12km/7.5mi beyond Bruck lies Taxenbach (750m/2,460ft; pop. 2,800), a summer resort situated at the mouth of the Rauriser Tal in the lower Pinzgau. The parish church was renovated in 1640 (architect Santino Solari); the Frauenkirche (1710) was modeled on a pilgrimage chapel at Altötting in Bavaria.
To the southwest of Taxenbach rears the Hoher Sonnblick (3,105m/10,188ft) which can be climbed with a guide in five and a half hours; on the top are the Zittelhaus (mountain hut) and a weather station (1886).
10km/6mi east of Bruck, not far from Taxenbach, is the mouth of the Rauriser Tal, with a road running 32km/20mi up the valley. Shortly before flowing into the Salzach the Rauriser Ache flows through the grand Kitzlochklamm (gorge), in which the river falls 20m/65ft. The gorge can be easily reached from Taxenbach - about a one and a half hours' walk there and back from the parking lot.
8km/5mi east of Taxenbach, at the end of the lower Pinzgau, a road 13km/8mi long ascends the Dientenbach valley to the summer and winter resort of Dienten am Hochkönig (1071m/3,514ft; pop. 800), an old mining town southwest of the Hochkönig (2,941m/9,649ft).
Address: Dienten am Hochkönig Tourist Office, A-5652 Dienten am Hochkönig, Austria
20km/12.5mi south of Rauris is Kolm-Saigum (1,628m/5,341), at the head of the valley below the rugged Goldberg group (good climbing and trekking; climbing school). There are interesting old gold workings with a shaft running eastwards into the Gasteiner Tal.
10km/6mi south of Taxenbach lies Rauris (948m/3,110ft; pop. 2,800), the main settlement in the valley, once a thriving market town (gold mining) and now a well known holiday and winter sports resort. A visit should be paid to the local museum in the old school house and also to the parish church (16th and 18th C.). There are chairlifts to the Jack-Hochalm (1,480m/4,823ft).
Address: Rauris Tourist Office, A-5661 Rauris, Austria
Read Less
Read More
Rauris, Austria
