70% OF AUSTRIA LIES IN MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS WITH AN AVERAGE ELEVATION OF 900 M (2953 FT) ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN AUSTRIA IS GROßGLOCKNER AT 3,798 M (12,461 FT), LOCATED IN THE CENTRAL EASTERN ALPS ON THE BORDER OF THE AUSTRIAN STATES OF CARINTHIA AND EAST TYROL.

It is the highest mountain in the Alps, east of the Ortler Range and it is also the most independent peak in the region, after Mont Blanc.

The Großglockner mountain has two peaks - Großglockner and Kleinglockner 3,770 m (12,370 ft), separated by a prominence of just 17 m (56 ft), which sparked a long dispute as to whether the latter one can be considered a separate mountain at all. The biggest glacier in Austria, Pasterze, lies on the Grossglockner's eastern side.

Read our guide to the Alps.

Martin Reicher and Mathias Hautzendorfer, along with the other three mountaineers were the first people to reach the summit on July 28, 1800. Until 1918, the mountain was a part of a private estate, and nowadays it belongs to the Austrian Alpine Association.

The Glocknerkamm ridge is a popular tourist destination, as its surroundings offer rather picturesque sights and plenty of leisure possibilities all year round.

THE FIVE HIGHEST PEAKS IN AUSTRIA:

Großglockner – 3,798 m (12,461 ft), in the High Tauern of the Central Eastern Alps, Austria.
Wildspitze – 3,770 m (12,370 ft), in the Ötztal Alps, Southern Austria.
Kleinglockner – 3,770 m (12,370 ft), in the High Tauern of the Central Eastern Alps, Austria.
Weißkugel – 3,739 m (12,267 ft), in the Ötztal Alps, Southern Austria.
Pöschlturm – 3,721 m (12,208 ft), in the High Tauern of the Central Eastern Alps, Austria.