Untersberg
Only a few minutes' drive from Salzburg's Old Town is the Untersberg, a real El Dorado for sports and outdoor enthusiasts. There are many ways to explore it.
The Untersberg covers an area of 70 km2 – one third lying in Austria, two thirds in Bavaria, Germany. A cable car runs from Grödig/St. Leonhard to the south of Salzburg up to the Geiereck top station at 1,776 m altitude. At its highest point, the Untersberg measures 1,972 metres.
Within the Untersberg are many caves, mostly inaccessible, which have given rise to fascinating myths and legends. The Untersberg Museum in Fürstenbrunn shows where the famous Unterberg marble is quarried and how it is used in industry. The Untersberg offers special power spots, where the visitor may be endowed with refreshing or healing energy. The Dalai Lama called the Salzburg mountain "the chakra at the heart of Europe".
For sports enthusiasts, the Untersberg is a real paradise, whatever the season In summer, hikers and mountain-bikers have a wide choice of routes. In winter, the snow-covered mountain offers a 7.5km-long ski-run designed to gladden the hearts of skiers and snowboarders. Ski tourers appreciate the tranquillity of the unspoilt landscape away from the ski-runs. The entire mountain is a landscape and plant conservation region, one area is declared a water protection zone. Most of the town of Salzburg gets its drinking water from the Untersberg.
The bottom station in Grödig/St. Leonhard, about 10 km south of Salzburg, can easily be reached by bus (nos. 25 and 28) and trolley bus line 5. The funicular was built between 1958 and 1961 and has been regularly modernised. The cable car runs at 30-minute intervals; it takes 8.5 minutes to cover more than 1,300m difference in altitude. An easy path leads from the top station to the Gebirgsjäger [mountain infantry] monument and the Salzburg Hochthron peak (1,852 m). Besides the restaurant in the top station, the Hochalm and the Zeppezauer Haus restaurants offer the wayfarer traditional local cuisine.
Please note: The top station of the Untersbergbahn lies in high Alpine terrain, so appropriate clothing and footwear are absolutely necessary, and please proceed with caution.
Curious to know more? Then read the magazine article on the Untersberg
