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

Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps (; ; ; ) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Italian Friuli (Province of Udine) and marginally in Veneto. Etymology They are ...

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

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

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

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 (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), 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. ...

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

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 (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

References

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