The Barmsteine are two rock towers, 841 and 851 metres above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, in the northernmost part of the Hasel Mountains in the

Bavarian Alps The Bavarian Alps (, ) is a collective name for several mountain ranges of the Northern Limestone Alps within the German state of Bavaria. Geography The term in its wider sense refers to that part of the Eastern Alps that lies on Bavarian state ...

. They rise above the Austrian town of

Hallein Hallein () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. It is the capital of Hallein (district), Hallein district. Geography The town is located in the ''Tennengau'' region south of the City of Salzburg, stretching alo ...

, and lie on the border between Salzburger Land in Austria and

Berchtesgadener Land Berchtesgadener Land (Central Bavarian: ''Berchtsgoana Land'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Traunstein and by the state of Austria. History Middle ages and early modern era The southern a ...

in Germany.

Geology

Geologically Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

, the pinnacles have given their name to the so-called Barmstein limestone (''Barmsteinkalk''), a

turbidite A turbidite is the geologic Deposition (geology), deposit of a turbidity current, which is a type of amalgamation of fluidal and sediment gravity flow responsible for distributing vast amounts of clastic sediment into the deep ocean. Sequencing ...

sequence which is part of the Oberalm Formation in the Upper

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

rock layer. File:Barmstoa01.jpg, The Great Barmstein, right: Salzburg Land, left: Berchtesgaden Land File:Felseinlagerung_am_barmstoa.jpg, A rock insert on the Small Barmstein

Climbing and walking

Both rock pinnacles are a popular destination, especially for climbers because they are lit by the sun until late in the evening and are easy to get to. The climbing grade of the Small Barmstein is II to III, the Great Barmstein is significantly harder. In addition to the two large pinnacles there are also the ''Katzenbarmsteine'', on the southern

arête An arête ( ; ) is a narrow ridge of rock that separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequ ...

of the Small Barmstein. Here there is also a boulder park. The Barmsteine may also be easily climbed using rock steps with railings and several places that are secured by cables. On the Small Barmstein this ascent.The traditional maypole erected on the Bavarian side is lifted up the rock face. – In: Zinnburg: ''Bad Dürrnberg'', p. 40. is on the south side. It should not be attempted by anyone suffering from vertigo. For walkers, the ruins of ''Thürndl Castle'', just a little to the east, are also worth visiting. In January 2008 the southern face of the Small Barmstein was put out of bounds to climbers by the owner, who built a fence here after numerous infringements of the climbing rules. File:KletterordnungBarmstein.jpg, Notice board with climbing rules for the Barmstein File:ZaunKleinerBarmstein.jpg, Fence placing the Small Barmstein out of bounds to climbers

History

Galleries in the Barmsteine were used by the nearby brewery, ''Hofbräu Kaltenhausen'', to store beer. Even during the

Nazi era Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

the Barmsteine were visibly and invisibly used: in addition to the use of the hidden galleries as a site for the armaments industry, a large, white

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

was painted on the rocks so that it could be easily from the direction of Austria; this was even before the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

of Austria to Germany. After the war it was removed and is no longer really visible today.

Footnotes

Sources

* Zinnburg, Karl and Kurz, Franz (1980). ''Bad Dürrnberg''. Kurverwaltung, Bad Dürrnberg. * Plöchinger, Benno (1984) ''Zum Nachweis jurassisch-kretazischer Eingleitungen von Hallstätter Gesteinsmassen beiderseits des Salzach-Quertales (Salzburg)''. In: Geologische Vereinigung (Hrsg.): ''Geologische Rundschau''. Vol 73. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p. 293-304.Permalink ''Deutsche Nationalbibliothek''
Permalink ''Österreichischer Bibliothekenverbund''.
/ref> * Moosleitner, Gero (2004). ''Fossilien sammeln im Salzburger Land. Ein Führer zu klassischen und neuen Fundstellen''. 1. Auflage. Edition Goldschneck, Wiebelsheim, (see p. 29 and 149 on the two rocks and Barmstein limestone).

References

External links

{{Commons category, Barmsteine * https://web.archive.org/web/20110706093948/http://www.quechenberger.at/hobby/wandern/barm.htm - Walking * http://www.rsberge.de/touren/berchtes/bg0018.html - Climbing * http://www.andreaskrebs.de/html/barmstein-suedgrat.html - Climbing * http://www.salzburg.com/wiki/index.php/Barmsteine Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Bavaria Mountains of Salzburg (federal state) Mountains under 1000 metres Berchtesgaden Alps Berchtesgadener Land Hallein