Rax

This article is about the mountain range in Austria. For the midwestern USA fast food chain, see Rax Roast Beef. For the novel Rax by Michael G. Coney, see Hello Summer, Goodbye.
Rax

Rax in winter
Highest point
Peak Heukuppe
Elevation 2,007 m (6,585 ft)
Prominence 992 metres (3,255 ft)
Coordinates 48°5′14″N 15°54′43″E / 48.08722°N 15.91194°E / 48.08722; 15.91194
Geography
Country Austria
States Lower Austria and Styria
Range coordinates 47°41′N 15°41′E / 47.69°N 15.69°E / 47.69; 15.69Coordinates: 47°41′N 15°41′E / 47.69°N 15.69°E / 47.69; 15.69
Parent range Northern Limestone Alps

The Rax is a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps on the border of the Austrian federal provinces of Lower Austria and Styria. 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's local mountains). They are separated by the deep Höllental ("Hell Valley").

A cable car, 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 trails) and the hütten, alpine huts offering basic accommodation, were built and are maintained kept by various Austrian Alpine Clubs. They were erected in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Mountain huts

Habsburghaus (the cross marks the site where the former tenant died of hypothermia during a winter storm on February 8, 1919)
Greater Hell Valley

Some Hikes and Rises

Other

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