Reißeck

Reißeck is a municipality in the district of Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia, Austria.

Geography

Situated within the valley of the Möll river, a tributary to the Drava, Reißeck is located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of the district capital Spittal an der Drau. The present-day municipality established in 1973 consists of the four cadastral communities Kolbnitz, Zandlach, Penk, and Teuchl. It was named after the Reißeck massif (2,965m/9,727 ft) in the north, part of the Ankogel Group of the Hohe Tauern mountain range. South of the Möll valley rises the Kreuzeck Group.

Equidistant between the ski resorts of Ankogel/Mölltal Glacier and Lake Millstatt, facilities in Kolbnitz include a rafting centre, a riding centre, tennis courts, a small ski area and a swimming pool. Two funicular railway lines leave from the Möll valley bottom: the first runs up the Reißeck mountain to an altitude of 2236m/7336 ft to walking trails and a hotel; the second leads to the mountain rail station of Mt. Kreuzeck at 1211m/3973 ft, which is the starting point for several alpine walks up to 2498m/8195 ft. The operation of the Reißeck Höhenbahn on the Reißeck plateau, one of the highest-lying narrow-gauge railroads in Europe, was closed down in 2014.

Reißeck (mountain)

The Reißeck, also Großes Reißeck ("Great Reisseck") is a mountain, 2,965 m (AA), and the highest peak in the Reißeck Group in the High Tauern of Austria. The mountain gives its name to the mountain range and the village of Reißeck to the south in the Carinthia's Möll valley. Northwest of the Reißeck, separated by the col of Mallnitzer Scharte (2,673 m), is the Ankogel Group with its highest summit, the Hochalmspitze.

The name Reißeck is derived from an old waterbody name, something like Reisach = "mountain stream" or "torrent", which became the Middle High German rîs = "the falling one".

West and south of the summit block lie the reservoirs of the Reißeck-Kreuzeck Hydropower Group. The Reißeck Funicular Railway (Reißeckbahn), built for the construction of the power station, now only runs passenger services and is almost exclusively used for access to the Alpine huts. The Reißeck Hut owned by the ÖGV is located in the immediate vicinity of the top station below the dam of the Großer Mühldorfer See, along with two hotels and a small ski area.