Editing Grossglockner

{{refimprove|date=October 2023}}
{{Short description|Highest mountain in Austria}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Grossglockner
| photo = Großglockner from behind the glass panorama tower.JPG
| photo_caption = Großglockner from behind the glass panorama tower
| elevation_m = 3798
| elevation_ref = 
| prominence_m = 2423
| prominence_ref = <br /><small>[[List of Alpine peaks by prominence|Ranked 2nd in the Alps]]</small>
| map = Austria
| map_caption = Location of Großglockner in Austria
| label_position = right
| listing = [[List of countries by highest point|Country high point]]<br />[[Ultra prominent peak|Ultra]]<br />  [[List of mountains of the Alps above 3000 m|Alpine mountains above 3000 m]]
| pronunciation = {{IPA|de|ˌɡʁoːs ˈɡlɔknɐ|lang}}
| location = [[Carinthia (state)|Carinthia]] & [[East Tyrol]], [[Austria]]
| range = [[Hohe Tauern]]
| coordinates = {{coord|47|04|29.52|N|12|41|42.9|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref = 
| first_ascent = 28 July 1800, by Sepp and [[Martin Klotz]] (?), Martin Reicher and two others
| easiest_route = PD, glacier 35°, [[Grade (climbing)#UIAA|UIAA II]]
}}
The '''Großglockner''' ({{langx|de|Großglockner}} {{IPA|de|ˈɡʁoːsˌɡlɔknɐ||De-at Großglockner.ogg}}), or just '''Glockner''', is, at 3,798 [[metres above the Adriatic]] (12,461&nbsp;ft), the highest [[mountain]] in [[Austria]] and highest mountain in the [[Alps]] east of the [[Brenner Pass]]. It is part of the larger [[Glockner Group]] of the [[Hohe Tauern]] range, situated along the main ridge of the [[Central Eastern Alps]] and the [[main chain of the Alps|Alpine divide]]. The [[Pasterze Glacier|Pasterze]], Austria's most extended [[glacier]], lies on the Grossglockner's eastern slope.

The characteristic [[Pyramid (geometry)|pyramid]]-shaped peak actually consists of two pinnacles, the ''Großglockner'' and the [[Kleinglockner]] ({{convert|3770|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}, from German: ''groß'' 'big', ''klein'' 'small'), separated by the ''Glocknerscharte'' [[col]].

== Etymology ==
{{unreferencedsect|date=October 2023}}
The name ''Glocknerer'' is first documented in a 1561 map designed by the [[Vienna|Viennese]] cartographer [[Wolfgang Lazius]]. The denotation ''Glogger'' is mentioned in a 1583 description of the Tyrolean [[Kals am Großglockner|Kals]] legal district, then referring to the whole ridge south of the Alpine main chain. In the 1760s, the ''Atlas Tyrolensis'' listed a ''Glockner Berg'', the prefix ''Gross-'' ("great") is not mentioned before the first expedition in 1799.

According to the scholar [[Belsazar Hacquet]] (1735–1815), ''Glockner'' is possibly derived from German: ''Glocke'' ("[[Bell (instrument)|bell]]"), referring to the mountain's characteristic shape. It may also be a [[Germanisation|Germanised]] version of the [[Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps|Alpine Slavic]] word ''Klek'' ("mountain"), as maintained in the Slovene name ''Veliki Klek''.

== Geography ==
=== Location and area ===
[[File:Großglockner (Umgebungskarte).png|thumb|left|Grossglockner and surrounding area]]
The Grossglockner lies on the border between the Austrian states of [[Carinthia (state)|Carinthia]] and [[Tyrol (state)|Tyrol]] ([[East Tyrol]]). The peak is part of the ''Glocknerkamm'' [[ridge]] in the [[Glockner Group]] that branches off the main chain of the Alps at [[Eiskögele (Glockner Group)|Eiskögele]], heading in a southeasterly direction and forming the boundary between the East Tyrolean municipality of Kals am Großglockner, about {{convert|8|km|mi|abbr=on}} in the southwest at {{convert|1324|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and Carinthian [[Heiligenblut]], about {{convert|12|km|mi|abbr=on}} in the northeast at {{convert|1291|m|ft|abbr=on}}. This boundary is also the [[Drainage divide|watershed]] between the Kals Valley and its Teischnitz and Ködnitz [[side valley]]s on the Tyrolean side and the [[Möll Valley]] with the Pasterze glacier on the Carinthian side.<ref>Alpenvereinsführer, p. 37</ref><ref name="Grenzberg 25">{{citation|editor-surname1=Tiroler Landesarchiv|periodical=Lebendige Geschichte|title=Der Tiroler Grenzberg Großglockner in alten Karten und Geschichtsquellen : Zum 175-jährigen Jubiläum der Erstbesteigung des Großglockners am 28. Juli 1800|issue=12|pages=25|date=  1978|language=de}}</ref> The region around the mountain has formed part of the Grossglockner-Pasterze special [[protected area]] within the High Tauern [[National parks of Austria|National Park]] since 1986.<ref name="Sonderschutzgebiet">{{cite web|author=A. Tschugguel|publisher=Österreichischer Alpenverein|url=http://www.alpenverein.at/naturschutz/Nationalpark_Hohe_Tauern/downloads/Expertise-Sonderschutzgebiet_Pasterze.pdf|title=Das Sonderschutzgebiet "Großglockner-Pasterze"|access-date=9 March 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927130831/http://www.alpenverein.at/naturschutz/Nationalpark_Hohe_Tauern/downloads/Expertise-Sonderschutzgebiet_Pasterze.pdf|archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref>

The Glockner is the highest mountain in the Alps east of the [[Ortler Alps|Ortler]] range, about {{convert|175|km|mi|abbr=on}} away, and, after [[Mont Blanc]], has the second greatest [[topographic isolation]] of all mountains in the Alps. Even its [[topographic prominence]], at {{convert|2424|m|ft|abbr=on}}, is the second highest after Mont Blanc in the entire Alps (see the [[list of Alpine peaks by prominence]]). That makes it one of the most independent peaks in the Alps.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=433 |publisher=peakbagger.com |title=Core Europe Ultras - Peaks with 1500 meters of Prominence |access-date=15 March 2009}}</ref> The view from the Grossglockner summit is one of the farthest of all mountains in the Eastern Alps. It ranges out to {{convert|220|km|mi|abbr=on}} or, taking account of [[atmospheric refraction]], almost {{convert|240|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Its view over more than {{convert|150000|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} of the Earth's surface reaches as far as the [[Iller-Lech Plateau|Upper Swabian Plateau]] in the northwest, to [[Regensburg]] and the peaks of the [[Bohemian Forest]] in the north, to [[Ortler]] in the west, to the [[Po Valley|Padan Plain]] in the south, and to [[Triglav]] and the [[Totes Gebirge]] range in the east.<ref name="AV 262">Alpenvereinsführer, p. 262. [http://www.rother.de/pdf/_3763312668_joker.pdf Großglockner, 3798&nbsp;m] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830234748/http://www.rother.de/pdf/_3763312668_joker.pdf |date=2021-08-30 }}, accessed on 2 March 2009</ref><ref name="kuhlken53">Kühlken: ''Das Glocknerbuch'', p. 53</ref>

=== Topography ===
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[[File:GroßglocknerSüdwest Beschreibungen.jpg|thumb|The Grossglockner from the southwest: 1. Glocknerwand, 2. Untere Glocknerscharte, 3. Teufelshorn (left) and Glocknerhorn (right), 4. Teischnitzkees, 5. Grossglockner, 6. Kleinglockner, 7. Stüdlgrat, 8. Ködnitzkees, 9. Adlersruhe]]
[[File:Großglockner Northeast.jpg|thumb|The Grossglockner from the northeast: 1. Adlersruhe, 2. Hofmannskees, 3. Kleinglocknerkees, 4. Glocknerleitl, 5. Pallavicinirinne, 6. Kleinglockner, 7. Grossglockner, 8. Glocknerkees, 9. Berglerrinne, 10. Glocknerhorn (left) and Teufelshorn (right), 11. Untere Glocknerscharte, 12. Glocknerwand]]
The Grossglockner rock summit, due to its high Alpine, heavily glaciated appearance, is often compared to the mountains of the [[Western Alps]]. Together with the Kleinglockner to the southeast it forms a distinctive [[double peak]]. There are differing views in the literature as to whether the Kleinglockner is a [[subpeak]] or a separate main summit. Due to its low topographic prominence and isolation as well as its close links in climbing history, it is counted as part of that of the Grossglockner in historic publications; however, in view of its separate [[climbing route]]s it is counted as an independent peak in [[mountaineering]] literature.

The ''Obere Glocknerscharte'' between the two peaks, at {{convert|3766|m|ft|abbr=on}}, is the highest col in Austria, from which a [[couloir]] up to 55° in gradient and {{convert|600|m|ft|abbr=on}} in altitude descends down to the ''Glocknerkees'' glacier, called ''Pallavicinirinne'' after the Austrian mountaineer Alfred von Pallavicini (1848–1886). It runs northeastwards and borders on the Northeast and North Faces of the Grossglockner. The latter faces are bounded by the Northwest Ridge, part of the main Glockner crest, which runs over the ''Grögerschneid'', {{convert|3660|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and the ridge elevations of [[Glocknerhorn]], {{convert|3680|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and [[Teufelshorn (Glockner Group)|Teufelshorn]], {{convert|3677|m|ft|abbr=on}}, to the ''Untere Glocknerscharte'', {{convert|3598|m|ft|abbr=on}}, which connects to the {{convert|3721|m|ft|abbr=on}} high [[Glocknerwand]].

A prominent ridge, the ''Stüdlgrat'', named after the [[Prague]] Alpinist Johann Stüdl (1839–1925), runs from the Grossglockner away to the southwest. Together with its extension, the ''Luisengrat'', it separates the West Face and the ''Teischnitzkees'' glacier at its foot from the South Face and its ''Ködnitzkees'' glacier. A couloir known as the ''Pillwaxrinne'' crosses the South Face below the Obere Glocknerscharte; most of the South Face lies east of this gully below the Kleinglockner. The east side of the Kleinglockner, the ''Glocknerleitl'', is glaciated to just below the summit and is continued by the ''Kleinglocknerkees'' and ''Hofmannskees'' before reaching the Pasterze.

== History ==
{{unreferencedsect|date=October 2023}}
[[File:Großglockner Hacquet.jpg|thumb|''Klokner'', 1782 engraving by Belsazar Hacquet]]

The history of the climbs started with French-born natural scientist [[Belsazar Hacquet]], from 1773 professor of [[anatomy]] at the [[University of Ljubljana|Academy of Ljubljana]]. He travelled the [[Eastern Alps]] from 1779 to 1781 and published an [[travel literature|itinerary]] in 1783, describing the ''Glokner'' mountain and stating that it had not been climbed yet. He estimated the mountain's height with converted {{convert|3793|m|ft|abbr=on}} and left an [[engraving]] illustrating Grossglockner and Pasterze, the first known depiction of the mountain.

===First ascent===
Inspired by Hacquet's book and the [[first ascent]] of the Mont Blanc in 1786, the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurk|Gurk]] prince-bishop Count Franz Xaver of [[House of Salm|Salm]] (1749–1822) together with his vicar general [[Sigismund Ernst Hohenwart]] (1745–1825) and Baron [[Franz Xaver von Wulfen]] (1728–1805) started efforts for a Grossglockner expedition. They engaged two peasants from Heiligenblut as [[mountain guide]]s to do the first explorations for an ascent through the Leitertal valley, which is the side of Grossglockner with the least ice (people feared glaciers in these times). These valiant men, called "Glockners" in the records, did more than they were ordered to do—and probably reached the Kleinglockner summit on 23 July 1799.

One month later the bishop's expedition started: a [[mountain hut]] (the first Salm Hut) had been built and the path in the Leitertal valley was prepared so that the bishop could use a horse to reach it. 30 people, among them Salm, Hohenwart and Wulfen, were part of the expedition. They suffered with bad weather and a first effort failed, but on 25 August 1799 Hohenwart and at least four other people, including the two "Glockners", reached—again—the Kleinglockner, where they installed one of the first [[summit cross]]es (one of the main goals of the church expedition). Hohenwart's reports did not tell clearly that they had not touched the highest point but Bishop Salm (who had reached the ''Adlersruhe'' rock at {{convert|3454|m|ft|abbr=on}}) was informed. Dissatisfied, he invited another, even bigger expedition the next year.

On 28 July 1800, 62 people, among them the pedagogue [[Franz Michael Vierthaler]] and the botanist [[David Heinrich Hoppe]], started again into the Leitertal valley. Four peasants and carpenters (the "Glockners" and two others who are not known) did a track in the snow, had installed fixed ropes at some steeper sections up to the end of the Glocknerleitl, and even built a second refuge, called Hohenwarte Hut. The vanguard reached the Kleinglockner peak, however, according to the expedition records by the [[Dellach im Drautal|Dellach]] priest Franz Joseph Horasch (Orasch), only the four guides and Mathias Hautzendorfer, the local priest of the [[Rangersdorf]] parish, were able to cross the ''Obere Glocknerscharte'' and climb the Grossglockner summit. Hautzendorfer had to be persuaded to venture the step and administered the last rites in advance. 
[[File:Compton Großglockner.jpg|thumb|Grossglockner, 1918 painting by [[Edward Theodore Compton]]]]
The two "Glockners" are usually identified as the brothers Joseph (''Sepp'') and [[Martin Klotz]], however, this surname is not listed in the Heiligenblut parish register. A local peasant named Sepp Hoysen is documented as a member of the second Grossglockner expedition in 1802, and the surveyor [[Ulrich Schiegg]] mentioned one Martin Reicher as "Glockner" guide. The peasants and several other members of the expedition (among them Schiegg and his young apprentice [[Valentin Stanič]], who climbed Mt. [[Watzmann]] for the first time some weeks later) did the ascent again the next day and finally installed the summit cross and a [[barometer]] on the Grossglockner summit.

===Development===
Bishop Salm undertook two more ascents in 1802 (with Hohenwart reaching the summit) and in 1806, however, he himself never climbed beyond the ''Adlersruhe'' rock. The climbing of the Grossglockner was also described by the botanist [[Josef August Schultes]], who explored the massif together with Count [[Apponyi]] in 1802. No further ascents were made during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], the huts decayed and were plundered by locals. In the following ''[[Vormärz]]'' era, however, the mountain became a popular venue for Alpinists like [[Hermann Schlagintweit|Hermann]] and [[Adolf Schlagintweit]], who all followed the route of the first ascent.

By the mid 19th century, the developing Alpine [[tourism]] began to alter the [[Transhumance in the Alps|traditional agriculture]] economy in the Heiligenblut area. Therefore, the people of Kals tried to lay out a straight ascent from the western side, which however was not reached until [[Julius von Payer]] explored the ridge between ''Glöcknerleitl'' and ''Ködnitzkees'' in 1863. Johann Stüdl had a [[via ferrata]] erected along the southwestern ridge the next year and the ''Stüdlhütte'' erected at its foot in 1868. Already in 1869, most expeditions to the summit started in Kals. The first winter ascent of the Grossglockner was made on January 2, 1875 by [[William Adolf Baillie Grohman]], a member of the [[Alpine Club]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Ascent of the Gross Glockner|journal=Alpine Journal| last1=Ballie-Grohmann|first1=W.A.|volume=Vii|page=222|date=1875}}</ref> In 1876 Count Pallavicini and his guide Hans Tribusser undertook the first expedition up the steep glaciated Northeast Face, chopping 2,500 steps into the ''Pallavicinirinne'' in an [[ice climbing]] master stroke not repeated for 23 years.
[[File:Gipfelkreuz Großglockner.JPG|thumb|Großglockner summit cross, 2006 condition]]
In 1879 Count Pallavicini dedicated a new iron summit cross on the occasion of the [[Wedding anniversary|silver wedding]] of Emperor [[Franz Joseph of Austria]] and [[Empress Elisabeth of Austria|Empress Elisabeth]]; both had visited Heiligenblut and walked to the present-day ''Franz-Josefs-Höhe'' viewpoint in 1865. The cross was installed on 2 October 1880. Pallavicini also had the [[Archduke John of Austria|Archduke John]] Hut erected at the former ''Adlersruhe'' resting place of Bishop Salm, today the highest situated mountain hut in Austria. The [[Austrian Alpine Club]] built the new ''Salmhütte'' and the ''Glocknerhaus'' along the [[alpine route]] from Heiligenblut.

A first ascent by [[skiing]] was made in 1909 and the [[circumnavigation]] of the massif soon became a popular [[ski mountaineering]] tour. The Grossglockner became Austria's highest mountain, when the [[South Tyrol]]ean [[Ortler]] region had to be ceded to the [[Kingdom of Italy]] according to the 1919 [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)|Treaty of Saint-Germain]], which promoted its reputation as a [[tourist attraction]].

== High Alpine Road ==
[[File:Grossglockner and Pasterze glacier.jpg|thumb|left|Grossglockner and Pasterze, view from ''Franz-Josefs-Höhe'']]
{{main|Grossglockner High Alpine Road}}
[[Mass tourism]] was decisively promoted by the [[scenic route|scenic]] High Alpine Road (''Großglockner-Hochalpenstraße'') running from Heiligenblut to [[Bruck an der Grossglocknerstrasse|Bruck]] in [[Salzburg (state)|Salzburg]] with a branch-off to the ''Franz-Josefs-Höhe'' viewpoint. It was built across the historic Hochtor [[Mountain pass|Pass]] of the Alpine divide between 1930 and 1935 according to plans designed by engineer [[Franz Wallack]]. The pass road, Austria's highest, reaches {{convert|2576|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country (second after [[Schönbrunn Palace]]) with about 270,000 vehicles and 900,000 visitors every year, about 50 million since its opening.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}
{{clear}}

Also famous for its historic [[Grossglockner_Races|vehicle hill climb races]].

== See also ==
{{portal|Alps|left =  |break = }}
* {{annotated link|List of highest mountains of Austria|List of the highest mountains in Austria}}
* [[Pasterze Glacier]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
[[File:30.10.2021 - Der traurige Rest des Gletschers am Großglockner. 05.jpg|thumb|Glockner mountain chain and Pasterze lake, October 2021.]]
{{Commons}}

* [http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1964_files/AJ%201964%20244-248%20Thorington%20Gross%20Glockner.pdf#search=%22heiligenblut%22 Alpine Journal Account of First Ascent- AJ 1964 244-248] 

* [http://www.grossglockner.com Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse]
* {{cite summitpost|id=150224|title=Grossglockner}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052836/http://www.mapview.cz/search/search.html?geoname=Grossglockner&lat=47.0744&lon=12.694 Topographic maps of the Grossglockner]

Computer-generated virtual panoramas
* [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/EUR/Grossglockner-N.gif North] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312040854/http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/EUR/Grossglockner-N.gif |date=2007-03-12 }}
* [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/EUR/Grossglockner-S.gif South] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312040904/http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/EUR/Grossglockner-S.gif |date=2007-03-12 }}
* [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas.html Index]
* [http://zeitcam.com/webcam/grossglockner Grossglockner webcam with daily time-lapse animations]

{{Ultras of Europe}}
{{Hohe Tauern}}
{{Highest points of Europe}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Alpine three-thousanders]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Carinthia]]
[[Category:Mountains of the Alps]]
[[Category:Glockner Group]]
[[Category:Highest points of countries]]