Bärenschütz Gorge

The Bärenschützklamm gorge is one of the most beautiful water-bearing gorges in Austria. A hike between untamed waterfalls and rugged rocks is an impressive experience for any hiker. The unspeakable strength of nature, whose constant drip hollows the stone, becomes apparent here. The gorge has been a natural monument since 1978 . The first length of path was built in 1901 and has been renewed several times since then.

The starting point for a hike through the gorge to the Hochlantsch summit, the village of Mixnitz, can be easily reached by train from Graz in around 40 minutes. From Mixnitz, it takes around 1.5 hours on foot to reach the entrance to the gorge. It was a great pioneering achievement by the Graz Alpine Club to make the gorge accessible over long stretches via free-floating ladders 100 years ago. Since the merger of the Alpine Club with the Mixnitz section of the Austrian Alpine Club in 1948, the gorge has been maintained by this section.

The 200-300 meter thick limestone walls in the gorge bear witness to a geological past that stretches back 400 million years. Karst springs, caves, carts and grooves, rock niches and pot-like rock pools bear witness to the surface-forming forces of water. From a botanical and zoological point of view, the gorge is a refuge for numerous plants and animals. During the Ice Age, relict plants from higher altitudes "fled" into the gorge; after the Ice Age, warmth-loving species migrated from the south and south-east; today they often grow right next to each other in the Bärenschützklamm. As the finds in several caves show, including the "Dragon's Cave"man was already at home in the "Central Styrian Karst" in the early Stone Age.

The Bärenschützklamm gorge is made available to the public by the Franz Mayr-Melnhof-Saurau forestry company and is managed by the Austrian Alpine Club, Mixnitz section!

To the hike through the Bärenschützklamm gorge