Osser

The Osser is a 1 548-metre mountain in the Graz Highlands of Austrian Styria. It stands near Fladnitz on the Teichalm plateau and is the second-highest peak in the range. The smaller Buchkogel lies just south of the Osser, and the Raab river rises on the mountain’s eastern flank. From the north and west the Osser appears as a gentle swell on rolling high pastures marketed as the Almenland. Seen from the south, however, it rises almost 900 metres above the Passail basin. The summit cross is not on the true top but on a lower 1 280-metre spur to the south-west, yet this still gives wide views over the basin. The mountain’s slopes are now mostly wooded, though in 1885 the summit was still open alpine meadow. A saddle at the Schwoabauerkreuz links the Osser to the Siebenkögel ridge running eastwards. The Osser is made of limestone that gives its name to the Osser-Kalk found in the region. At the far end of a valley stretching from Passail to beneath the summit lies the Raab spring, source of the river that waters eastern Styria and western Hungary. The mountain divides waters: its northern slopes drain via the Mixnitzbach to the Mur, while its southern flanks feed the Raab. A short circular trail from the Waldmühle explains the spring in German and Hungarian. Walkers can also start from the Teichalm or from the Waldmühle to reach the Schwoabauerkreuz before climbing onward to the Osser.