The Hohe Tauern National Park
The concept of national parks and their history
In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established in the USA, becoming the world’s first national park. From then on, the idea of placing outstanding natural landscapes of national importance under state protection and opening them up to the public ‘for their enjoyment and edification’ began to gain ground across the globe. To date, more than 3,000 national parks have been established, including famous protected areas such as the Serengeti, the Galapagos Islands and Mount Everest.
In 1913, 1,100 hectares of land were purchased in the Hohe Tauern – in the Stubach Valley and the Amertal – with the aim of establishing a protected area there. The model was the well-known national parks already existing in the USA. The initiator was the Salzburg politician Dr August Prinzinger, and the purchaser was the Stuttgart-Hamburg Nature Reserve Association.
Thanks to August Prinzinger’s initiative, the idea of a national park in the Hohe Tauern first took root. Due to wars and economic crises, it took several more decades before the Hohe Tauern National Park was established in the 1980s as the first of its kind in Austria. Covering 1,856 km², it is the largest national park in the Alps, boasting a unique and unspoilt alpine natural and cultural landscape.
Facts and figures:
Facts and figures:
- Covering an area of 1,856 km², it is the largest protected area in the Alps and the largest national park in Central Europe
- The protected area covers the three federal states of Salzburg, Tyrol and Carinthia
- The Salzburg section of the transnational national park covers 805 km², which is 80,500 hectares
- The east-west extent is 100 km, and the north-south extent is 40 km
- 266 peaks over 3,000 metres, around 130 km² of glaciers
- 550 lakes and 279 streams make up the region’s abundance of water
- The Krimml Waterfalls were awarded the European Diploma for Nature Conservation as early as 1967
- In addition to the unspoilt natural landscape in the core zone, the cultural landscape in the outer zone – which has been cultivated for centuries – is being preserved
- All major alpine ecosystems are represented here over a wide area and remain undisturbed
- Glacially carved valleys with imposing valley heads, massive alluvial and debris cones, alpine grasslands and heathland, forests of larch, spruce and Swiss pine, and pristine glacial streams
- The Tauern Window is one of the world’s most impressive tectonic features
- Golden eagles, bearded vultures and griffon vultures, marmots, chamois, ibex and many more are native to this area
- Over 220 different minerals – from rock crystal to emeralds – make up the crystal treasure of the Hohe Tauern
- More than a third of all plant species and more than half of all amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals found in Austria can be found in the Hohe Tauern National Park
- Anyone hiking in the Hohe Tauern National Park from the valley floors up to the highest peaks passes through altitude zones that correspond to all the climate zones from Central Europe right up to the Arctic
Meet a Ranger:
Find out more about the natural resources in the Hohe Tauern National Park and discover its unique flora and fauna. Meet the people who protect our national park and learn how you can help preserve these treasures for future generations.
It’s no coincidence that the national park rangers are the face of the national park – after all, they know the protected area like the back of their hand.
During the summer months, you have the opportunity to meet and accompany the rangers in the national park valleys. The Junior Rangers at the information huts can tell you where you can meet the national park rangers.
Hohe Tauern National Park
A unique 1,800 m² alpine experience. The Hohe Tauern National Park, home to Austria’s highest peaks and its inhabitants such as ibex, chamois and the snow mouse, seems close enough to touch. Ten stations are waiting to be explored. The National Park Centre in the Hohe Tauern National Park holiday region is open daily!