The Goldberg Group is a sub-group of the

Hohe Tauern The High Tauern ( pl.; german: Hohe Tauern, it, Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of ...

mountain range within the

Central Eastern Alps The Central Eastern Alps (german: Zentralalpen or Zentrale Ostalpen), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (german: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacen ...

. It is located 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 ...

, in the states of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

and Carinthia. Its highest peak is the Hocharn, . Other well known summits are the Hoher Sonnblick, with its observatory at , and the Schareck at

Name

The name of the group is related to the rich mineral ores of the area and the associated historic mining.

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

was mined in the

Rauris Rauris is a municipality in Salzburg (state) in the area of Pinzgau in Austria. There are about 3,150 inhabitants living in Rauris. Geography The market town Rauris is located in the Pinzgau in the state Salzburg at the river Rauriser Ache at ...

valley as well as in the Gastein valley (in the Radhausberg Massif), and helped those two valleys – and also the Archbishops of Salzburg as feudal lords – in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 150 ...

to gain enormous wealth. Not until the 19th century the mines were finally closed due to unprofitability. Even today, gold can be panned in the Rauris. Peaks like the Goldbergspitze (3,073 m) and Goldzechkopf (3,042 m) recall times long past when gold was mined in the High Tauern. In addition,

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

– as indicated by Silberpfennig (2,600 m) – and other precious metals were mined, as were precious stones ( aquamarine,

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...

and others).

Geography

The Goldberg Group lies in the eastern half of the Hohe Tauern range. In the west of the group is the Großglockner High Alpine Road, in the east runs the

Tauern Railway The Tauern Railway (german: Tauernbahn) is an Austrian railway line between Schwarzach- Sankt Veit in the state of Salzburg and Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia. It is part of one of the most important north-south trunk routes (''Magistrale'') in ...

. The boundaries of the Goldberg Group, based on the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps, where they are shown as group no. 42, are formed as follows: Zitiert nach * To the north:

Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: �saltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limestone and Central ...

River from Taxenbach down to its confluence with the Gasteiner Ache creek * To the east: Gasteiner Ache (Gastein Valley) up to the Nassfeld headwaters – Gasteiner Tauern (''Niederer Tauern'') (Pass of the Alpine divide) –

Mallnitz Mallnitz is a municipality in the Spittal an der Drau District in Carinthia, Austria. Geography It is situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range stretching southwards down to Obervellach on the Möll river and separating the ...

Creek as far as its confluence with the Möll River * To the south:

Möll Valley The Möll (; presumably from sl, Mel, "rubble") is a river in northwestern Carinthia in Austria, a left tributary of the Drava. Its drainage basin is . Course The river rises in the High Tauern range of the Central Eastern Alps on the Pasterze G ...

(running east-southeast up to

Winklern Winklern is a town in the district of Spittal an der Drau in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography The municipality lies at the foot of the Großglockner massif between the Schober, Goldberg, and Kreuzeck groups in the upper Möll valley ...

) * To the west: from the upper course of the Möll to Heiligenblut – along the Großglockner High Alpine Road to Hochtor Pass – down Seidlwinkl Valley to Rauris and Taxenbach. According to the Mountain Range Classification for the Austrian Cave Directory (''Gebirgsgruppengliederung für das österreichische Höhlenverzeichnis'') according to Hubert Trimmel, in which the group is given no. 2580, the boundary is not formed by the Mallnitzer Tauern above Nassfeld, but by the ''Hoher Tauern'' Pass and the Anlauf Valley.

Neighbouring ranges

Together with the

Ankogel Group The Ankogel Group (german: Ankogelgruppe) is a sub-group of the Central Eastern Alps. Together with the Goldberg Group, the Glockner Group, the Schober Group, the Kreuzeck Group, the Granatspitze Group, the Venediger Group, the Villgraten Mounta ...

, the

Glockner Group The Glockner Group Reynolds, Kev (2005). ''Walking in the Alps'', 2nd ed., Cicerone, Singapore, p.409, . (german: Glocknergruppe) is a sub-group of the Austrian Central Alps in the Eastern Alps, and is located in the centre section of the High ...

, the Schober Group, the

Kreuzeck Group The Kreuzeck Group is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. It may be considered either a separate range or part of the larger High Tauern chain. Administratively, the range belongs to the Austrian states of Carinthia and, in the westernm ...

, the Granatspitz Group, the

Venediger Group The Venediger Group (german: Venedigergruppe) is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. Together with the Granatspitze Group, the Glockner Group, the Goldberg Group, and the Ankogel Group, it forms the main ridge of the High Tauern. The hi ...

, the Villgraten Mountains and the

Rieserferner Group The Rieserferner Group ( it, Gruppo delle Vedrette di Ries, german: Rieserfernergruppe) is a mountain range in the Austrian Central Alps. Together with the Ankogel Group, Goldberg Group, Glockner Group, Schober Group, Kreuzeck Group, Granatspitz ...

, the Goldberg Group is among the major mountain groups of the High Tauern.

Subdivision

According to the Mountain Range Classification for the Austrian Cave Directory, the group is further subdivided as follows: * Sadnig Group in the knee of the River Möll * Sonnblick–Böseck Group between the Hüttwinkl and Möll valleys * Gamskarlspitze Group between Gastein and Mallnitz valleys * Edelweißspitze Group between Fusch and Rauris valleys as far as the Salzach * Hocharn Group between Hüttwinkl valley, Seidlwinkel valley and Hochtor (Grossglockner Road) * Bernkogel–Türchlwand Group between Rauris and Gastein valleys as far as the Salzach The Edelweißspitze Group (Radhausberg Massif) is part of the Ankogel Group according to the Alpine Club classification.

Summits

All the named

three-thousander Three-thousanders are mountains with a height of between , but less than above sea level. Similar terms are commonly used for mountains of other height brackets e. g. four-thousanders or eight-thousanders. In Britain, the term may refer to mo ...

s in the Goldberg Group:according to ÖK50, * Hocharn * Schareck *Grieswies-Schwarzkogel * Hoher Sonnblick *Baumbachspitze *Krumlkeeskopf *Roter Mann * Sandkopf *Arlthöhe *Goldbergspitze *Schneehorn *Goldzechkopf *Schlapperebenspitzen max. *Weinflaschenkopf * Ritterkopf *Noespitze

Literature

* Liselotte Buchenauer, Peter Holl: ''

Alpine Club Guide The ''Alpine Club Guides'' (german: Alpenvereinsführer, commonly shortened to ''AV Führer'' or ''AVF'') are the standard series of Alpine guides that cover all the important mountain groups in the Eastern Alps. They are produced jointly by the G ...

Ankogel- und Goldberggruppe''. Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, Munich, 1986. * Ingeborg Auer, Reinhard Böhm, Martin Leymüller, Wolfgang Schöner: ''Das Klima des Sonnblicks – Klimaatlas und Klimatographie der GAW-Station Sonnblick einschließlich der umgebenden Gebirgsregion'', ZAMG Vienna, 2002, ISSN 1016-6254.Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik Wien
''Bücher''
(accessed on 11 October 2012) * * Franz Stelzer: ''Grundzüge der Landformen der Goldberggruppe.'' In: ''Geographischer Jahresbericht aus Österreich'' 29, pp. 75–94.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Zell am See District St. Johann im Pongau District Mountain ranges of Carinthia (state) Mountain ranges of Salzburg (state)