Hochkönig

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Hochkönig

Elevation 2,941 metres (9,649 ft)
Location Salzburg, Flag of Austria Austria
Range Berchtesgaden Alps
Prominence 2181 m ranked 6th in the Alps
Coordinates 47°25′14.9″N 13°3′47.4″E / 47.420806, 13.063167Coordinates: 47°25′14.9″N 13°3′47.4″E / 47.420806, 13.063167
Topo map BEV ÖK50 124; ÖAV 10/2
First ascent 1826
Easiest route hike
Translation high king (German)
Pronunciation [ˈhoːxˌkøːnɪç]

Hochkönig is the name applied to the highest mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps (in the Northern Calcareous Alps), and also to the surrounding mountain group as a whole. It lies to the west of the city of Bischofshofen in the Austrian state of Salzburg, 42 km due south of the city of Salzburg. Hochkönig is separated from the rest of the Berchtesgaden Alps, and more specifically from the Steinernes Meer (stone ocean) by the mountain pass Torscharte at 2246 m. The summit itself is at the southern edge of a large limestone plateau, which is largely covered by the glacier known as the "Übergossene Alm" (poured-over meadow).

In 1898, the Österreichischer Touristenklub built an alpine hut at the summit. The current building dates from 1985 and can sleep nearly one hundred mountaineers.