Ennstal Alps

The Ennstal Alps (Alps of the Enns valley) are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps. They are located in the Austrian states of Styria and Upper Austria, but mostly in Styria. The most famous scenery in the Ennstal Alps is the Gesäuse, a valley where the Enns breaks through the limestone.

Neighbouring mountain ranges

The Ennstal Alps border on the following other mountain ranges in the Alps:

• Upper Austrian Prealps (to the north)
• Ybbstal Alps (to the northeast)
• Hochschwab (to the east)
• Lavanttal Alps (to the southeast)
• Seckauer Tauern (to the south)
• Rottenmanner and Wölzer Tauern (to the southwest)
• Totes Gebirge (to the west)

Topography

The Ennstal Alps are bounded by:

• the line Liezen–Pyhrn Pass–Windischgarsten in the west
• the Hengst Pass and the Laussabach in the north
• the River Enns (from Altenmarkt bei Sankt Gallen to Hieflau), Erzbach and Vordernbergerbach in the east
• the Mur (from Leoben to Sankt Michael in Obersteiermark), Liesing and Palten in the south

The following mountain groups are part of the Ennstal Alps:

• Haller Mauern (highest summit: Großer Pyhrgas, 2,244 m)
• Gesäuse mountains including the Buchstein Group (2,224 m), Reichenstein Group (2.251 m) and Hochtor Group (Hochtor, 2,369 m) and the Lugauer (2,217 m).
• Eisenerz Alps (Eisenerzer Reichenstein 2,165 m) with the preceding massifs of Reiting (including the Gößeck its main summit, 2,214 m) (in the south) and the Kaiserschild (2,105 m) in the north.

The range is pierced in the north by the Enns. This valley bears the description "Gesäuse". The valley is accompanied by the only roads and railway lines that run through the Ennstal Alps.

Settlement is restricted just to the Gesäuse with its main villages of Admont, Hieflau and Großreifling; several mountain valleys are settled too (Radmer, Johnsbach, St. Gallen). In the valleys on the perimeter are the towns of Leoben and Liezen as well as Eisenerz.

References

This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia.