 | ||
| Rätikon | ||
| Canton | Grisons | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | unknown | |
no value for residents on Wikidata:  | ||
| height | 2,964 m | |
| no tourist info on Wikidata: | ||
| location | ||
| ||
Rätikon is the name of a mountain group with shares in Vorarlberg (Austria), in Liechtenstein and in Grisons (Switzerland) and a popular destination for alpinists (all levels of difficulty) and mountain hikers.
Regions
Valleys
The most important valleys on the Austrian side are the Brandnertal with the Lünerseebahn, the Gamperdonatal with the Nenzing sky, the Samina valley, that Gauertal with the three towers and the Gampadelstal.
places
- in Vorarlberg in Austria:
- in Grisons in the Switzerland:
- in Liechtenstein:
background
The name "Rätikon" was first used by the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela, but it was mistakenly transferred to an area in Germania. First the Swiss humanist Vadian then correctly localized the name in 1518 and located the Retico mons in Prättigau / Graubünden. Geologically, the Rätikon forms the border between the Western and Eastern Alps and consists mainly of sedimentary rock. In the north, the Rätikon represents the westernmost foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps (Schesaplana, 2,965 m - Brandner Glacier - Lünersee, 1,970 m). In the east the mountains consist of gneiss and ampholite of the Silvretta blanket, in the south (Switzerland) of flysch. The border ridge with Sulzfluh (2,818 m) and Drusenfluh (2,827 m) consists of Sulzfluh limestone.
The Rätikon is the scene of historical alpinism: For example, the Schesaplana was first climbed in 1610 by the Austrian bailiff David Pappus together with the two Montafon "Schützen" (hunters) Christian Barball and Claus Manall. That was one of the earliest recorded summit ascents ever. Around 1730, the Prättigau Protestant pastor ascended Nicolin Sererhard the Schesaplana. His report, the "Schaschaplana Bergreis", is one of the oldest documents from the history of the development of the Eastern Alps. Sererhard measured distances with rifle shots. But today's climbers also set their brands in the Rätikon: for example, the Austrian opened Beat Kammerlander 1993 on the south face of the Kirchlispitzen his route "Silbergeier" in the 10th degree, which is still one of the most demanding alpine routes in the world.
The fabulous and the tragic
Three sisters
A long time ago a man from Venice often came to this area and fetched gold in abundance from here, but especially from the nearby, uninhabited, now wooded Saminathale, which lies between the three sisters and the Ziegerberg. ..... Now three sisters lived at Frastanz, who on the high day of the Assumption of Mary, carelessly and godlessly instead of going to church, went up to the mountain early in the morning to pick blueberries, which were growing in abundance, and then in the nearby Feldkirch sold. There they met the Venediger there, who drove them up: What are you doing there today? Those were terrified in the knowledge that they had desecrated such a high festival because of disgraceful profit and said: Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Then the magician said in a hoarse voice: You shall become nothing but three bare rocks, without grass and leaves, without trees and fruit, and my gold fountain shall run hidden under you, and no mortal shall find it. Immediately the three girls froze with fright and turned to stone from the curse; for by the fact that the magician had gained power over them through their iniquity, it was redeemed and surrendered them to evil in its place. The three sisters still stand and stare like so many rock heads, but the Venediger was never seen again, and his fountain no longer wells up, and the three sisters look seriously down into the upper Rhine valley, Vaduz and the country of Liechtenstein.
Showdown at Salaruel
On September 25, 1913, a bloody tragedy broke out in the Slaruel valley. The two Austrian game warden Josef Heingärtner and Felix Schneeberger meet two Graubünden (Swiss) poachers. Cornered, one of them opens fire. One shot hits Heingärtner on the back of the shoulder blade and dies immediately. A second bullet pierced both of Schneeberger's legs. The victim crawls near the Hirschsee, where he is found the next morning, into the valley and from there to the hospital. He survived, but both legs were paralyzed. Johann Hartmann, the poacher who shot the shot, is investigated and sentenced in February 1914 to six years in prison for fatal bodily harm.
The curse of the Drusenfluh south face
In the 1930s, the Drusenfluh south face had a dark nimbus, it claimed dead and injured. Between 1923 and 1929 there were three dead climbers. One of them was buried in a "rock grave" in the wall gorge because it could not be recovered, one was not found at all. Those who managed the "mighty rock castle" were marveled at in the Rätikon huts as "the adventurer of death (Toni Hibebeler).
getting there
By car: Via the Rheintalautoban A14, exits Nenzing, Brand, Montafon
mobility
Transitions
Striking crossings are the Salarueljoch (2,246 m), Gafalljoch (2,239 m), Schweizertor (2,137 m), Drusentor (2,342 m), the Plasseneggenpass (2,354 m) and the Schlappinerjoch (2,202 m). There is no road connection between Switzerland and Vorarlberg via the Rätikon, only footpaths. In 1932 Vorarlberg planned a “luxury road” over the Lünersee and the Gafalljoch to Switzerland, but the project was never implemented.
Tourist Attractions
Summits, crags, passes
- Three sisters, 2,053 m
- Galinakopf, 2,198 m
- Goppaschrofen, 1,781 m
- Salarueljoch, 2,246 m
- Great Furka, 2,353 m
- Schesaplana, 2,965 m
- Panel head, 2,859 m
- Iron Törle, 2,300 m
- Mottakopf, 2,176 m
- Swiss Gate, 2,139 m
- Gamsluggen, 2,380 m
- Drusentor, 2,342 m
- Three towers, 2,830 m
- Sulzfluh, 2,818 m
- Plasseggen Pass, 2,354 m and Gruben Pass, 2,241 m
- Antönierjoch, 2,379 m and Gafierjoch, 2,415 m
activities
The item Rockclimbing contains general information also on the topic Mountain hiking;
Mountain hiking
The Rätikon is a paradise for mountain hikers. Well-groomed, marked paths make it possible to walk heavily, from three or four-hour routes to day hikes, with highlights certainly being the Schesaplana (the queen of the Rätikon), the Three Sisters (the legend of 3 girls who were turned to stone), the Salarueljoch (poaching tragedy of 1913), the Gamsluggen, the Eiserne Törle, the Drusentor, the Schweizertor, the Three Towers, the Sulzfluh and the Plasseggen and Grubenpasses. There are also sections of the long-distance hiking trail Via Alpina through the Rätikon.
Climb
In the Rätikon there are many climbing rocks and also designated via ferratas. These can only be entered with the appropriate equipment and experience and after prior preparation.
accommodation
For accommodation in the valley, see the Localities.
Huts
Alpengasthof Gamperdona / A, access to the Saralueljoch
Douglashütte / A, access to the Schesaplana and the Schweizertor
Lindauerhütte / A, access to the Three Towers, the Drusentor and the Schweizertor
Mannheimer Hütte / A, access to the Brandner Glacier and the Schesaplana
Oberzalimhütte / A, access to the Leibersteig, the Brandner Glacier and the Schesaplana
Sarotlahütte / A, access to the Iron Törle
Tilisunahütte / A, access to the Sulzfluh
Totalphütte / A, access to the Schesaplana and the Gamsluggen
Berghaus Sulzfluh / CH, access to the Sulzfluh
Carschinehütte / CH, access to the Drusentor and the Sulzfluh
Pfälzerhütte / FL, access to the Nenzinger Himmel
climate
- Alpine Club - Weather service
literature
- : Rätikon Reader. Mountain hiking in the Rätikon. Bucher Verlag Hohenems Vienna, 2013, ISBN 978-3902679154 .
