Kitzsteinhorn: Gipfelwelt 3000

Visitors can also catch a film here: the “Cinema 3000” summit cinema features an eight-metre-wide screen and promises a special cinematic experience. The “Nationalpark Gallery” introduces visitors to the high-alpine natural environment, its power, its origins and its unique character. As the centrepiece of the new “Gipfelwelt 3000”, it offers spectacular views into Hohe Tauern National Park. Covering 1,800 square kilometres, Hohe Tauern National Park is the largest contiguous protected area in the Eastern Alps; it was also the first national park to be established in Austria. The Kitzsteinhorn lies directly beside it.

Wolfgang Urban, director of the national park, assures visitors that at the new “Gipfelwelt 3000” on the Kitzsteinhorn, everyone can experience and feel with all their senses the beauty and treasures of the high-alpine natural environment and the fascination of the three-thousand-metre peaks.

Gletscherbahnen Kaprun AG has invested 6.5 million euros in the project. From December, nowhere else will the contrast between the developed alpine landscape outside the national park and its pristine, untouched landscape within the park be illustrated so beautifully.

And it is a truly mystical experience. As soon as you step off the cable car, you enter the mountain’s interior: the 360-metre-long tunnel leading into the rock of the Kitzsteinhorn is lit in a mystical glow. The tunnel houses five information areas covering technology, crystal treasures, Tauerngold, permafrost and Hohe Tauern. It also serves as the passageway to the legendary panoramic platform, which will open in mid-2011. From here, visitors can enjoy unforgettable views, including a face-to-face view of the Großglockner. It’s a destination not only for a ski holiday in Kaprun. The attraction is also a major tourist draw, especially in the summer months.