Karawanken

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Karawanken
Karavanke
Range
View to the eastern part of Karawanken from Stol / Hochstuhl
Countries Slovenia, Austria
Part of Southern Limestone Alps
Highest point Hochstuhl / Veliki Stol
 - elevation 2,236 m (7,336 ft)
 - coordinates 46°26′3″N 14°10′24″E / 46.43417°N 14.17333°E / 46.43417; 14.17333
Location of Karawanken

Karawanken (German) or Karavanke (Slovene) is a mountain range on the border between Slovenia and Austria. With a total length of 120 km, the Karawanken chain is the longest range in Europe.

Together with the Kamnik Savinja Alps, the Karawanken chain forms a natural border between Austria and Slovenia. A number of mountain passes on important trade routes cross the range. One of them, the Loiblpass (German) or Ljubelj (Slovene) at 1370 m has been used since prehistory. Nowadays both railway and motorway tunnels are built under the Karavanke, connecting Beljak/Villach and Jesenice.

Karawanken offers a good opportunity for mountaineering with numerous mountain huts. Many of the peaks offer a good view of the Klagenfurt basin on the Austrian side and the Ljubljana basin on the Slovene side. The Austrian side is rocky and precipitous while the Slovenian side is less steep, covered with spruce forests and low bushy pine at lower altitudes with grass higher up.

Important peaks include:

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 46°25′N 14°25′E / 46.417°N 14.417°E / 46.417; 14.417