Preiner Gscheid Pass - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

A beautiful cable way 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.

The Schneealpe is a limestone massif in the Northern Limestone Alps on the Styrian-Lower Austrian border. The heavily wooded mountains and hills north of the Schneealpe are uninhabited. The Schneealpen House and several alm huts are located the high plateau at a height of about 1,780 metres.

The Semmering is a mountain pass in the Eastern Northern Limestone Alps that forms a natural border between Lower Austria and Styria.The Semmering Pass is featured on a famous commemorative coin: the 25 euro 150 Years of the Semmering Alpine Railway Coin. The Semmering ski resort, which also hosts World Cup events, is located at the pass and extends on to the Hirschenkogel mountain.

The Semmeringbahn was an incredible feat of engineering and it took more than 20,000 workers’ years to complete. It is commonly referred to as the world's first true mountain railway, given the very difficult terrain and the considerable altitude difference that was mastered during its construction. It is still fully functional as a part of the Southern Railway which is operated by the Austrian Federal Railways.

The ski resort Zauberberg Semmering is located in the District of Neunkirchen, Lower Austria. It is approximately midway between Vienna and Graz, about one hundred kilometres from each. This is a very small ski resort with just three ski lifts but it does boast a respectable 355 metres of vertical descent. Zauberg Semmering has 14 kilometers of pistes. We have no information about the existence of any cross country ski trails at Zauberg Semmering.

The Höllental in Lower Austria is a narrow valley between the steep limestone massifs of the Schneeberg and Rax through which the River Schwarza flows. It stretches for a total of 16.5 km between Schwarzau im Gebirge and Hirschwang and, because of its natural beauty, it belongs to the Natura 2000 region of Northeastern Border Alps. Because the valley is a popular tourist destination, there are several restaurants along the road.