The Großer Priel () is, at 2,515

metres above the Adriatic Metres above the Adriatic (, , Serbo-Croatian: ''Metara iznad Jadrana'') is the vertical datum used in Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia to measure elevation, referring to the ave ...

(8,251 ft), the highest mountain of the Totes Gebirge range, located in the

Traunviertel The Traunviertel is an Austrian region belonging to the state of Upper Austria. It is one of four "quarters" of Upper Austria and its name refers to the river Traun which passes through the area. Region The district includes the Linz-Land, St ...

region of

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

."Großer Priel, Austria"
Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01. It ranks among the ultra prominent peaks of the Alps. Part of the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the ...

, its steep Dachstein cliffs form the northeastern rim of a large

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

plateau and are visible from afar across the

Alpine Foreland The Alpine Foreland, less commonly called the Bavarian Foreland,Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, pp. 585-586. . Bavarian Plateau or Bavarian Alpine Foreland (), refers to a tria ...

First mentioned as ''Pruell'' in a 1584 deed, it was denoted as ''mons altissimus totius provintzia'' in the 1667 map of

by geographer

Georg Matthäus Vischer Georg Matthäus Vischer (22 April 1628 – 13 December 1696) was an Austrian topographer, cartographer, engraver and parish priest in Leonstein (Upper Austria) and Vienna. Vischer was born in Wenns ( Tyrol). Despite his clerical voc ...

. The prominent peak was also mentioned in the travelogues of

Archduke John of Austria Archduke John of Austria (, ; (or simply ''Nadvojvoda Janez''); 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, was an Austrian field marshal and imperial regent (''Reichsverweser'') of the short-lived German Emp ...

in 1810; a first touristic ascent is documented in 1817, followed by the climb of Archduke Louis of Austria in 1819. A

summit cross A summit cross is a Christian cross on the summit of a mountain or hill that marks the top. Often there will be a summit register (''Gipfelbuch'') at the cross, either in a container or other weatherproof case. The practice originated in the Ge ...

was erected in 1870, at the time when the Totes Gebirge range was gradually opened to mountaineers by the Austrian Tourist Club. Today, the most common routes of ascent are from

Hinterstoder Hinterstoder is a municipality in the district of Kirchdorf an der Krems (district), Kirchdorf an der Krems in Upper Austria, Austria. The village is located close on the border to the federal state Styria and 600 m above sea level. Hinterstoder is ...

via the Prielschutzhaus, an alpine hut managed by the Austrian Alpine Club, on the south side of the mountain, and from the Alm valley via Welser Hütte on the north side. There are also a number of paths leading from the Großer Priel summit to the rest of the Totes Gebirge plateau.

References

Mountains of Upper Austria Mountains of the Alps Totes Gebirge {{UpperAustria-geo-stub

See also

References