I dreamed of preparing today's post for a very long time, because it will focus on the most beautiful place of our entire trip. I really like alpine mountain passes. First, the roads are laid in very beautiful places ah, secondly, the Europeans made sure that tourists here were as comfortable as possible. The Austrians are not far behind Switzerland in this regard. Today I will tell you about one of the most picturesque mountain routes in Austria - the Grossglockner panoramic road. Welcome to Austria!

Immediately after Verona, we headed to the Austrian town of Lienz, which is located very close to the Grossglockner road. To be honest, it turned out a little crumpled due to the long distance (300 km) and the late departure from Verona. We had to overcome part of the way already in the dark: we almost did not see Lienz and the Dolomites. We spent the night in a small country hotel on the outskirts of Lienz.

How nice it is to wake up early in the morning, leave the hotel and breathe in the cold mountain air. It's an indescribable feeling!

Europeans tend to get up very early, especially in rural areas.

The village where we spent the night is called Lavant. It has the parish church of St. Ulrich, located on Mt.:

We did not go up there, but here is a photo of the interior of the church from Wiki, isn't it cool?

Michael Kranewitter via Wikimedia Commons

In the fountain opposite the entrance to the hotel, someone left several cases of beer to cool:

Starting from Lienz, the road smoothly rises into the mountains and passes through the most beautiful places with an abundance of viewing platforms.

The Grossglockner panoramic road itself starts from the town of Heiligenblut, 40 km from Lienz.

The road was named after the high mountain Austria - Grossglockner, whose height is 3798 m. Here it first appears in sight (snow-covered peak):

The Grossglockner Road is not a typical utility road, but rather a tourist attraction. For faster travel, the A10 expressway is used.

The panoramic road is a serpentine of 36 turns, about 48 km long. At the very beginning of the road, it has a small branch that leads to the Pasterze Glacier and the center of Kaiser Franz Josef. There is the maximum point of approach to the Grossglockner.

Image from websitewww.grossglockner.at

Well, we are finally on the road itself. Some historical facts: it was put into operation in 1935. However, when in 1924 a group of Austrian experts presented a plan to build a road through the Khochtor Pass, it was met with skepticism. At that time in Austria, Germany and Italy there were only 154 thousand private cars, 92 thousand motorcycles, and 2000 km of paved roads. Austria suffered catastrophic economic losses in World War I, shrunk sevenfold in size, lost its international markets, and suffered devastating inflation.

Even a simple project of a gravel road 3 meters wide with sidings turned out to be too expensive. The impetus for the construction of the road, which was supposed to open a barren alpine valley to motorized tourism, came from a downturn in the stock market in New York in 1929. This disaster greatly shook poor Austria. Within three years, production fell by a quarter. Then the government revived the Grossglockner project in order to give work to 3200 (out of 520 thousand!) Unemployed. In the new project, the road was widened to 6 meters, counting on 120,000 visitors a year. The state decided to make up for the construction costs by introducing a toll for the use of the road.

On August 30, 1930, at 9:30 am, the first explosion of rock was made. Four years later, the head of the government of Salzburg drove the new one for the first time. A year later, the Grossglockner high-altitude road was put into operation. And the very next day, the international automobile and motorcycle races Grossglockner Races were held on it.

Construction costs turned out to be less than planned, and attendance in the early years significantly exceeded the most optimistic estimates. In the future, a phased modernization of the road was carried out. Its width and the number of parking lots located in the most picturesque places increased.

From the first day of operation, travel on the road was paid. Now the fare is on average 20-50 euros, depending on the duration of the ticket and the type of transport. A standard ticket for a passenger car for 1 day costs 32 euros.

The road is open to tourists from May to October. In winter, the passage is closed, because the height of the fallen snow often exceeds 10 meters.

Here is a short video taken on the way to the center of Kaiser Franz Josef. By the way, it was filmed just a few days before we were there:

Behind the next turn, a gorgeous view of the glacier and the Grossglockner peak opens up. The Pasterze Glacier is the largest in Austria, its length is about 9 km.

The melting of the glacier began as early as 1856 due to high summer temperatures and low winter precipitation.

Despite record summer temperatures in Europe, scientists from the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences attribute the melting of glaciers to long-term climate change.

Find two tourists in this photo:

A branch of the road leads eventually to the center of Kaiser Franz Josef. In addition to the standard tourist infrastructure (restaurants, tourist center), you can find several expositions here, for example, the glacier museum and the Grossglockner peaks. There is even a car history museum, although I did not find information about it on the Internet. Apparently, this is a temporary exhibition. In general, the Grossglockner road attracts vintage car owners from all over Europe, but more on that later.

This place is visited by a huge number of tourists, so there are several spacious parking lots, including one multi-level one.

The vast majority of tourists are pensioners. They sit on the veranda of the restaurant, bask in the sun and have lunch. Happy old age!

The Grossglockner was conquered for the first time in 1800. The first attempt to climb was made a year earlier, but failed due to bad weather. A day after the first ascent, a wooden cross was placed on the summit. In 1879 it was renovated and dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the marriage of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth, who visited the Grossglockner in 1865.

The name Glocknerer first appeared on maps in 1561. Grossglockner was first described in his book by Balthazar Ake: a naturalist, geologist, geographer, doctor, scientist, who is considered a pioneer of mountaineering. Interestingly, until 1918 the mountain was privately owned. Grossglockner is currently owned by the Austrian Alpine Community.

At the maximum approximation of the previous photo, you can see how in this moment a large group of climbers conquers the summit. I noticed this quite by accident when I was preparing a post. Now, about 5,000 ascents are made annually on the Grossglockner.

Continued in the next post.

Materials used in the preparation of this post.

We are returning - there is simply nowhere to go!

And we go down from the conquered peaks,

Leaving in the mountains, LEAVING YOUR HEART IN THE MOUNTAINS.

There are several panoramic mountain roads in Austria, but the most spectacular and dangerous is of course the Grossglockner. I can’t remember where I first saw the photo and video of this mountain, but it was then that I got the dream to see one of the most beautiful places in all the Alps. But here's the problem. I don't have a license and I can't drive. Found excursions from Zell am See in the summer, but that's not for me. I do not want to be part of a large herd and I will not. Either completely or not at all. Glosglockner was shelved with a 0.0001% chance or, like Patagonia, with a "not in this life" diagnosis.

But a miracle happened by the name of Alexei or simply Lech. My old colleague is a programmer and an avid traveler with hoo what a wealth of experience. Especially camping. Lech, I know that you will read this report about our crazy trip. I thank you for the Glolockner and those emotions (enthusiasm and sometimes fears) that we experienced together in our beloved Skoda Fabia or simply Zina. But more on that and more below. Go!….

What is the most important thing before a trip on a mountain road? Powerful car? Nope. Those who wish can ride on bikes. There are crazy people on Austrian soil too. The main thing is the weather and not only a clear sky overhead. For a trip along the Grossglockner, a plan was selected in advance. If not the first time to see all the beauty, then on the way back from the second. And if necessary, we will rush back specially straight from South Tyrol. Luck was on our side and October 23rd was a clear day. And so on the way. Early in the morning, it was decided not to give the entire day to the Grossglockner and at least a couple of hours to walk around fabulous lake Zell am See and a bit of the village of Kaprun. More on this later, but now I will note that we overfulfilled the plan and set off to the Grossglockner only for dinner. I don't know what Lech was waiting for (of course he was preparing for the trip in advance), but I was looking forward to the feast of mountain views. I’ve seen enough of my favorite snow caps, but believe me, not a single video on YouTube, not a single report on different sites has been transmitted or even prepared for what will happen next. And so the whole trip. You have to see it with your own eyes and nothing else!!!

What is Grossglockner? What awaits us? Glosglockner is an alpine road 48 kilometers long and passing through the valley of three-thousanders to the peak of Austria of the same mountain with a height of almost 3800 meters. It works from May until the beginning of November for sure. By car, the cost of entry according to our dates is 25 euros per day. Details as always on the official website. Be sure to check out the webcams there. Better than any weather forecast. Do not forget that you will be at an altitude of approximately 2500 meters. And so we had to drive 48 km along serpentines with numerous stops. Found on the Internet good scheme roads with peaks, hotels, restaurants. I hope it will be useful.

The Grossglockner Hochalpenstraße panorama road is a magnificent tourist route that introduces the beauty of the national natural park The Hohe Tauern and leads to Alpine sights: the Grossglockner mountain and the Pasterze glacier.

Grossglockner Alpine Road, photo novofotoo

Grossglockner Road (Großglockner-Hochalpenstraße) is laid among the most beautiful Alpine peaks. Winding serpentine passing through natural Park, connects the lands of Salzburg and Carinthia.

Grossglockner

Observation deck

Observation deck on the Edelweisspitz

Heiligenblut cable car

Hochtor gate

road construction

The road was built in 1930–35. When the new highways Tauern and Velbertauern opened in the seventies, the Grossglockner track lost its status as the main transalpine route. However, it has remained a popular panoramic route.

Where does it take place

The tourist route passes by thirty peaks with a height of about 3,000 m, and it was named after the highest peak– Grossglockner (3798 m). The name of this mountain is translated as "Big Bell", because of its domed shape. In cloudy weather, clouds descend on the elevated sections of the route. The highest observation deck of the route (2504 m) is located on the Khoktor pass. Mountain rivers and waterfalls flow along the green velvet slopes along the road; herds graze on lush meadows, in the valleys there are “toy” alpine houses.

The entrance to the track is located in the village of Fusch an der Großglocknerstrasse (Fusch an der Großglocknerstraße) (altitude 805 m). At the beginning of the road there is a branch Grossglocknerstrasse - it leads towards the Pasterze glacier. There is a large tourist center of Franz Josef with restaurants and museum expositions.

Pasterze Glacier, photo by Ben The Man

From the glacier the road passes through national park to the Carinthian commune of Heiligenblut (Heiligenblut) - the end point of the route (altitude 1301 m). Along the route, travelers meet representatives of the local fauna - alpine marmots, mountain goats.

In the highland village of Heiligenblut, at the foot of the Grossglockner mountain, there is a unique Gothic church - the pilgrimage church of St. Vincenzo. The tabernacle of the church contains a precious reliquary. It keeps the Holy Blood of Christ, a relic brought here in the 10th century by the knight Bricius.

For your information

The width of the Grossglockner road in different sections is 6–7.5 m; length - 48 km. Along the way, there are sharp elevation changes and sharp turns (there are 36 of them in total). Tourist infrastructure facilities have been built along the entire route: parking lots have been equipped, convenient viewing platforms have been created from where you can view panoramas and take great pictures.

Road working hours

Fare

Travel on the road is paid. The fare for a car in 2015 will be 34.50 €.

Other Alpine roads:

How can I save up to 20% on hotels?

Everything is very simple - look not only on booking.com. I prefer the RoomGuru search engine. He searches for discounts simultaneously on Booking and 70 other booking sites.

Every kilometer and every single one of the 36 turns of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road is a treat! Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe is the declared goal of each visitor. It opens up a grand view of Austria’s largest mountain, which even tops the largest glacier in the Eastern Alps, the about 8 km long Pasterze, with its 3,798 m. The snow-covered Johannisberg caps off the mountain panorama. The hiking trails into the Gamsgrube amidst the special conservation area of ​​the High Tauern National Park affords unique views and sightings of rare alpine animals, such as the majestic ibex. The visitors’ center with exhibitions and numerous attractions rests on the ridge named after the Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph!

The High Alpine Road for hikers, family with children and motor fans

Go on brief walks or extended hikes along the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. Exhibitions and museums, information points and natural trails await discovery. Families with children will learn a lot about the construction of the road and the high alpine nature at four themed playgrounds. Motorized mountain friends have to check out the Grossglockner High Alpine Road with its unmatched driving experience and international events. Motorcyclists enjoy the top-notch road surfacing and driving safety training sessions for even more fun on the road. Tip: buy your ticket before starting your journey at the online ticket shop and receive a 15% discount in all shops of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road!

Evening was approaching and it was time to leave Königssee and go to the hotel. By the way, she was already in Austria.
As I said, Austria is a very expensive country and for a long time I could not find a hotel or hostel that would fit the condition "no more than 2000 rubles / day for two". But a long search was crowned with success and the guest house Haus Dachstein Schnitzer was chosen for the night. It was also chosen based on its convenient location - close to Königssee and the high mountain road and Dachstein.
The hotel turned out to be a typical cozy Alpine cottage converted into a hotel. And what I want to note separately - a very, very hospitable and smiling hostess named Katie.
We were just taxiing into the territory near the house, and she was already standing at the door and happily waving her hand to us! :)
She showed me where to park the car, gave me the keys and showed me to my room. And she cooked very hearty breakfasts :)

Despite the low cost for Austria, it was, without a doubt, best hotel for the whole trip!

The view from the window of the room is beyond praise!

Small but cozy room with balcony...

And a shower, placed on the carpet, right in the corner :)

View from the window. Car in the green parking lot.

23.07.2014
Gradually, our autocruise was coming to an end, but as many as 2 destinations were waiting for us ahead. One of them is an alpine road with the unpronounceable name Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse,
The path to it is quite picturesque. The highway constantly winds and from one tunnel almost immediately dives into another. After all, we are already in the mountains :)

Another tunnel. The railroad is on the left.

A small smoke break at the mountain river, which accompanied us a good half way.
Someone before us built a tower of stones on its shore. We also made our contribution:

Another stop at a colorful water source made from a hollowed out log + beautiful view to the waterfall:

And here is the entrance to the Grossglockner panoramic road! How long dreamed of a ride on a serpentine! A few more meters and the dream will come true :)

Entry, by the way, is paid and never cheap - 34 euros.
Let me tell you a little about the road itself. It is named after the highest mountain in Austria - Grossglockner (3798 m). The length is 48 km, on which there are 36 sharp turns. It starts at an altitude of 805 m above sea level.

On this panoramic serpentine, you can go towards Italy, but still the road was built just as a landmark.
The history of the road dates back to the late 1920s. XX century, when it became necessary to travel through the Alps in order to connect the lands of Salzburg and Carinthia, and to spur the development of motorized tourism. In 1924, a highway project was presented, in 1930 the first rock explosion was carried out, and already in 1935 the road was put into operation. When in 1967 and 1975. High-speed highways across the Alps were opened, the road finally turned into a sightseeing panoramic road with beautiful natural views, having lost its utilitarian significance.
Now, this alpine highway is open to traffic from May to October, because in winter the snow sometimes reaches 10 meters. The road is closed at night for safety reasons.

So, we're moving in. Payment by card 34 euros, you don't even have to get out of the car. They issue a ticket indicating the state number and date of entry and an advertising leaflet with a commemorative sticker on the car

The road immediately takes you up and the first view is simply breathtaking! Here they are, His Majesty the Austrian Alps!

We stand with our mouths open for a while. Mountains with snow caps, which until then I had only seen in pictures in magazines or on TV, are here! Live! The storehouse of impressions in my head instantly overflows with emotions to overflowing. I want to jump and ride - we are in the Alps, in Aaaalpaaaah !!! :)
We take a few photos, and some Austrian guy on a bicycle helps us. What kind people here :)

The road, as I said, immediately after the entrance began to take up steeply and almost immediately the first turn of 180 degrees, and the rise does not stop! We go further, I try to accelerate harder, I twist the steering wheel, fitting into the turning curve ... and what the hell! Not having passed even 150 m from the place of stopping, the car suddenly starts to choke and stalls. Right on the rise! I hold the brake so as not to roll, I start it - hell! Does not start. Mystic, what happened... I have to drive off, but I can't, the ascent is very steep!
Most likely, due to the sharp rise and the same sharp turn, the carburetor in the car just took a sip of air instead of gasoline. You need to turn the car, nose down. Yes, it was not there! The road is not only narrow, but also the traffic on it is intense! Then we will slide backwards to the observation deck. And then the same elderly cyclist helped us again! He stood at the turn and showed us with gestures whether we could go or not!
Thank you, good Austrian uncle!

Isn't it destiny? Is this how it all ends before it even starts? Do you have to turn around and go back? No, no, no, and again no! Travel 3000 km and shamefully escape from the Alpine serpentine? Right now! Don't wait! We will try our best! A Muscovite must drive the ENTIRE track, you hear, EVERYTHING!
And he, as if, heard me :) after a few minutes of parking, the car started up as if nothing had happened, and then I tried to go through such sharp uphill turns more smoothly.
Of course, the engine power is not enough - a maximum of the second, and even the first gear.
On the descents, as usual, engine braking, but even in first gear the car picked up speed. I had to hold on to the brakes, which quickly overheated. Therefore, they made several, so to speak, technical stops in order to cool the brake mechanisms. But I boiled them thoroughly :)

Another recreation area combined with a souvenir shop.

In general, there are a lot of observation platforms with stunning views. We stopped almost every 100-200 m. :)
Actually, that's why we drove 48 km there and 48 km back - almost 8 hours. But it was worth it! Incredible views!

From time to time there were cars in an unusual camouflage coloring. This automakers are testing prototypes of promising models. Pictured is the newest Opel Astra 2015:

Another Observation deck and .... what a meeting! The guys with the driver Yura on the Nissan Almera from Moscow! Russia welcome!

How pleasant these meetings are far from the Russian Federation! Greetings, smiles, exchange of impressions, complete and mutual goodwill!
The guys are going to the Czech Republic, and we are from there :) They have only the very beginning of their vacation, and we are already wrapping up!
Of course, they, too, were a little overwhelmed by the fact that we are here in Moskvich. Of course, they are also very impressed by Grossglockner!
Yura, if you suddenly read these lines, know that I send you greetings from Nizhny Novgorod!

Well, here are just views, what words can describe them? :)

An old SAAB 900 from Holland.

Grossglockner, by the way, has a lot of retro cars, a lot of motorcyclists. There are even those who conquer the road by bike (remember the old Austrian who helped us?) and even on foot! There are also tourist buses, despite the slopes.
See the uncle with the great one on the right! This is the same old Austrian! When we drove past him, every time he waved his hand in greeting :)

Such units used to clear the road from snow:

Another lookout:

Gift shop + restaurant. So let's say, an enlarged resting place:

Another retro Morgan car at the highest point where you can drive a car:

Of course, we also stopped by here and from here even gorgeous views should have opened, BUT! IN sunny weather. And then, as luck would have it, the rain drizzled, everything was plunged into fog.
The temperature is +4.6 degrees, then a few hundred meters lower - +25 :)

Parking and high-altitude hotel with a shop:

The most high point- 2571 m above sea level :)

By the way, the road here, to the very top, is still entertainment! Buses are not allowed here because even cars can hardly pass.
It was not easy to shoot how we climbed, but there is a video of the way back from this peak:

We went to the store to warm up and buy souvenirs.
Alpine shooter!

Wealthy residents of Switzerland roll out on a very expensive Porsche Carrera GT

Dangerous descent 17 km long! Gearbox Downshift Warning:

Some interesting plant, but I don't know which one:

"Fog descends from the high mountains...". I saw it happen firsthand! Here he begins to envelop everything ...

And literally after a few minutes, nothing is visible anymore:

The weather in the mountains changes all at once. The sun is shining, but after a couple of minutes, clouds can easily hang and it will rain. Then just as quickly everything passes and it's sunny again.

"Sight" for the review of the Grossglockner peak - the highest mountain in Austria.

The technique that once built this serpentine:

And this is the technique that conquers this serpentine :) 2262 m above sea level!

The rare NSU Ro 80 is the first mass-produced car with a rotary piston engine.

Natural contrast - snow and greenery in the background