The Rax is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

in 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 ...

on the border of 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 federal provinces of

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

and

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

. Its highest peak is the ''Heukuppe'' (2,007 m). The Rax, together with the nearby Schneeberg, are a traditional mountaineering and mountain walking area, and are called the '' Wiener Hausberge'' (

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

's local mountains). They are separated by the deep ''Höllental'' ("Hell Valley"). A

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** ...

, the ''Raxseilbahn'', starting at Hirschwang at the north-eastern foot of the mountains and the first in Austria (construction began in 1925), takes visitors to the extensive, high plateau of the Rax at a height of about 1,500 m. This area is a particular favourite with hikers from Lower Austria and Vienna. The steep sides of the plateau offer climbing tours of various difficulty. These ''steige'' (mountain

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

s) and the ''hütten'',

alpine hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club ...

s offering basic accommodation, were built and are maintained kept by various Austrian

Alpine Club Alpine clubs are typically large social clubs that revolve around climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. Many alpine clubs also take on aspects typically reserved for local sport associations, providing education and training courses, se ...

s. They were erected in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Mountain huts

* Raxseilbahn mountain station, 1,540 m * Ottohaus, 1,640 m *

Gloggnitz Gloggnitz is a mountain town in the Neunkirchen (Austrian district), Neunkirchen district of Lower Austria, Austria. Gloggnitz is situated in the south-western part of the Viennese Basin, Vienna Basin in Lower Austria. It is surrounded by the hi ...

er Hut, 1,548 m *

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

Haus, 1,785 m * Karl Ludwig Haus, 1,804 m * See Hut, 1,643 m * Waxriegelhaus 1,361 m * Wolfgang Dirnbacher Hut, 1,477 m (shelter only)

Some Hikes and Rises

* Alpenvereins Steig: Großes Höllental – Ottohaus * Amaliensteig: Preiner Gscheid – Heukuppe * Bärenloch: Hinternasswald – Bärengraben * Bismarck Steig: Karl Ludwig Haus – Neue Seehütte * Brandschneide: Kaiserbrunn – Bergstation Raxbahn * Großes und kleines Fuchsloch: Preiner Gscheid – Heukuppe * Gaislochsteig (former

Guido von List Guido Karl Anton List (5 October 1848 – 17 May 1919), better known as Guido von List, was an Austrian occultist, journalist, playwright, and novelist. He expounded a modern Pagan new religious movement known as Wotanism, which he claimed w ...

Steig): Großes Höllental – Dirnbacher Hütte * Göbl-Kühn-Steig: Waxriegelhaus – Neue Seehütte * Gamsecksteig: Nasskamm – Grasboden Alm * Gretchen Steig: Preiner Gscheid – Karl Ludwig Haus * Grosses Wolfstal (unmarkiert, Schiabfahrt!) Kaiserbrunn – Ottohaus * Grosser Kesselgraben (Schiabfahrt!) Höllental – Gloggnitzer Hütte * Gsolhirnsteig * Gustav-Jahn-Steig: Verbindung Alpenvereinssteig – Ausstieg Gaislochsteig * Hans-von-Haid-Steig: Prein an der Rax – Preiner Wand * Hoyossteig: Großes Höllental – Rudolfsteig *

Kaiser Kaiser ( ; ) is the title historically used by German and Austrian emperors. In German, the title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (). In English, the word ''kaiser'' is mainly applied to the emperors ...

Steig: Rehboden – Scheibwald * Karl-Kantner-Steig: Waxriegelhaus – Karl Ludwig Haus * Kontrußsteig: Reißtalerhütte – Waxriegelhaus * Peter Jokl Steig: Hinternasswald – Scheibwald * Preinerwandsteig: Prein an der Rax – Preiner Wand * Preintalersteig: Großes Höllental – Wachthüttelkamm * Reißtalersteig: Preiner Gscheid – Heukuppe * Rudolfssteig: Höllental – Klobentörl * Schlangenweg: Waxriegelhaus – Karl Ludwig Haus * Schüttersteig: Verbindungsstrasse Nasswald/Hinternasswald – Scheibwald * Seeweg: Ottohaus – Neue Seehütte * Teufelsbadstubensteig: Großes Höllental – Wachthüttelkamm * Törlweg: Knappenhof – Ottohaus * Wachthüttelkamm: Höllental – Ottohaus * Waxriegelsteig: Predigtstuhl – Waxriegelhaus * Wildes Gamseck: Nasskamm – Grasboden Alm * Wildfährte: Hinternasswald – Grasboden Alm * Zikafahnlsteig: Scheibwald – Habsburghaus {{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Northern Limestone Alps Mountain ranges of Lower Austria Rax-Schneeberg Group Two-thousanders of Austria