Liechtensteinklamm

The Liechtensteinklamm near St. Johann im Pongau is one of the longest and deepest accessible gorges in the Alps. Walkways lead along rock walls up to 300 m high, in places only a few metres apart, to a waterfall. A modern spiral staircase opens up the rear section.

Highlights

• Up to 300 m high, narrow rock walls
• Walkways along the roaring water
• Modern spiral staircase in the rear part
• Waterfall at the end

Good to know

Practical info

Background & History

The Liechtensteinklamm in the Salzburg region is among the deepest and longest rock gorges in the Alps, a narrow, dizzying ravine in which a mountain torrent has sawn its way through the hard rock over thousands of years. In some places the rock walls draw so closely together that from above only a narrow strip of sky can be seen and the daylight turns to a greenish twilight in the damp depths, while the water shoots roaring over smoothly polished rock steps.

The gorge owes its name to the Prince of Liechtenstein, who in the late 19th century financed its development with footbridges and bridges and thus made the wild ravine accessible to visitors at all, an early testimony to the emerging nature tourism in the Eastern Alps. Geologically, the gorge tells of the tireless power of water, which in the post-glacial period cleared away and smoothly polished the rock left behind by the glacier piece by piece, a process that continues to this day. At the end of the accessible part the stream plunges into the gorge in a high waterfall. Anyone walking along the narrow footbridges above the roaring water experiences the force of nature directly and understands why such gorges were often regarded in folk tradition as dwelling places of mysterious spirits.