Kaprun Things to Do

The journey up to the Kaprun reservoirs is almost as spectacular as the destination Itself !

The journey
The first part of the journey starts at the Kesselfall Alpenhaus and takes you by bus on a winding road and through some tunnels to the start of the 'Lärchwand Schrägaufzug' (an inclined lift - see pictures). This lift is Europe's biggest one of this kind. The lift is like a huge 'container' where quite a lot of people can get in. The rails are put against the slope of the mountain. This slope gets quite steep at some point, with a maximum inclination up to about 80%. But still it's a smooth ride up. When you're at the top of the lift you're up to part 2 of the bus ride, again on winding roads but with fantastic views ... You'll pass the reservoir Stausee Wasserfallboden along the way.
Once you're all the way up, you're next to the reservoir Stausee Mooserboden.

There's a restaurant 'Mooserboden' here.
In front of the restaurant is a little playground.

The lift was closed for maintenance during the summers of 2012 and 2013. The entire journey up was done by busses, in a total travelling time of 45 minutes (one way). The new lift is operational as of summer 2014.
Since our 2014 Austria visit was et the end of october, the access here was already closed ... so we didn't get to 'experience' the new lift. All of my pictures here are therefore also of the old lift.

For the rest of the info on the reservoirs, have a look at my next tip.

The Kaprun Hochgebirgsstauseen (high mountain reservoirs) are a wonderful visit.
Since you are quite high up in the mountains (around 2.000 m), it's of course best to visit them on a day without rain ... you'll have a wonderful view over the surrounding mountains of the Nationalpark Hohe Tauern.
These 2 huge waterreservoirs and their dams provide the powerplant of water for electricity.
The first 120 metres high wall (Limbergsperre) was finished in 1951 and the operation of the powerplant was a fact. The total storage capacity of the Mooserboden and the Wasserfallboden reservoirs is about ... 2.000.000 bathubs !
Nowadays the plant is one of the major providers of Austria's electricity.

To see and do
You can walk on the wall of the dam, but there are course also a lot of marked hiking routes in the surroundings.

When crossing the dam wall, you'll reach the rocky 'Hohenburg'. When you go all the way to the top there, you'll have a spectacular view.
Below the Hohenburg there's the exhibition Erlebniswelt Strom und Eis (Electricity & Ice Adventure World) (no extra entrance fee). Here you can discover the world of a glacier and its eternal ice. There's also an interesting exhibition on the building of the reservoirs and the dams. Here you can also find a little restaurant with shop and toilets.

Inside the dam walls: you can also take a guided tour inside the walls of the Mooser dam (Mooser Sperre). The dam is 104 metres high and 494 m long. This tour takes you to the inside of the dam while a guide tells you about the history and the operation of the dam and the plant.
This tour isn't included in the ticket. You can buy the ticket for this tour at the kiosk at the Mooserboden restaurant. The tour takes about an vour and leaves every 45 minutes between 10.00h and 15.15h.

Prices 2015
ascent and descent
adults: 19,50 €
kids 6-15 y.: 12,50 € (kids up to 5 years are free of charge)
family ticket: 40,00 € (50,00 € for guided tour of the dam walls included)
season ticket: 90,00 €
taking a dog up costs 6,00 €

guided tour of the Mooserboden Sperre
adults: 5,50 €
kids 6-15 y.: 3,00 € (kids up to 5 years are free of charge)

Opening hours 2015
The reservoirs are open for visit from may 23 until october 15 2015.
Daily 8.10h – 16.45h (last ascent 15.30h)

Not far from Kaprun the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse starts to go up in to the Hohe Tauern National Park. This a beautiful Mountain Passroad with a lot of possible stops a long the route for you and your kids to enjoy.

You can learn anything on birds and other wildlife who live in the Hohe Tauern National Park, as well as visti the Pasterzenglacier and learn anything about glaciers there. Playgrounds are situated regularly along the road as well as nice viewing points, like the Edelweiss-Spitze at about 2,500 m.

Especially beautiful to vist are the reservoirs of Kaprun at a height of 2,000 m.

First you park your car at Kesselfall Parkhaus and walk to the busstation. This bus takes you up the mountain and through tunnels to a kind of lift platform that takes you up the mountain. The platform can take 180 persons going up or down at once.
Once you are up there another bus takes you to the mountain station at the Mooserboden Resevoir.

From here you can go on a guided tour of the dams or take a hike into the high mountainland or just walk around and enjoy the great views.

It is free on the Zell am See- Kaprun Card.

The summit station of the Kitzsteinhorn is at 3,029 m high and is the highest point which you can easily reach in Salzburgerland.

From Kaprun you drive in direction of the "Stauseen" and park you car at the funicular parking lot.

You go up with 3 different funiculars. One for about 6-8 pers. then one for about 8-10 pers. and then one for 60 persons.

You'll have great views on clear days here. My advice go early , after 11.00 hrs. going up comes with long waiting times at least before the last funicular.

When you take a funicular down again you come to the glacier and can enjoy the snow also in summer. my daughters had some sleighrides here.

In I believe 2000 there was a severe accident in the tunnel going up. Next to the parking lot you'll find a monument to honour the people who died in that accident.

It is not a big museum, but for car lovers it still has a nice collection of cars. Depending on your interests it will take you an hour to see everything. The museum is free with the Zell am See-Kaprun Card and the Salzburgerlandcard.

Outisde you will find a copy of Herbie the lovebug and an old steamtrain, which probably is for Apres Ski in winter.

To go short: Nice to visit when you are in Kaprun or Zell am See.

We've been here on a wonderful summerevening and the SPA is as well a lovely place to relax as a nice place to go and have fun with your kids.

There are several pools which you can use, all with a nice temperature and there is a huge waterslide for the kids.

For sure worth a visit!

Unfortunately you can not visit this castle every time of the week. Often there are guided tours on a monday afternoon at 16.00 hrs.

At the time we were there the tour was not available. But when you are in the neigbourhood it is a nice spot to have a stop or walk around the castle.

It is suspected that the building started around 1200 by a Bavarian Count named Falkenstein. In different phases it became the building it is now. In 1526 it burned down and was rebuild again.

Today a "Burgverein" is owner and takes care for the castle as for the venues organised in the castle.

This gorge makes a nice visit when in the Kaprun area.

A glacier covered the Kapruner valley about 14.000 years ago. When the glacier disappeared, it eroded the Maiskogel and the Burgkogel mountains, leaving behind a gorge for the river called the Kapruner Ache. Smooth sides and swirling water is what you can see, while the the limestone cliffs are still being further eroded today.
This gorge is now known as the Sigmund-Thunn klamm.

The gorge is up to 32 metres deep and about 320 metres long.
Part of the road is semi-paved, part is of course made with the well-known wooden stairs, typical for the gorges. At the end of the gorge you reach the Klammsee. The area around this lake is frequently visited as a picnic and resting area. There are some picnic tables and a small playground.
The Klammsee is part of the power plant Kaprun. This website gives you some more info on this power plant.
You can either return through the gorge or take a path through the woods ... we always go for option 2 ...

If you walk the klamm and return - when you reach the Klammsee dam wall - either through the forest or back through the klamm, you'll be back in about 35 minutes.
If you walk the klamm and afterwards walk the entire tour of the lake Klammsee with it's 'study trail', it'll take about 1h45 unil you're back at the entrance.

History
The gorge was first opened in 1893 by the build of a wooden path. In 1934 it was declared as a national monument. In 1938 the development of the gorge and the paths were pressed to the background because of the growing importance to develop the vallay as a source of hydroelectric power.
This remained until 1991, when the society VSF-Kaprun decided to re-open the gorge for tourists.
Nowadays the gorge, the path around the Klammsee and the exhibiton on hydroelectric power attrack many tourists year after year.

The words by the man this gorge thanks its name to (earl Sigmund von Thunn) can be perfectly understood after you've visited this gorge:
Tosend und mächtig eilen uns die Fluthen entgegen - Turbulent and powerful the waters rush towards us

Opening hours
- daily from 9.00h - 17.00h - 2014: open as off Mai 16 to approx. September 28.
- the gorge is closed in winter (+- end of september until mid may)

Prices (2014)
adult without guest card: 4,30 €
adult with guest card: 3,90 €

kids (6-15 y.) without guest card: 3,00 €
kids (6-15 y.) with guest card: 2,70 €

family without guest card: 10,50 €
family with guest card: 9,40 €
valid for 2 adults and their children up to 15 y.

If you have the Salzburgerlandkarte you get unlimited free access to this gorge.

In the centre of Kaprun, you'll find the hotel 'Sport-Kristall'.
This is also the location of an extensive private collection of oldtimer cars. The museum is located in the hotel's basement, but in fact has more objects on display than you would expect.
We have never stayed at this hotel, but it all looked very clean and cosy with eye for detail.

The museum opened in 1996 and contains the private collection of the hotel's owner, mr. Votter. We met him in the lobby when we visited. He came straight up to us and was very friendly. He immediately started talking about his passion for the oldtimers. He really can't hide his love for his hobby ... ;-).

It all started with one single BMW 'Isetta' ... the hobby/passion was born! A lot of the cars were bought when still in terrible state and were lovingly restored.

There are almost 200 models on display. But it's not only cars, but also bicycles, motorbikes and other memorabilia from the 1950' to the 1970's.

It's not a museum as one would expect, with all the models neatly arranged in zome kind of order.
It's rather the opposite: the objects are stashed together on a surface of about 1.000 square metres.
All the detail goes into the cars, not in the room surrounding it.
Every displayed model has a sign with some explanation to go with it.

There's even an old car of the Kitzsteinhorn 'glacier dragon' mountain train with a film playing inside. It was the first underground glacier train in the world.

Porsche, BMW, Volkswagen Beetle, ... You name it, he's got it!

Although it looks a bit 'overcrowded' upon entering, it makes for a great visit for all car-lovers. And also for the ones who look back at their younger years a certain degree of nostalgia ... They can have a look in the rooms which are decorated like a house in the 1950's, complete with a wooden 'outhouse' toilet.

Opening hours
10.00 a.m. until 6.00 p.m.
extra opening upon request

Price (2014)
Adults: € 8,80
Guest card Kaprun: € 7,50
Children 6y.: free of charge
Children 6 - 14 y.: € 4,40
Family (parents with kids): € 18,00
Groups (20+ people): € 5,80

Free of charge with the 'Sommercard Zell am See-Kaprun'
Free of charge with the Salzburgerlandkarte

Guided group visits possible upon request (price = € 8,80)

Try to imagine 14,000 years ago when the Kaprun Valley was covered by a glacier slowly moving down the valley, carving away the hard limestone, slate and mica cliffs of the Maiskogel and Burgkogel. When the glacier melted, it left behind the deep gorge which the Kaprun Stream flowed through into the valley.

This is the Sigmund-Thun Gorge, that's in some places 32 meters deep. The force of the water has in some places smoothed rocks and etched whirlpools and deep holes into the rocks.

This is where we are going for a look at today.

FIRST, BE AWARE THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF STEPS, SO NO GOOD FOR UNFIT PEOPLE AND ONES WITH WALKING PROBLEMS!

ADMISSION IN 2014
Adults without guest card 3.9 euros
Adults with guest card 3.5 euros

Children (6-15 years old) without guest card.. 2.8 euros
Children (6-15 years) with guest card ....2.5 euros

Families without guest card..9.5 euros
Families with guest card 8.5 euros
(2 Adults + children up to 15 years)

Combo card Gorge and Museum 7 euros

THE GORGE IS CLOSED DURING WINTER

Usually open between May & September from 9 - 5pm
Check the website for opening times

Vötter's Fahrzeugmuseum Kaprun is an interesting vintage-carmuseum inside the hotel Sport-Kristall in Kaprun & that is just a few km from Zell am See. The museum shows about 150 cars and even the smallest space of the museum-halls are crammed with a car. You will find a lot of cars that you might remember from a long time ago, and most of them are are not "shining" like in other museums, but they rather look like to be in a private garage, waiting to be repaired or so.
I really enjoyed this place, it is just a pity that some of the most precious cars you almost cannot take a photo of, because they are hidden behind many other cars.
The museum is open daily
10.00am - 06.00pm

Kitzsteinhorn is one of very few places in Austria and even in Europe, where you can go skiing all year long ! There is a giant car-parking on the foot of the mountain, not far from the village of Kaprun and a funicular takes you up the mountain, directely to the glacier in a hight of 3.203 meters above sea-level. You can rent the skiing-equipment there or just take a walk in the show and enjoy the great view on a clear day from there !
Read more infos about it, when you click on this link here or below !

This is Burg Fischhorn / Fischorn Castle in Kaprun. Unfortunately I came out of the opening-times, but at least I could walk around the castle on a small path, there are a lot of carparking-spaces as well and there was also a place in the wall where I could take a sneak into the innercourt, (my 4th photo).
b.t.w.: when driving to the castle you will pass by the car-museum of the Sporthotel, just watch out for the train standing in the garden of the hotel !

View from 3029 meters, highest point you can reach in Kaprun with the cable car, on the Kitzsteinhorn