he Grossglockner Alpine Panoramic Road passes through the Hohe Tauern National Park.
It connects the lands of the Salzburg and Carinthia regions.
Its length is 48 kilometers. It got its name in honor of the highest mountain in Austria - Grossglockner.
The mountain consists of two peaks - Grossglockner (3798 m) and Kleinglokner (3770 m).
The Grossglockner road originates in the municipality of Fouch an der Grossglocknerstrasse at an altitude of 805 meters.
An interesting picture awaited our group at the entrance to Fush.
Firstly, the road was closed due to heavy snowfall at the pass. Until they clear the road, they will not open the passage along it. At the entrance, monitors are installed to which the image from the television cameras installed on the pass in real time is transmitted.
Secondly, we were witnesses to the annual harvest festival. Retro tractors gathered here from all over Austria, which were very interestingly decorated.
Tractor drivers pretty quickly cut into their "prehistoric monsters."
It was a pretty funny sight.
An hour later, the road was finally opened. First, tractors began to pass through it, and then our bus. We were waiting for a meeting with alpine beauties.
The road almost immediately began to rise sharply. It is a serpentine of 38 turns. The maximum height at the Khokhtor pass is 2504 meters. Unfortunately, visibility was zero and almost nothing was visible. Clear clouds and snow.
A key highlight of the highway is the height of Franz Josef.
Here, at an altitude of 2369 meters, there is an observation deck with a view of the Grossglockner Mountain, amazing in beauty and scale.
At its foot is the largest glacier in Austria - Pasterze.
Its length is 8 kilometers.
On the slope leading to the glacier, the most famous inhabitants of these places live - alpine marmots (Mormot).
The first ascent to Mount Grossglockner occurred in 1800. His Majesty the Emperor of Austria - Hungary, Franz Josef and his wife, Empress Elizabeth (Sisi), climbed in 1856 to the place that from that moment was called "the height of Emperor Franz Josef".
We climbed to the highest point of the observation deck.
From here there is a mountain trail along which you can safely walk and look at the Mormot.
We even managed to feed them with seeds, which they like to enjoy with great pleasure.
In the fall, they become thick and clumsy, over the summer they have accumulated a large amount of fat for the upcoming wintering.
At the end of the Grossglockner Road, we made a short stop in Heiligenblut commune at an altitude of 1301 m.
It offers a beautiful view of the Gothic Church of St. Vincenza, built in 1460 - 1491 years. It is a symbol of the commune. It contains a relic - the Holy Blood of Christ. According to legend, the relic was brought here from Constantinople by the Danish knight Bricius.
Complete harmony with nature leaves an unforgettable impression of alpine nature and a mountain trip.