Nockalmstraße

The Nockalmstrasse is a toll road in the Austrian province of Kärnten. It winds for 35 kilometres through the Nockberge mountains, crossing a high shoulder at 2 049 metres and dropping to Reichenau at the edge. The route was opened in 1981 after a decade of construction to link the Tauern motorway with the Liesertal valley. The road was built to help tourism and local forestry, though plans for a large ski area were abandoned after public protests. Instead the surrounding land became part of the Biosphärenpark Salzburger Lungau und Kärntner Nockberge in 1987. Operated by the Großglockner Hochalpenstraßen AG since 1995, the road offers 52 bends with a maximum gradient of twelve per cent. Visitors find several huts serving food and drink, nature trails, an alpine-farming museum and a mineral spring. The highest points are the Eisentalhöhe shoulder and the Schiestelscharte pass, both above 2 000 metres. Along the route the bends themselves carry flower names in the local dialect and honour local figures such as the Olympic champion Thomas Morgenstern. A short but steep walk called the Elisabethweg leads from Windebensee up to the Schiestelscharte.