Flugkopf

The Flugkopf stands 2 231 metres above Bad Gastein and Hüttschlag in Salzburg’s Hohe Tauern. Its summit marks the border between two communities and three protected landscapes: the Gasteiner-Tal nature park, the Hüttschlager Talschlüsse reserve and the Hohe Tauern National Park. The steep Himmelwand rock face rises on the south-western flank, while alpine meadows and forests cover the lower slopes. Two streams, the Döferlbach and the Weißlahnbach, rise on the mountain and feed into the Kötschachbach. The peak belongs to the Gasteiner Gipfelkranz, a collection of 55 summits whose complete ascent earns the highest grade of the Austrian Alpine Club’s Gastein Wandernadel.

The mountain’s rocks tell a story of deep geological time. Orthogneis dominates the summit and northern flanks, while Glimmerschiefer, Graphitschiefer and Metavulkanit appear near the southern ridge. Lower southern and western slopes show Granitgneis and more Orthogneis. A winter closure protects Gamswild in the summit zone from December to May, allowing chamois and ibex to graze undisturbed. South of the top, a stretch of limestone grassland gives way to rust-red Alpenroses and patches of heather and bilberry.

Two human events remain linked to the mountain. In 1934 a 13-year-old boy fell to his death while picking edelweiss on the Himmelwand with the architect Hans Jaksch. On 20 January 1951 a 300-metre-wide avalanche swept down and destroyed a farmhouse at the Ölbrennergut, killing twelve people inside. Today the mountain offers clear paths through alpine meadows and quiet forests, with wide views across the Gasteiner valley and the Hohe Tauern peaks beyond.