Grossglockner
Austria's highest peak and a prominent Alpine landmark.
It is the highest peak in the Alps east of the Brenner Pass and part of the Glockner Group in the Hohe Tauern range. Its characteristic pyramid-shaped peak consists of two pinnacles: the Großglockner and the Kleinglockner, separated by the Glocknerscharte col.
- location
- Border of Carinthia and Tyrol, Austria
- isolation
- Second greatest topographic isolation in the Alps after Mont Blanc
- glacier
- Pasterze, Austria's most extended glacier, on its eastern slope
Lore & Background
Scholar Belsazar Hacquet suggested the name derives from German Glocke ('bell'), referring to the mountain's shape, or from Alpine Slavic Klek ('mountain'). The guides are usually identified as brothers Joseph and Martin Klotz, though this surname does not appear in the Heiligenblut parish register.
Reader's Guide
The Grossglockner is significant as Austria's highest mountain and a key peak in the Eastern Alps. The mountain's double peak—the Großglockner and Kleinglockner—is a distinctive feature.
Did You Know?
- The mountain's double peak consists of the Großglockner and the Kleinglockner, separated by the Glocknerscharte col.
- The Pasterze, Austria's most extended glacier, lies on the Grossglockner's eastern slope.
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