Brunnkogel

The Brunnkogel rises to 1 708 m in the Höllengebirge, a limestone range in Upper Austria. Its summit ridge marks the border between the villages of Altmünster and Ebensee. The name comes from an old fire that left the mountain looking as though it were burning, later softened to Brunnkogel. Three other peaks in the same range also carry the name, while the northern outlier is still called Hoher Spielberg. The mountain is valued for its wide views across five lakes. From the top you can see Mondsee, Attersee, Traunsee, Vorderer Langbathsee and Taferlklaussee. Three marked routes lead up, the quickest taking about two and a half hours from the Taferlklause. A longer way starts at the same place and reaches the Hochleckenhaus before the summit. The steepest path begins at Vorderer Langbathsee and crosses the Schafluckensteig, a cliff section with wire ropes, before joining easier ground near the Schafalm. At the summit stands a tall timber cross. The first was put up in the 1950s but destroyed by lightning in 1969. A 14 m high, 7 m wide replacement was dedicated in 1970 to the fallen and returning soldiers of the Aurach valley. When heavy snow snapped the cross in winter 2012–13, a teacher and his pupils rebuilt it with stronger joints. The metal sections were shaped in a school workshop in Vöcklabruck and erected in June 2013.