The Kamnik–Savinja Alps ( sl, Kamniško-Savinjske Alpe) are a mountain range of the

Southern Limestone Alps The Southern Limestone Alps ( it, Alpi Sud-orientali, german: Südliche Kalkalpen), also called the Southern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps south of the Central Eastern Alps mainly located in northern Italy and the adjacent l ...

. They lie in northern

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, except for the northernmost part, which lies in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The western part of the range was named the Kamnik Alps (german: Steiner Alpen) in 1778 by the scientists

Belsazar Hacquet Belsazar de la Motte Hacquet (also Balthasar or Balthazar Hacquet) (c. 1739 – 10 January 1815) was a Carniolan physician of French descent in the Enlightenment Era. He was a war surgeon, a surgeon in the mining town of Idrija, and a professor o ...

and

Franz Xaver von Wulfen Franz Xaver Freiherr von Wulfen (5 November 1728 – 17 March 1805) was an Austrian botanist, zoologist, mineralogist, alpinist, and Jesuit priest. He is credited with discovering the flowering plants ''Wulfenia carinthiaca'', ''Saxifraga mo ...

, after the town of

Kamnik Kamnik (; german: Stein''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 26–27. or ''Stein in Oberkrain'') is a town in northern Slovenia. It is t ...

(''Stein'') in the valley of the

Kamnik Bistrica The Kamnik Bistrica ( sl, Kamniška Bistrica, ) is an Alpine river in northern Slovenia, a left tributary of the Sava River. It springs from the Kamnik Alps (part of the Southern Limestone Alps) near the border with Austria. It is long. The Kamnik ...

River. Its eastern part was named the Savinja Alps (''Sanntaler Alpen'') or Solčava Alps (''Sulzbacher Alpen'') by the mountaineer Johannes von Frischauf in 1875, after the settlement of Solčava (''Sulzbach'') and the main river, the upper

Savinja The Savinja () is a river in northeast Slovenia which flows mostly in the Upper and Lower Savinja Valley ( sl, Zgornja in Spodnja Savinjska dolina) and through the cities of Celje and Laško. The Savinja is the main river of the Savinja Alps (Sl ...

(''Sann'').

Geography

The Kamnik–Savinja Alps are located south of the

Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks ( sl, Karavanke; german: Karawanken, ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: ...

range at the border of Austria and Slovenia, stretching from the

Sava River The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...

in the west to the Savinja in the east, where the adjacent

Slovenian Prealps The Slovene Prealps or the Slovenian Prealps ( sl, Slovenske Predalpe, , ) are a group of mountain ranges in the eastern part of the Alps. They are located in Slovenia and, for a small part of their northernmost area, in Austria. Geography SO ...

with the

Pohorje Pohorje (), also known as the Pohorje Massif or the Pohorje Mountains (german: Bachergebirge, ''Bacherngebirge'' or often simply ''Bachern''), is a mostly wooded, medium-high mountain range south of the Drava River in northeastern Slovenia. Acco ...

range, the

Celje ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Cou ...

Hills at the Dravinja River, as well as the

Sava Hills The Sava Hills ( sl, Posavsko hribovje) are the eastern part of the Slovene Prealps. They are oriented in the east-west direction and are located to the north and south of the Sava River in central and eastern Slovenia, among the Ljubljana Basin ...

are located. In the northwest, the valley of Vellach Creek (at ) leading to Bad Vellach is the southernmost point of both the Austrian state of

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

and Austria as a whole. The entire main chain is today part of Slovenia. Historically it formed the border between the

Inner Austria Inner Austria (german: Innerösterreich; sl, Notranja Avstrija; it, Austria Interiore) was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the Imperial duchies ...

n duchies of

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

, and

Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...

. The

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

was located at the Carinthia Mount Rinka ( sl, Koroška Rinka). There is also a small

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

below Mount

Skuta Skuta (, ) is the third-highest peak in the Kamnik Alps and is known for the Skuta Glacier, which is the easternmost glacier in the Alps. A mountain lodge, operated by the Ljubljana Matica Alpine Club, stands below Skuta. Name Although the Slo ...

, which is the easternmost glacier in the Southern Alps.

Mountains and passes

The most important peaks are: *

Grintovec Grintovec is the highest mountain of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps, with an elevation of . It is a popular location for hiking, climbing and skiing. The first recorded ascent was in 1759 by the botanist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli. Grintovec has a promi ...

– *

Kočna Kočna at high, is the second-highest mountain in the Kamnik–Savinja Alps and the westernmost peak of the Grintovec Range ( sl, Grintovci). Its prominent and easily recognized peak is visible from far around. The mountain has two peaks: the high ...

– *

– * Ojstrica – *

Storžič Storžič (; ) is the highest mountain in the western part of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps. The top is a nicely shaped cone ( sl, storž), from which the mountain got its name. Storžič has a good panoramic view. To the south are the Ljubljana Basin, ...

– * Planjava – * Brana – *

Carinthia Mount Rinka Carinthia Mount Rinka ( sl, Koroška Rinka) or the Cross (), with an elevation of , is a mountain in the central Kamnik–Savinja Alps in northern Slovenia. It is connected via a pass with Carniola Mount Rinka (''Kranjska Rinka'', ), the northern ...

– * Cold Mountain – * Krofička – *

Kalce Ridge The Kalce Ridge ( sl, Kalški greben) is a mountain of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps in northern Slovenia. It is the highest peak of the Krvavec The Krvavec Ski Resort is the second-largest Slovenian ski resort, located in the Municipality of Ce ...

– In total, 28 peaks surpass 2,000 m. The total area of the Slovene part is about 900 km². About three-quarters of the area is covered with forest, and many of the higher peaks are bleak and rocky. The most important passes are the

Seebergsattel Seeberg Saddle (german: Seebergsattel, sl, Jezerski vrh), also just Seeberg (''Jezersko'') is a high mountain pass connecting Bad Eisenkappel in the Austrian state of Carinthia with Jezersko in the Slovenian region of Carinthia. It is located in ...

( sl, Jezersko sedlo) between Austrian Carinthia and Slovenia's

Municipality of Jezersko The Municipality of Jezersko (; sl, Občina Jezersko ) is a municipality in northern Slovenia. In 1995, Jezersko became part of Preddvor and became an independent municipality in 1998. Originally located in the historic region of Carinthia, it ...

, as well as the

Pavlič Pass The Pavlič Pass, Paulitsch Pass or Paulitsch Saddle ( sl, Pavličevo sedlo, german: Paulitschsattel) or just Pavlič (german: Paulitsch) (elevation 1338 m) is a mountain pass that connects the Slovenian municipality of Solčava in the historical ...

. On the Slovenian side, there is a skiing area, whereas tourism in the Vellach Valley focuses on health

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

Gallery

Image:Kamniske Alpe.JPG, The Kamnik–Savinja Alps; the highest peak in the picture is Storžič. Image:Kranj 06.jpg, The Kamnik–Savinja Alps seen from

Kranj Kranj (, german: Krainburg) is the third-largest city in Slovenia, with a population of 37,941 (2020). It is located approximately northwest of Ljubljana. The centre of the City Municipality of Kranj and of the traditional region of Upper Carniol ...

Image:Kranj 19.jpg,

and the Kamnik–Savinja Alps in background File:Upper Kamnik valley and Alps.JPG, A portion of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps with the northern suburbs of Kamnik in the foreground Image:Blick von Kärnten zu den SteinerAlpen.jpg, The Kamnik–Savinja Alps seen from

External links

*
Kamnik–Savinja Alps on Hiking Trail
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamnik-Savinja Alps Southern Limestone Alps Mountain ranges of the Alps Mountain ranges of Carinthia (state) Mountain ranges of Slovenia Natura 2000 in Slovenia

Geography

Mountains and passes

Gallery

See also

External links