud sedge bog (Caricetum limosae) grow, in addition to the mud sedge
(Carex limosa, endangered) which gives the name, also the lesser twayblade (Listera cordata) and the dwarf birch
(Betula nana). In the fen south of the Schwarzsee, a brown sedge marsh (Caricetum fuscae subalpinum) with the endangered species common sedge (or brown sedge, Carex nigra), round-leaved sundew
(Drosera rotundifolia) and bastard sundew (D. x obovata), as well as dwarf birch. There is a vale mire on the Kornock. Aside from the dominant deer-hair sedge (Trichophorum cespitosum), there are alpine bartsia
(Bartsia alpina), alpine butterwort
(Pinguicula alpina) and bog-bean
(Menyanthes trifoliata).
In the subalpine mat-grass grasslands (Aveno-Nardetum) are found the spring pasqueflower
(Pulsatilla vernalis), the alpine pasqueflower
(Pulsatilla alpina) and Scheuchzer's bell flower (Campanula scheuchzeri). In the alpine bent sedge grasslands (Caricetum curvulae), there are red-flowered dwarf primula
(Primula minima) and sticky primrose
(P. glutinosa). In the coloured fescue grasslands on the south-facing steep slopes, there are the villous primula
(Primula villosa, "red spike") in the dark blue flowered form endemic to the northern alps. In the Polsterfluren, Wulf's androsace
(Androsace wulfeniana), endemic to the eastern alps, and Wulf's houseleek
(Sempervivum wulfenii) grow.
(raven, jackdaw, magpie), there are also four members of the pheasant family
(capercaillie
, black grouse
, willow grouse
and hazel grouse
) in stable populations. In predatory game animals, there are fox, badger, pine marten
, stone marten
, European polecat
, ermine
and least weasel
. Birds of prey, such as goshawk, Eurasian sparrowhawk, European kestrel
, golden eagle
, as well as more rarely Eurasian hobby
and peregrine
are also seen here. From the nocturnal birds of prey, there are the Eurasian eagle-owl, tawney owl
, Tengmalm's owl
and Eurasian pygmy-owl. There are also marmot
s.
Period, fossilised plants had already been found in the late 18th century. Scientifically recorded for the first time in 1835 by Ami Boué
, there are 72 species of coal forest plants from the Stangalpe known today, among which are the giant horsetails (Calamites
), Sigillaria
, fern
s (Pecopteris), Cordaites
and conifers
(Dicranophyllum).
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, and a countryside in the Gurktaler Alps in 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...
. The village and the Turracher Lake at the pass, which both share the same name, are separated by the border of the two federal states of Styria and Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
. Because of its distance to early settlement areas and its high location, the region was not settled until relatively late. In the 17th century, mining was started below the Turracherhöhe. The opening up of the top of the pass by a paved road did not occur until later. During the 20th century, the region was gradually developed for tourism. Efforts are being made to maintain the
diversity of 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 Turracherhöhe by means of landscape conservation areas and careful and nature-oriented extension of the tourist facilities.
Geographical location
Reichenau, Carinthia
Reichenau is a municipality in the district of Feldkirchen in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is situated in the high valley of the Gurk River within the Nock Mountains range, near the Turracher Höhe Pass leading to Styria...
in the south. Somewhat farther away are the peaks of Eisenhut (2,441 m), Großer Königstuhl (2,331 m), and Gruft (2,232 m).
The highest point of the approx. two km long pass summit has an altitude of 1,795 m above sea level south of the Turracher Lake. The lake has a water level of 1,763 m above sea (Adria
Adria
Adria is a town and comune in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po....
) level and is connected to the village. The Turracher Höhe, as a "classic" pass summit, is also part of a drainage divide between the Mura valley and the Upper Gurk River, whose source is beneath the Lattersteighöhe at approx. 2,000 m above sea level.
The Turracher Road (B95), which goes from Salzburg
Salzburg (state)
Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...
along the western shore of Turracher Lake, connects the Styrian Upper Mura valley in the north with the Upper Gurk valley in Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
, and it continues further to Feldkirchen
Feldkirchen
-Places:in Austria*Feldkirchen in Kärnten, in Carinthia*Feldkirchen bei Mattighofen*Feldkirchen an der Donau*Feldkirchen bei Graz*Feldkirchen , the district that surrounds Feldkirchen in KärntenGermany...
and the basin of Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
in the south. The road on the pass (from Turrach to the Reichenau plain) has a length of 16 km; the section between the junctions to the Murauer Road (B97) in Predlitz and the Kleinkirchheimer Road (B88) near Patergassen is 35 km long.
A total of three municipalities share the region of Turracher Höhe: Styrian Predlitz-Turrach
Predlitz-Turrach
Predlitz-Turrach is a municipality in the district of Murau in Styria, Austria....
in the north and the Carinthian municipalities of Reichenau
Reichenau, Carinthia
Reichenau is a municipality in the district of Feldkirchen in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is situated in the high valley of the Gurk River within the Nock Mountains range, near the Turracher Höhe Pass leading to Styria...
and Albeck
Albeck, Carinthia
Albeck is a town in the district of Feldkirchen in Carinthia in Austria. It is home to the Albeck Abbey.-Neighboring municipalities:-References:...
in the south. There are no direct roads onto the pass summit from Albeck.
The "divided" village
For a long time, there were only single farmsteads and accommodations for lumberjacks who chopped wood for the mines and smelting works in Turrach, as well as for the seasonal miners and stonemasons, on the Turracher Höhe. A compact settlement did not develop until tourism emerged in the second half of the 20th century.Today, the village on the pass summit has around 100 inhabitants, and there are more than 400 secondary residences. Like the Turracher Lake, it belongs partly to the Styrian municipality of Predlitz-Turrach
Predlitz-Turrach
Predlitz-Turrach is a municipality in the district of Murau in Styria, Austria....
and partly to the Carinthian municipality of Reichenau
Reichenau, Carinthia
Reichenau is a municipality in the district of Feldkirchen in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is situated in the high valley of the Gurk River within the Nock Mountains range, near the Turracher Höhe Pass leading to Styria...
. The border of the federal states runs roughly through the middle of the village and the lake. The northern part, which belongs to Styria, has the postal code 8864, the southern part on Carinthian territory has the postal code 9565; on the other hand, the telephone area code is the same for the whole village (04275).
In the wide saddle of the pass summit, where the road runs horizontally for two kilometres, there are two luxury hotels, a resort belonging to the German trade union IG Bau and over 30 small and medium-sized hotels and guest houses. There are many vacation houses in the southern and western stone pine
Stone Pine
The Stone Pine , is also called Italian Stone Pine, or Umbrella Pine , and Parasol Pine. It is in the pine family Pinaceae and occasionally listed under the invalid name Pinus sativa. The tree is native to the Mediterranean region...
forest, as well as the eastern side of the lake. However, these houses are predominantly concealed by trees or are situated in hollows, so they barely stand out from the natural surroundings.
The facilities include a bank and some shops for athletic items and souvenirs. But there is no grocery store or gasoline station in Turracher Höhe, for example. For a long time, there was also no church or chapel. An ecumenical
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
place of worship was not built until 1985, at the suggestion of the inhabitants. It is administered by the parish of Stadl an der Mur
Stadl an der Mur
Stadl an der Mur is a municipality in the district of Murau in Styria, Austria....
and is available for all Christian creeds.
Climate
There is plenty of sunshine during the entire year. Due to the high altitude, there is significantly less cloudiness and fog than in the Drau valley, for example. Thus, the average prevailing temperatures are also favorable: the average temperature in January is between -5.9 and -8.2 °C, in July it is between 10.6 and 11.0 °C, and the yearly median is 1.9 to 2.2 °C. By comparison, KlagenfurtKlagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
, with a height of 447 m above sea level, is 1300 m lower than Turracher Höhe. Its average temperature in January is -5.8 °C, its average temperature in July is 18.3 °C, and its yearly median is 7.7 °C.
The precipitation of 1,218 mm is rather low for the mountains. Snowfall normally starts in October at the latest, and a dense blanket of snow quickly forms, which remains until April or sometimes even until May. On average, there is snow for 158 days on Turracher Höhe.
First settlements
The name Turrach is derived from the old term, "Durrach", which was used for a forest, where there are a lot of fallen, dried up ("dürr") trees lying around. The term is widely used in CarinthiaCarinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
, as well as in the rest of Austria.
While the region around today's Predlitz and the Mur was already colonised by Slavs in the 6th century, the first clearings and settlements south of Turracher Höhe are known to be from the early 14th century. Politically, the region was initially part of the duchy of Carinthia, but it was already divided among three territories in the 12th and 13th centuries, due to the splitting off of the Lungau
Lungau
The Bezirk Tamsweg is an administrative district in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Lungau region.-Geography:...
to Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
and Murau
Murau
Murau is the capital of the district of the same name in Styria, located along the Mur river. It has a population of 2,331.-History:The area was already settled in the Bronze Age and Roman time, for the first time document which mentioned Murau was in the year 1250.During the Second World War a...
to the duchy of Styria. Until tourism began to develop in the late 1920s, there had only been a few farmsteads north and south of the pass summit since the late 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...
, but no compact settlement. Also Turracher Höhe played no role as a traffic route for a long time. During the Middle Ages and early modern times
Modern Times
Modern Times can refer to modern history.It may also refer to:* Modern Times , a 1936 Charlie Chaplin film* Modern Times , a 1975 album by Al Stewart...
, connections over the Katschberg in the west and over the Flattnitz in the east were the main traffic routes in the north-south direction, while routes over Turrach had only local importance, e.g. for the transport of salt from the Salzkammergut
Salzkammergut
The Salzkammergut is a resort area located in Austria. It stretches from City of Salzburg to the Dachstein mountain range, spanning the federal states of Upper Austria , Salzburg , and Styria . The main river of the region is the Traun, a tributary of the Danube...
to Reichenau
Reichenau, Carinthia
Reichenau is a municipality in the district of Feldkirchen in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is situated in the high valley of the Gurk River within the Nock Mountains range, near the Turracher Höhe Pass leading to Styria...
(first documented mention in 1332), where there was a branch of the toll office.
In the upper Mura valley north of Turracher Höhe, the region around Predlitz (first documented mention in 1311) was sparsely populated because the slopes to the right of the Mura were less suitable for cultivation. During the Middle Ages, the dominant settlement of this region was Murau
Murau
Murau is the capital of the district of the same name in Styria, located along the Mur river. It has a population of 2,331.-History:The area was already settled in the Bronze Age and Roman time, for the first time document which mentioned Murau was in the year 1250.During the Second World War a...
, which belonged to Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
. But south of Turracher Höhe, rural colonization around Reichenau, where there was also a regional court in 1520, provided more compact settlements and single farms.
Mining
With a certificate issued in Moosheim dating from the year 1256, the Carinthian duke Ulrich III gave the minstrel and poet, Ulrich von LiechtensteinUlrich von Liechtenstein
Ulrich von Liechtenstein was a medieval nobleman, knight, politician, and minnesanger. He was born in 1200 in Murau, located in present day Austria. After the usual noble training as a page and a squire to Margrave Heinrich of Istria, he was knighted by Duke Leopold VI of Austria in 1223...
, the sovereign right for mining in the district of Murau, which contains the region around Turracher Höhe. However, concrete indications of mining in the Turrach region cannot be found either in this document or in the following centuries.
House of Schwarzenberg
-History:The family was first mentioned in 1172. A branch of the Seinsheim family was created when Erkinger I of Seinsheim acquired the Franconian barony of Schwarzenberg, the castle Schwarzenberg and the title Baron of Schwarzenberg, in 1405–21. At this time, they also possessed some fiefdoms in...
, who ruled Murau, initiated the search for copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
. In the Steinbachgraben, huge amounts of limonite
Limonite
Limonite is an ore consisting in a mixture of hydrated iron oxide-hydroxide of varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO·nH2O, although this is not entirely accurate as limonite often contains a varying amount of oxide compared to hydroxide.Together with hematite, it has...
(a type of iron ore) were found, whereupon the count asked Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
for a license for mining and smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
, which was issued on January 31, 1660. Already in the same year, Johann Adolf ordered the building of a bloomery
Bloomery
A bloomery is a type of furnace once widely used for smelting iron from its oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. A bloomery's product is a porous mass of iron and slag called a bloom. This mix of slag and iron in the bloom is termed sponge iron, which...
for smelting iron in Turrach, and in 1662, the first tapping was performed. Initially the mining and smelting took place mainly on the Styrian side around the village at the northern foothill. In 1783, Count Johann Nepomuk Anton of Schwarzenberg ordered the extension of the road, which was 15 km long, from Predlitz to his factory in Turrach, in order to facilitate the ore transport. But there were routes for transporting wood and charcoal above the village, too, which reached today's pass summit.
The general economic crisis resulting from the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and their consequences also reached Turrach's mining in the first two decades of the 19th century. Following that, the iron business—under Peter Tunner senior (the father of Peter Tunner), who led the company from 1823 to 1844—underwent a considerable advancement, due to the streamlining of working methods and the introduction of modern technologies. In the middle of the 19th century, the annual quantity of ore delivered by the approximately 60 miners amounted to about 100 to 120,000 quintal
Quintal
Quintal may refer to:* Quintal , a unit of mass* Quartal and quintal harmony in music* Quintal, Haute-Savoie, a commune of the Haute-Savoie département in France* Stéphane Quintal, NHL ice hockey player...
s (approx. 5,600 to 6,700 t). At that time, mining was only done during the winter, because the ore had to be pulled to the smelting facilities in bags.
As of 1863, a rocking Bessemer converter
Bessemer process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly...
, which made the steel production more efficient, was used in Turrach. In 1865, three converters with a capacity of 35 to 40 quintals and two blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
s were available. At that time, the iron smelting facility was Styria's largest and was considered to be one of the most modern in Europe. In spite of the technical innovations, there was soon an economic decline. As of the 1870s, the sales worsened; the production of raw iron decreased from 3,800 to 1,500 t between 1869 and 1885. Besides increasing coal prices, Turrach's disadvantageous location off the major transport routes caused high transportation costs, which were responsible for the decreasing competitiveness of the iron companies. In 1899, the iron smelting facility was leased out, which brought no improvement, so the furnace in Turrach was finally shut down in the spring of 1909.
Besides iron mining, copper mining occasionally played a role. Other natural resources are small amounts of high-grade anthracite coal
Anthracite coal
Anthracite is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster...
, which was mined until the 1950s and 1960s. The mining of cinnabar
Cinnabar
Cinnabar or cinnabarite , is the common ore of mercury.-Word origin:The name comes from κινναβαρι , a Greek word most likely applied by Theophrastus to several distinct substances...
at the Kornock can already be proven in the 17th century. A former stone pit at Lake Turrach, as well as a magnesium carbonate
Magnesium carbonate
Magnesium carbonate, MgCO3, is a white solid that occurs in nature as a mineral. Several hydrated and basic forms of magnesium carbonate also exist as minerals...
and a slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
pit, are evidence of the mining activities around Turracher Höhe, which however were entirely given up in the course of the 20th century for economic reasons.
Development of tourism
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the first skiers came for extended ski trips. Little by little, other hotels and inns also opened, among which are the "Jägerwirt" (1905), "Siegel" (1911) and "Hochschober" (1929), which still exist today.
It has not been recorded when an old mountain track was converted into a road. On the south side, it is known that the stone "Teufelsbrücke" (Devil's Bridge) was built over the ravine of the Stangenbach in 1893. Between the wars, the streets, which already at that time essentially had the same course they have today, were adapted to the demands of modern automobile traffic. On the south side, bus service was established in 1928, and the bus line Predlitz–Passhöhe followed in the north in 1929. However, the first tourists were nevertheless forced to walk for kilometres to their quarters on the Turracher Höhe in the winter, since the buses could not manage the steep climb under winter conditions. The first private holiday home was erected on a small hill on the north side of Turracher Lake in 1936.
In the winter after the Second World War, the first English tourists already came to Carinthia,
which was occupied by the British troops. They were quartered in the seized businesses of Siegel, Hochschober, Jägerwirt and in the small holiday home. In 1946, a T-bar lift was built at about the same height as today's Kornockbahn and it was at first reserved for use by the English. Because of that, a lift on the Turracher Alpe is still called "Engländerlift" (Englishman's Lift) today. In the 1950s, the first single chairlift came, and the Panorambahn, as well. It was replaced in 1983 by a new single chairlift. This was also replaced in September 2006 by a new combination chairlift/cabin-lift. In 1966, the "Pauli Schlepplift" went into operation, named for Paul Pertl, which is still there today. A ski tow on the beginner's meadow was also added. In December 1976, the double chairlift, "Kornockbahn", opened, which was replaced with a six-person chairlift equipped with heated seats. The newest acquisition is the new stone pine forest six-person lift, as of 2006/2007.
As of the 1970s, the crowd of winter athletes on the Turracher Höhe increased and as a result, the gradient of the federal road was evened out little by little by adjustments of the route. From 1978 until 1980, a new section of the road, which had been affected time and again by avalanches, was opened on the Kornock above the old road, with avalanche barriers.
The steepest Alpine road in Europe at times, with a gradient of up to 34 % at kilometre 60 (reckoned from Klagenfurt), was also sometimes a test stretch of the automobile manufacturer, Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
, produced after the Second World War in nearby Gmünd in Carinthia, because of its high demands on automobiles. In January 1978, Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
presented the newly-developed Audi Quattro
Audi Quattro
The Audi Quattro is a road and rally car, produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi, now part of the Volkswagen Group. It was first shown at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show on 3 March.The word quattro is derived from the Italian word for "four"...
to the company leadership on the Turracher Höhe, where the performance of the new all-wheel drive could be convincingly demonstrated on the steep, curvy and snowy road of the pass.
The pass road has a maximum gradient of "only" 23 % today on a short section on the Carinthian side. It is well cleared in the winter and only has to be closed very rarely.
Economy and infrastructure
The dominant branch of the economy on the Turracher Höhe today is tourism. Besides hotels, inns and ski lift operations, as well as a few small shops and the mineral museum, no businesses are based here. After mining was stopped in the 20th century, the timber industry and forestry are the only "traditional" branch of business still existing on the Turracher Höhe, aside from a few small agricultural operations.Lumber and forestry
There are still large expanses of woodlands in the Mura valley and in the region between Predlitz and the Turracher Höhe even today in family ownership, which come from the lands acquired by the House of Schwarzenberg in 1623. They are managed by the "Fürstlich Schwarzenberg'schen Familienstiftung" (Prince Schwarzenberg Family Foundation). The area managed by the forest administration in Turrach in the region of the municipality of Predlitz-Turrach is 8,411 haHectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
in total, of which 5,804 ha are commercial forest and barrier woodlands, as well as 2,607 ha of Alpine and miscellaneous areas at an altitude between 930 and 2,434 metre above sea level. The trees felled by the forest administration of Turrach amount to around 24,000 solid cubic metres (or stère
Stère
The stere or stère is a unit of volume in the original metric system equal to one cubic metre. The name was coined from the Greek στερεός stereos 'solid' in 1793 France as a metric equivalent to the cord. The stère is typically used for measuring large quantities of firewood or other cut wood,...
s) per year, of which 79 % is from clearcutting
Clearcutting
Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Clearcutting, along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that...
and 21 % is from selection cutting
Selection cutting
Selection cutting is the silvicultural practice of harvesting a proportion of the trees in a stand. Selection cutting is the practice of removing mature timber or the lessening of older trees to improve the timber stand. This system may be used to manage even or uneven-aged stands...
.
The woodlands on the southern side of the Turracher Höhe are also privately owned for the most part; 90 % of the entire forest land of the municipality of Reichenau is distributed over plots of land of under 200 ha. The yield is mostly sold as logs; there are no sawmills or other wood processing operations in the immediate vicinity of the Turracher Höhe.
Water supply
Drinking water is supplied from two springs near the Grün Lake and a further one from Kornock. The quality of the drinking water and of the Turrach lakes is very good, since the community is connected to a public sewerage system which was built from 1967 through 1972, so that the accumulated waste water is diverted over the Reichenau plain to purification plants in Feldkirchen. The Turracher Lake was the first lake in Carinthia for which a sewerage plant was entirely completed.Energy
The Turracher Höhe was first connected in 1957 to the public electric supply system of KELAG, an Austrian electric company based in KlagenfurtKlagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
. Up until then, electricity was produced by generators by each piece of property. With the construction of a district heating plant in 1997, hotels and many vacation homes are connected to an environmentally friendly supply of heating.
Transportation
Salzburg (state)
Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...
and Styria. It was known as the steepest Carinthian pass road, however, it is more gentle today because the roadway was moved, so that no escape route is necessary. The roads which are used considerably more by long-distance traffic are the Tauernautobahn (A10) and the Katschberg Straße (B99) from Bischofshofen
Bischofshofen
Bischofshofen is a city located in the Salzach valley in the Alps, in the District of Pongau, in Salzburgerland, Austria.The city is an important railway hub and lies at the Tauernautobahn, a highway route through the Alps....
to Spittal
Spittal an der Drau
Spittal an der Drau is located in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia and the administrative centre of the federal state's second largest district, Spittal an der Drau. It lies between the Lurnfeld area and the Lower Drava Valley. The city consists of the seven...
on the west, which runs parallel to the A10, and the Friesacher Straße (B317) from Judenburg
Judenburg
- People :* Renate Götschl* Egon Haar * Herbert Hufnagl, journalist * Gernot Jurtin* Christian Muthspiel, jazz musician, painter* Kurt Muthspiel, composer * Wolfgang Muthspiel* Christian Pfannberger* Walter Pfrimer* Georg Pichler...
to Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
east of the Turracher Höhe.
The Turracher Höhe is only sparsely served by public transportation. From Predlitz, where the "Predlitz Turracher Höhe" train station of the Murtalbahn
Murtalbahn
The Murtalbahn is a narrow-gauge railway which runs from the market town of Unzmarkt through Murau to Tamsweg in the Austrian state of Styria although Tamsweg is just inside the federal state of Salzburg...
is located, a bus line of the Verkehrsverbund Steiermark (Styrian Transport Association) runs to the pass summit a few times a day, and the same for a bus connection of the ÖBB
ÖBB
The Austrian Federal Railways is the national railway system of Austria, and the administrators of Liechtenstein's railways...
(Österreichischen Bundesbahnen, Austrian Federal Railways) to Reichenau and further to Klagenfurt.
Tourism
Toboggan
A toboggan is a simple sled which is a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people down a hill or other slope for recreation. Designs vary from simple, traditional models to modern engineered composites...
run was opened.
Winter tourism
In winter, five chairlifts (one of them a combined gondola-chairlift beside the year-round toboggan run) and nine T-bar lifts along the 38 ski runs begin operation. The "Hausberg" is the Kornock (2.193 m), with two chairlifts running along its eastern slope, the Kornockbahn and the Panoramabahn. The station at the bottom of the Kornockbahn lift is in the middle of the village and also runs in the summer. On the northern slope of the Turracher Höhe, there is a demanding FIS ski run into the Turrach valley. In the eastern and western flanks of the saddle, there are longer ski runs of easy to medium difficulty.In total, 25 km of cross-country ski runs have been laid, with winter hiking paths beside them. On the lake, areas for ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
and curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
are kept free of snow. The "Seetaxi" is unique. It is a snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
with holding rods, which shuttles along the border between Styria and Carinthia between the ski lifts east and west of the lake and pulls skiers over the frozen lake without charge.
Summer tourism
The Turracher Lake is seldom used for swimming in the summer, since the water temperature rarely goes above 18 °C. That is why the offerings for summer tourism, which has only about half as many visitors as during the winter months, is essentially limited to the numerous hiking paths around the lakes and in the surrounding mountainous country. Five hiking trails are marked as so-called "Geopfade" (Geo-paths), with display boards describing places worth noticing ("Geopunkte", Geo-points) along the way. In the summer, two chair lifts and the toboggan run are also in operation.In addition, the Turracher Höhe is at the eastern edge of the Nationalpark Nockberge. About one kilometre before the Reichenau plain, the Nockalmstraße, a toll road, branches off to the national park from the Turracher Straße.
Museums
The privately operated museum, "Alpin+Art+Gallery", was founded in 1960 as a small mineral museum and it was expanded and newly conceived in 2000. The original museum was in a converted Troadkåstn, as the grain silos in Carinthia are named. During the expansion, an additional building with 400 m² of exhibition space was added.In the village of Turrach at the foot of the Turracher Höhe, there is another museum, "Holz und Eisen" (Wood and Iron), which exhibits items from the time of mining in the region and also offers tours of the old buildings and mining tunnels. Additional articles from the mining and smelting operations can be viewed in the "Eisensaal" (Iron Hall) of Castle Murau
Murau
Murau is the capital of the district of the same name in Styria, located along the Mur river. It has a population of 2,331.-History:The area was already settled in the Bronze Age and Roman time, for the first time document which mentioned Murau was in the year 1250.During the Second World War a...
. The famous Bessemer converter from Turrach is in the Technische Museum in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
today.
Geology
The geologicalGeology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
construction of the Turracher Höhe is characterised by various kinds of rock, as well as the effects of the tectonic
Tectonics
Tectonics is a field of study within geology concerned generally with the structures within the lithosphere of the Earth and particularly with the forces and movements that have operated in a region to create these structures.Tectonics is concerned with the orogenies and tectonic development of...
movements, which became visible here and finally led to the formation of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
in the late Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
era about 100 million years ago. The eastern Central Alps got their current structure at the end of the Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
Period.
From the geological viewpoint, the Turracher Höhe and its further surroundings belong to the Gurktal layer, whose Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
rocks slid over the more recent rock layer of the so-called Stangalm Triassic Period. On and under the course of the sliding, there are a whole series of smaller and larger deposits of siderite
Siderite
Siderite is a mineral composed of iron carbonate FeCO3. It takes its name from the Greek word σίδηρος sideros, “iron”. It is a valuable iron mineral, since it is 48% iron and contains no sulfur or phosphorus...
and limonite
Limonite
Limonite is an ore consisting in a mixture of hydrated iron oxide-hydroxide of varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO·nH2O, although this is not entirely accurate as limonite often contains a varying amount of oxide compared to hydroxide.Together with hematite, it has...
. Those are among the ones in Steinbachgraben and Rohrerwald near Turrach, which were the basis for the iron smelting there.
The most commonly appearing minerals on the Turracher Höhe are the Gurktal phyllite
Phyllite
Phyllite is a type of foliated metamorphic rock primarily composed of quartz, sericite mica, and chlorite; the rock represents a gradation in the degree of metamorphism between slate and mica schist. Minute crystals of graphite, sericite, or chlorite impart a silky, sometimes golden sheen to the...
(created in the Lower Silurian
Silurian
The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...
) and Eisenhutschiefer (Upper Silurian to Middle Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
), and on the other side of the Gurktal layer also Altkristallin (paragneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
, mica schist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
, amphibolite
Amphibolite
Amphibolite is the name given to a rock consisting mainly of hornblende amphibole, the use of the term being restricted, however, to metamorphic rocks. The modern terminology for a holocrystalline plutonic igneous rocks composed primarily of hornblende amphibole is a hornblendite, which are...
), some of which were created in the Ediacaran
Ediacaran
The Ediacaran Period , named after the Ediacara Hills of South Australia, is the last geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era and of the Proterozoic Eon, immediately preceding the Cambrian Period, the first period of the Paleozoic Era and of the Phanerozoic Eon...
Period. The narrow strips of the Stangalm Triassic Period, which lie between them, consist of limestone
Limestone
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....
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....
.
During the various ice ages of the Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
Period, the Turracher Höhe was glaciated. In the Würm glaciation, there were partial currents of the Mura glacier, which flowed out of the feeding area of the Niederen Tauern to the south. About 20,000 years ago, a strong warming within 1,000 to 1,500 years made the glacial net melt off. As a rare relic of the Würm ice age, there is a glacial mill
Moulin (geology)
A moulin or glacier mill is a roughly circular, vertical to nearly vertical well-like shaft within the a glacier through which water enters it from the surface. The term is derived from the French word for mill....
west of Turracher Lake. Further effects of the glaciation can be observed in the shape of the terrain, as well as in many individual places of the Turracher Höhe. The rounded off mountain tops with tub-like depressions between them (cirque
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
s) are the results of the tectonic movements as well as the glaciation. One example of that is the Hohe Kor. There is also a further result of ice age glacial activity there, a moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
embankment.
Turrach Lakes
The surface of the up to 33 metre deep Turracher See is completely frozen over for up to six months of the year. Since water from the lake is used to create artificial snow, the water level in the lake can vary by a few metres in the winter.
Aside from the lakes, marshes and bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s were also formed from the glaciers of the ice age because of the high level of the ground water. In the area of the pass summit, there are various types of bogs. In the area of the pass summit there are mainly fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
s with some smaller transitional mires and raised bogs. On the Kornock there is a vale moor in more than 2,000 m above sea level. The most important bog area adjoins the Schwarzsee and is probably a part of this body of water which has already silted up.
Flora
The predominant, extensive stands of stone pine
Stone Pine
The Stone Pine , is also called Italian Stone Pine, or Umbrella Pine , and Parasol Pine. It is in the pine family Pinaceae and occasionally listed under the invalid name Pinus sativa. The tree is native to the Mediterranean region...
here are worth commenting on. They belong to the largest in Carinthia. The subalpine forests are often thinned out like a park, with an undergrowth including the ubiquitous rusty-leaved alpenrose
Rhododendron ferrugineum
Rhododendron ferrugineum is an evergreen shrub that grows just above the tree line in the Alps, Pyrenees, Jura and northern Apennines, on acid soils. It may grow up to 1 m tall and produces clusters of pinkish-red, bell-shaped flowers throughout the summer...
(Rhododendron ferrugineum), as well as the dwarf common juniper
Juniperus communis
Juniperus communis, the Common Juniper, is a species in the genus Juniperus, in the family Cupressaceae. It has the largest range of any woody plant, throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia.-...
(Juniperus communis subsp. alpina) and the spotted gentian
Gentian
Gentiana is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Gentian family , tribe Gentianeae and monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species, it is considered a large genus.-Habitat:...
(Gentiana punctata). On the Rauterriegel southeast of the Eisenhut, there is a spruce forest with a lot of stone pines. In the green alder
Green Alder
Alnus viridis is an alder with a wide range across the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere.-Description:It is a large shrub or small tree 3–12 m tall with smooth grey bark even in old age. The leaves are shiny green, ovoid, 3–8 cm long and 2–6 cm broad...
(Alnus viridis) bushes at the avalanche slope southeast of the Rinsennock, there are many herbaceous tall forbs, such as monkshood
Aconitum napellus
Aconitum napellus is a species of Aconitum in the family Ranunculaceae, native and endemic to western and central Europe....
(Aconitum napellus subsp. tauricum), masterwort
Masterwort
Masterwort typically refers to the plant Peucedanum ostruthium or Imperatoria ostruthium in the family Apiaceae, and not to be confused with great masterwort, Astrantia major, in the same family.-Use:...
(Peucedanum ostruthium), and Austrian doronicum
Doronicum
Doronicum is a genus of the botanical family Asteraceae.-Selected species:*Doronicum altaicum*Doronicum atlanticum* Doronicum austriacum Jacq.*Doronicum briquetii* Doronicum cacaliifolium Boiss. & Heldr....
(Doronicum austriacum). On the Kilnprein, there are large fields of mugo 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...
(Pinus mugo).
On the pass summit, there is a transitional mire: in the mud sedge bog (Caricetum limosae) grow, in addition to the mud sedge
Carex
Carex is a genus of plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges. Other members of the Cyperaceae family are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called "true" sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as...
(Carex limosa, endangered) which gives the name, also the lesser twayblade (Listera cordata) and the dwarf birch
Dwarf Birch
Betula nana is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region.-Description:...
(Betula nana). In the fen south of the Schwarzsee, a brown sedge marsh (Caricetum fuscae subalpinum) with the endangered species common sedge (or brown sedge, Carex nigra), round-leaved sundew
Drosera rotundifolia
Drosera rotundifolia is a species of sundew, a carnivorous plant often found in bogs, marshes and fens...
(Drosera rotundifolia) and bastard sundew (D. x obovata), as well as dwarf birch. There is a vale mire on the Kornock. Aside from the dominant deer-hair sedge (Trichophorum cespitosum), there are alpine bartsia
Bartsia alpina
Bartsia alpina is a species of perennial flowering plant. It is known by the common name Velvetbells.-External links:**...
(Bartsia alpina), alpine butterwort
Pinguicula alpina
Pinguicula alpina, also known as the alpine butterwort, is species of carnivorous plant native to high latitudes and altitudes throughout Eurasia. It is one of the most widespread Pinguicula species, being found in mountainous regions from Iceland to the Himalayas...
(Pinguicula alpina) and bog-bean
Menyanthes
Menyanthes is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Menyanthaceae containing the single species Menyanthes trifoliata...
(Menyanthes trifoliata).
In the subalpine mat-grass grasslands (Aveno-Nardetum) are found the spring pasqueflower
Pulsatilla vernalis
Pulsatilla vernalis belongs to the Buttercup family , native to Europe.It grows to 5–15 cm high. The finely-dissected leaves appear in early spring....
(Pulsatilla vernalis), the alpine pasqueflower
Pulsatilla alpina
Pulsatilla alpina, alpine pasqueflower, or alpine anemone is an alpine plant found in the mountain ranges of central and southern Europe from central Spain to Croatia...
(Pulsatilla alpina) and Scheuchzer's bell flower (Campanula scheuchzeri). In the alpine bent sedge grasslands (Caricetum curvulae), there are red-flowered dwarf primula
Primula
Primula is a genus of 400–500 species of low-growing herbs in the family Primulaceae. They include primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. Many species are grown for their ornamental flowers...
(Primula minima) and sticky primrose
Primula
Primula is a genus of 400–500 species of low-growing herbs in the family Primulaceae. They include primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. Many species are grown for their ornamental flowers...
(P. glutinosa). In the coloured fescue grasslands on the south-facing steep slopes, there are the villous primula
Primula
Primula is a genus of 400–500 species of low-growing herbs in the family Primulaceae. They include primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. Many species are grown for their ornamental flowers...
(Primula villosa, "red spike") in the dark blue flowered form endemic to the northern alps. In the Polsterfluren, Wulf's androsace
Androsace
Androsace is the second largest genus in the Primulaceae. It is a predominantly Arctic-alpine genus with many species in the Himalayas , the mountains of central Asia, the Caucasus, and the southern and central European mountain systems, particularly the Alps and the Pyrenees.Recent molecular...
(Androsace wulfeniana), endemic to the eastern alps, and Wulf's houseleek
Houseleek
Sempervivum , known as Houseleeks or Liveforever, are a genus of about 40 species of succulent plants of the Crassulaceae family which grow in rosettes...
(Sempervivum wulfenii) grow.
Fauna
In the region of the Turracher Höhe, the entire spectrum of the Alpine animal world is found, with the exception of the ibex, which was never indigenous here. Besides hoofed game animals (red deer, chamois, roe deer) and the corvidsCorvidae
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...
(raven, jackdaw, magpie), there are also four members of the pheasant family
Phasianidae
The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...
(capercaillie
Capercaillie
The Western Capercaillie , also known as the Wood Grouse, Heather Cock or Capercaillie , is the largest member of the grouse family, reaching over 100 cm in length and 6.7 kg in weight. The largest one ever recorded in captivity had a weight of 7.2 kg....
, 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...
, willow grouse
Lagopus
Lagopus is a small genus of birds in the grouse subfamily. It contains three existing species.-Species:* Willow Ptarmigan or Willow Grouse, Lagopus lagopus* Rock Ptarmigan , Lagopus muta...
and hazel grouse
Hazel Grouse
The Hazel Grouse or Hazel Hen is one of the smaller members of the grouse family of birds. It is a sedentary species, breeding across northern Eurasia and central and eastern Europe in dense, damp, mixed coniferous woodland, preferably with some spruce.The nest is on the ground, and 3–6 eggs is...
) in stable populations. In predatory game animals, there are fox, badger, pine marten
Pine Marten
The European Pine Marten , known most commonly as the pine marten in Anglophone Europe, and less commonly also known as Pineten, baum marten, or sweet marten, is an animal native to Northern Europe belonging to the mustelid family, which also includes mink, otter, badger, wolverine and weasel. It...
, stone marten
Beech Marten
The beech marten , also known as the stone marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN on account of its wide distribution, its large...
, European polecat
European polecat
The European polecat , also known as the black or forest polecat , is a species of Mustelid native to western Eurasia and North Africa, which is classed by the IUCN as Least Concern due to its wide range and large numbers. It is of a generally dark brown colour, with a pale underbelly and a dark...
, ermine
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...
and least weasel
Least Weasel
The least weasel is the smallest member of the Mustelidae , native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, though it has been introduced elsewhere. It is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and presumably large population...
. Birds of prey, such as goshawk, Eurasian sparrowhawk, European kestrel
Common Kestrel
The Common Kestrel is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel. In Britain, where no other brown falcon occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".This species...
, 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...
, as well as more rarely Eurasian hobby
Eurasian Hobby
The Eurasian Hobby , or just simply Hobby, is a small slim falcon. It belongs to a rather close-knit group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis.-Description:...
and peregrine
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
are also seen here. From the nocturnal birds of prey, there are the Eurasian eagle-owl, tawney 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...
, 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...
and Eurasian pygmy-owl. There are also marmot
Marmot
The marmots are a genus, Marmota, of squirrels. There are 14 species in this genus.Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps, northern Apennines, Eurasian steppes, Carpathians, Tatras, and Pyrenees in...
s.
Carboniferous Period Flora of the Stangalpe
In the approximately 300 million year old slate from the CarboniferousCarboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
Period, fossilised plants had already been found in the late 18th century. Scientifically recorded for the first time in 1835 by Ami Boué
Ami Boué
Ami Boué , Austrian geologist, was born at Hamburg, and received his early education there and in Geneva and Paris....
, there are 72 species of coal forest plants from the Stangalpe known today, among which are the giant horsetails (Calamites
Calamites
Calamites is a genus of extinct arborescent horsetails to which the modern horsetails are closely related. Unlike their herbaceous modern cousins, these plants were medium-sized trees, growing to heights of more than 30 meters...
), Sigillaria
Sigillaria
Sigillaria is a genus of extinct, spore-bearing, arborescent plants which flourished in the Late Carboniferous period but dwindled to extinction in the early Permian period. It was a lycopodiophyte, and is related to the lycopsids, or club-mosses, but even more closely to quillworts, as was its...
, 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...
s (Pecopteris), Cordaites
Cordaites
Cordaites is an important genus of extinct gymnosperms which grew on wet ground similar to the Everglades in Florida. Brackish water mussels and crustacea are found frequently between the roots of these trees. The fossils are found in rock sections from the Upper Carboniferous of the Dutch -...
and conifers
Pinales
The Order Pinales in the Division Pinophyta, Class Pinopsida comprises all the extant conifers. This order was formerly known as the Coniferales....
(Dicranophyllum).
Literature
All references are in German.- A. Fritz, M. Boersma, K. Krainer: Steinkohlenzeitliche Pflanzenfossilien. Carinthia II, Klagenfurt 1990. 189 pp.
- W. J. Jongmans: Die Flora des "Stangalpe"-Gebietes in Steiermark. In: C. R. 2e Congr. Pour l’avancement dea etudes de Stratigraphie Carbonifere, Heerlen 1935. Maestricht 1938, Vol. III, p. 1259–1298.
- Matthias Maierbrugger: Turracherhöhe und Nockalmstrasse. Ein Führer und Ratgeber durch Landschaft und Geschichte. Verlag Johannes Heyn, Klagenfurt 1984, ISBN 3-85366-429-6
- Barbara and Peter Leeb (publ.) / With text by Matthias Maierbrugger. Der Hochschober, die Turracher Höhe und die Nockberge : ein Buch für "Hochschober-Gäste" als Verbindung zwischen Gestern und Heute. Heyn Verlag, Klagenfurt, 2001. [238 pages] ISBN 3-85366-979-4.
- Georg Sterk, Friedrich H Ucik: Die Turracher Höhe. Auf den Spuren der Zeit. Verlag Johannes Heyn, Klagenfurt 2003, ISBN 3-7084-0039-9