The Wechsel is a 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 ...

in eastern

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 ...

whose highest summit is the Hochwechsel (). It also has two other summits over 1700 m. The massif forms the border between the states 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 ...

for about 15 km, southeast of the Semmering and northeast of the Graz Basin, between the

Feistritz Saddle The Feistritz Saddle (, elevation ) is a high mountain pass in the Austrian Alps between the ''Bundesländer'' of Lower Austria and Styria. The pass leads between the Wechsel () and the Stuhleck (). With the Semmering, it is one of the most ...

and the eponymous

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland *Pass, Poland, a village in Poland *El Paso, Texas, a city which translates to "The Pass" * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see Li ...

of Wechsel.

Geography

The Wechsel is part of the

Prealps East of the Mur The Prealps East of the Mur () are the easternmost mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. They comprise the eastern foothills of the Alpine crest beyond the Mur river and the adjacent southeastern Alpine Foreland. Boundary and neighbourin ...

. It is – apart from the

Vienna Woods The Vienna Woods (, ) are forested highlands that form the northeastern foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Lower Austria and Vienna. The and range of hills is heavily wooded and a popular recreation area with the Viennese ...

which are half the height – the easternmost range in 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. ...

. Its highest point, at , is the ''Hochwechsel'', formerly called the ''Hoher Umschuss'', at the top of which is the Wetterkoglerhaus, an

Alpine Club hut Alpine club huts () or simply club huts (''Clubhütten'') form the majority of the over 1,300 mountain huts in the Alps and are maintained by branches, or sections, of the various Alpine clubs. Although the usual English translation of ''Hütte'' i ...

belonging to the

Austrian Alpine Club The Austrian Alpine Club () has about 700,000 members in 194 sections and is the largest mountaineering organisation in Austria. It is responsible for the upkeep of over 234 alpine huts in Austria and neighbouring countries. It also maintains ove ...

. From there the crest of the mountains runs northwest to the ''Umschußriegel'' (,) continuing to the ''Schöberlriegel'' (), and east to the ''Niederwechsel'' (). The Wechsel is the boundary between the Styrian '' Joglland'' and the '' Bucklige Welt'', which stretches from the

Vienna Basin The Vienna Basin (, , , Hungarian: ''Bécsi-medence'') is a geologically young tectonic burial basin and sedimentary basin in the seam area between the Alps, the Carpathians and the Pannonian Plain. Although it topographically separates the Al ...

to the extreme southeast of Lower Austria. To the east this region transitions into the ''

Pinka The Pinka () is a river in Central Europe with a length of approximately . Its basin area is . Its source is located in Styria, eastern Austria, next to the provincial border of Burgenland. It passes into Hungary between the villages of and Fels� ...

valley'', the '' Güns Mountains'' and the ''

Pannonian Plain The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...

''. Important settlements at the foot of the Wechsel, which benefit from tourism associated with the mountain, are Aspang, Aspangberg-St. Peter, Dechantskirchen, Feistritz am Wechsel, Friedberg,

Kirchberg am Wechsel Kirchberg am Wechsel is a town in the district of Neunkirchen in the Austrian state 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 citi ...

Mönichkirchen Mönichkirchen is a market town in the district of Neunkirchen in the south of the Austrian state of Lower Austria with a population of 607 inhabitants (1.1.2013). Geography Mönichkirchen is situated on the east side of the Wechsel mountain ...

, Mönichwald, Pinggau, Trattenbach, Sankt Corona am Wechsel,

Sankt Jakob im Walde Sankt Jakob im Walde is a municipality in the district of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld in Styria, 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 ...

Sankt Lorenzen am Wechsel Sankt Lorenzen am Wechsel is a municipality in the district of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld in Styria, Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of ...

Vorau Vorau is a municipality in the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld District in Styria, Austria. It is home to the Vorau Abbey. References

Prealps East of the Mur Cities and towns in Hartberg-Fürstenfeld District {{Styria-geo-stub ...

, Waldbach and Wenigzell.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Mountain ranges of Lower Austria Mountain ranges of Styria Mountain ranges of the Alps Mountains of Lower Austria Mountains of Styria Mountains of the Alps Neunkirchen District, Austria Prealps East of the Mur Ski areas and resorts in Austria

Geography

References

Further reading

External links