The Rosalia Mountains (, ,

Burgenland Burgenland (; ; ; Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland''; Slovene language, Slovene: ''Gradiščanska''; ) is the easternmost and least populous Bundesland (Austria), state of Austria. It consists of two statutory city (Austria), statut ...

), sometimes called the ''Rosalie Mountains'' or ''Rosalien Mountains'', are an outlier of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

on the state border between

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

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 ...

. The low

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 ...

runs from north to south and reaches its highest point at the summit of the Heuberg (often also called ''Rosalia'') near Neudörfl, before descending again towards the village of Weppersdorf. They are separated from the Leitha Mountains to the north by the Ödenburg Gate.Shores, Louis. ''Collier's Encyclopedia'', Vol. 21. Crowell-Collier, 1963. From a geological perspective the Rosalia Mountains are part of the Bucklige Welt. The topographical boundary between the Bucklige Welt and the Rosalia is formed by the valley of the ''Klingfurther Bach'', which runs from north to southeast and in which lie the villages of Klingfurth and ''Rosenbrunn''. The boundary continues over the basin of the Hochwolkersdorf hamlet of ''Alm'', along the so-called ''Totengraben'' in the Essengraben and then via the ''Graben'' into the valley of the Schwarzenbach. In the east the range is adjoined by the Ödenburg or Sopron Mountains. The north–south boundary between them is formed by the Marzau, the Sieggraben Saddle and the Sieggrabenbach valley. The following peaks are located in the northern Rosalia: * Scheiben * Mitterriegel * Gespitzter Riegel * Bergkogel * Bauernmaiß * Kogel * Krieriegel The northern and southern Rosalia Mountains are separated from one another by the

Wulka The Wulka () is a river of Burgenland, Austria. Its basin area is . The river springs near Forchtenstein and the border to Lower Austria. It flows through Trausdorf an der Wulka and discharges near Donnerskirchen into Lake Neusiedl, in former t ...

valley, the Heuberg (highest point of the range near the Rosalia Chapel) and a ridge that runs from the Heuberg via the Auerberg and the Hochwolkersdorf hamlet of ''Hollerberg'' to ''Fernblick''. The following peaks are located in the southern Rosalia: * Auerberg * Hartlspitz * Geißspitz * Schwarzkogel * Greimkogel * Reisnerkogel * Marriegel * Sieggrabener Kogel * Königsbühel * Schwarzenbach Burgberg * Roter Riegel Like the Leitha Mountains, the Rosalia Mountains are made of

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

and

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. The ridge is heavily forested. The highest point is the Heuberg with its Rosalia Chapel, which reaches a height of 748 metres. At the top is the ORF transmitter of Heuberg which covers northern Burgenland. On the steep limestone crags at its eastern foot is Forchtenstein Castle. The range is drained by the

, the

Leitha The Leitha (; , formerly ; ; Czech language, Czech and ) is a river in Austria and Hungary, a right tributary of the Danube. It is long ( including its source river Schwarza (Leitha), Schwarza). Its basin area is . Etymology The ''Lithaha'' Riv ...

and the Schwarzenbach. Part of the range is located within the Rosalia-Kogelberg Nature Park. The Rosalia Mountains can only be crossed by the road from Mattersburg in Burgenland to Hochwolkersdorf in Lower Austria. In its lateral valleys, favourable conditions have led to extensive orchards and

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s. A well-known village is the spa of Bad Sauerbrunn at their northern foot.

Literature

* Franz K. Bauer, Rudolph Oberhauser (eds.): ''Der Geologische Aufbau Österreichs.'' Geologische Bundesanstalt, Springer-Verlag, Vienna/New York, 2008,
pp. 326ff

References

External links

{{Commons category, Rosaliengebirge, Rosalia Mountains Mountain ranges of Burgenland Mountain ranges of Lower Austria Mountain ranges of the Alps