Grossglockner High Alpine Road

The unbelievable success story of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road began 75 years ago. The road was officially opened in 1935. Within just 5 years (1930 – 1935), the High Alpine Road was built in record time. An achievement made all the more impressive when you think about the simple tools and limited machinery that was available at the time. Builder Franz Wallack planned a road that blends perfectly into the landscape, enabling guests to experience something that he had no idea would be a feature of Austria today: The Hohe Tauern National Park, whose formidable heart is open for the world to see along the Großglockner high alpine road.

Panoramic drive to the highest mountain in Austria

The project team planned and calculated that approximately 120,000 visitors per year would visit the road. A number that – after the third year- was eclipsed by more than double the expected visitors. Today, around 900,000 people per year make a trip to experience Grossglockner Mountain, making the high alpine road one of the top three attractions in Austria. Visitors from around the world then as now are fascinated by the unique panoramic drive into the high alps and the opportunity to visit Austria’s highest mountain in person, Grossglockner Mountain (3,798 m).

The famous High Alpine Road winds its way through the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park all the way to the highest mountain in Austria, the Grossglockner (3,798 m) and its glacier, the Pasterze. The High Alpine Road is among the most beloved destinations in Austria. The trip will take you along 48 kilometers of road with 36 breathtaking corners and a vertical climb of 2,504 meters into the high alps. A nature and driving experience unique to the world! You will be taken through a singular alpine world of meadows full of flowers, fragrant mountain forests, mighty boulders, and eternal ice sheets all the way to the foot of Grossglockner Mountain, known as the Franz-Josef-Heights!