Notgasse Gröbming

Notgasse and Riesgasse are two deep, dry gorges cut into the Dachstein limestone plateau in the Steiermark. They lie in the Kemetgebirge, about two and a half kilometres northwest of the Stoderzinken and three kilometres south of the Hirzberg, within the municipality of Gröbming. The gorges form a hollow-way-like ravine that drops more than two hundred metres in height over roughly one and a half kilometres of path. The gorges were carved near the end of the last ice age when meltwater from the Dachstein glacier cut through the layered limestone. Their walls show rounded pothole niches and steep rock faces, some overhanging. The upper Notgasse follows a structural joint filled with onkoid-rich reef limestone, while the lowest section rests on an old moraine from the Daun glacial stage. The site is recognised as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape of Hallstatt–Dachstein/Salzkammergut. Visitors walk a historic alpine trail that once linked Gröbming to Aussee and Hallstatt. Along the gorge walls are over fifteen groups of petroglyphs—crosses, ladders, wheels, pentagrams and letters—mostly near the ground or in sheltered niches. Some date from the early 17th century, though older medieval origins are plausible. The formations are protected as a natural monument and cultural site, lying within a European conservation area and the core zone of the World Heritage site.