Peralba (''Hochweißstein'' in German) is a mountain of the

Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps ( it, Alpi Carniche; german: Karnische Alpen; sl, Karnijske Alpe; fur, Alps Cjargnelis) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Itali ...

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

, northeastern Italy, although its summit is only a few hundred metres from the

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 ...

n border. It has a height of 2,694 m making it the second highest mountain of the Carnics, after Coglians (in Italy). It lies on the main chain of the range, between the Austrian Lesachtal Valley in the north and the Italian Piave Valley in the south. The mountain resembles a huge cubic block of the stone, with a large summit

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

, and dominates the view from miles around.

World War I

The mountain was the sight of fierce fighting as part of the Italian Front. It was a strategically important peak due to its height and

prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

over the surrounding area, and its summit plateau where fortifications could be built. Even today there are remnants from the Great War on the peak, such as caves and a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

References

{{Authority control Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Veneto Carnic Alps