Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by mindgrow

Stuibenfall Waterfall was created about 8000 – 9800 years ago during the glaciers melting. At that time there was a thawing of permafrost which moved the huge masses of rock. The stream Horlachbach was created after a landslide of approximately 3 billion cubic meters of rocks from the Tauferberg area to Horlachtal valley. There was thus created a large water reservoir from which the water broke the way and thus created a Stuibenfall Waterfall.

You still can see the rocks, which originally formed the dam of the lake. Stuibenfall Waterfall is 159 meters high an it is therefore the highest waterfall in Tyrol and the fourth highest in Austria.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by äquinoktium

Stuibenfall Waterfall is easily accessible from the village Umhausen, where you can also visit the archaeological park of Ötzi Dorf (Ice Man Village). The whole trip is also suitable for the children and take approximately 3 hours. If you still want to visit the archaeological park, be prepared for an hour and a half more. Stuibenfall Waterfall is open all year round for free.

Large paid car-park is available at Ötzi Dorf. At the Stuibenfall Waterfall there is also climbing arena available. It is 450 m long hedged way, that leads just at the left side of the waterfall. Reportedly it is also suitable for the children from 10 years and older.

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Magdeburg Water Bridge was opened in 2003 and connects Berlin’s inland harbour network with the ports along the Rhine river. The bridge also allows the traffic of larger ships. This unique bridge is able to support even the heaviest boats and also to withstand the winter ice.

Its length is 918m, depth 4.25m and width is up to 34 m. The construction took €500 milion and used 24,000 tonnes of steel and 68,000 cubic meters of concrete.

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The waterfall itself travels a total distance of 380 meters from its highest point to the pool below. It is separated into three distinct stages of which the upper and lower stages feature a drop of just over 140 meters while the middle stage features a drop of 100 meters. The point at which the Krimmler Ache flows over the edge of the cliff is 1470 meters above sea level.

Krimmler waterfalls, Austria by Manuel Heinrich Emha

The Krimmler Ache which feeds the Krimml Waterfalls is a glacial stream which ranges between 20,000 cubic meters an hour during the summer months to only 500 cubic meters per hour during the winter months. It is also important to point out that back in 1987, the largest ever recorded flow of more than 600,000 cubic meters per hour was recorded; affording anyone who visited at the time one of the most awe-inspiring views imaginable.

After the water has fallen into the pool below, then makes its way out to the Salzach River which then flows into the Inn River before finally meeting up with the famous Danube River. Eventually all the waters that cascade over the edges of the Krimml Waterfalls find their way out into the Black Sea.

Tourism in the area can be dated back several hundred years. A number of password created between the upper and lower portions of the waterfall prior to the 1870s. In 1879, in order to improve panoramic view and access the region, the Austrian Alpine club for forth a lot of effort into developing the area in and around the Krimml Waterfalls. Today, close to a half 1 million people visit the falls every single year.

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Photo published with a kind permission of its author va.lentijn

The entrance to the cave is situated at an altitude of 970 meters above sea level and used to be known as a “cold hole”. The first visitor was a mining engineer and amateur speleologist Eugen Ruffínyi with his friends Gustáv Lang and Andrej Mega. They explored the cave in June 1870. A year later it was opened to the public and in 1887 became the first cave in Europe with electric lighting. The total length of the cave is 1388 m, from which only 475 m long section is available for the public. In the years 1893 – 1946 the public skating was allowed here during the whole year.

Photo published with a kind permission of its author va.lentijn

Underground spaces were created and formed by chemical and mechanical action of water of the river Hnilec. Dobšinská ice caves were originally connected with Stratenská caves. But after the collapse of the cave ceiling, the cave system has been divided and closed the air circulation. The cave got a shape of a pocket-like large cavity. It is 18 meters wide and 70 meters deep with a single hole on the surface. This resulted in the establishment of local microclimatic conditions and ice caves. In winter a cold air penetrates into the cave, which cools its walls and leaking water and freezes, creating ice formations (stalactites, stalagmites, icefalls, pillar and floor ice). The thickness of ice reaches up to 25 meters at the floor, its volume is approximately 145,000 cubic meters. The average annual temperature of the cave is -1 °C while the humidity reaches 96-99%.

Photo published with a kind permission of its author va.lentijn

Glaciation is only in the part of the cave entrance, where it gets cold from outside. Rear and bottom areas are ice-free, but with many weathered stalactite formations. The cave consists of several separate parts – Small Hall, Large Hall, collapsing dome, Ruffínyi’s corridor, and other. The largest area is the Great Hall – 72 metres long, 42 metres wide and 10 metres high. The largest ice column is named the Well (Studňa).

The tour through Dobšinská Ice Cave lasts 30 minutes. It is open from May to October. Eating or drinking is prohibited here, you can use a camera for additional fee. Entry is permitted only with a guide.

Dobšinská Ice Cave is a home of several species of bats, and in 2000, the cave has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Photo published with a kind permission of its author va.lentijn

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