# Tauern

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The word ***Tauern*** (ˈtaʊ̯ɐn) is German and originally meant 'high [mountain pass](/source/Mountain_pass)' in the [Austrian Central Alps](/source/Austrian_Central_Alps), referring to the many [bridleways](/source/Bridleway) and passes of the parallel [side valleys](/source/Side_valley) of the [River Salzach](/source/River_Salzach) that cut into the mountain ranges. From the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages), when [mining](/source/Mining) reached its heyday, the word *Tauern* was also used to name the corresponding ranges. The name has survived in many local placenames today.

## Etymology

The derivation of the name *Tauern* has been variously ascribed:

- One view is that the name *Tauern* is an old [substrate word](/source/Stratum_(linguistics)) (**taur-* for 'mountain‚ [mountain pass](/source/Mountain_pass), crossing'), which passed directly (less probable) or via the [Slavic language](/source/Slavic_language) (more likely) into [German](/source/German_language). (The name *Tauern* is probably pre-Slavic, but there is also a common Slavic word, *tur-* 'swelling, ridge, elongated hillock', etc.).[1] [2]
- Another postulation is that the *Tauern* is the only mountain range that has kept its pre-Slavic name in Carinthia as it passed down the generations. It is derived from the Indo-Germanic **(s)teur-* for 'bull; great hill'. The Tauern are so-to-speak the "bulls", the old *[Taurisci](/source/Taurisci)* of Upper Carinthia, the mountain dwellers, with the old Upper Carinthian town of *[Teurnia](/source/Teurnia)* being the corresponding mountain town.[3]

If the name *Tauern* is pre-Slavic, it could possibly be [Celtic](/source/Celts), and thus presumably linked to the Taurisci, or it could be [Illyrian](/source/Illyrian_languages), a collective term possibly for the pre- and early Celtic population in the Alpine region. There is no clear link with the name of the municipality of [Thaur](/source/Thaur) near Innsbruck, which could be analogous to the Illyrian for 'rock', but could also be derived from the [Rhaeto-Romance](/source/Rhaeto-Romance) word *Tgaura* 'goat'.

## Ranges

There are several mountain ranges that bear the name *Tauern* today. In German, the first part of these names is usually the adjectival version of a placename. It is common in English sources, however, just to use the original name without the adjectival inflexion:

- [High Tauern](/source/High_Tauern) (German: *Hohe Tauern*), often just called the *Tauern*.
- [Low Tauern](/source/Low_Tauern) (German: *Niedere Tauern*) with its subdivisions (from west to east): - [Radstadt Tauern](/source/Radstadt_Tauern) (German: *Radstadter Tauern*), - [Schladming Tauern](/source/Schladming_Tauern) (German: *Schladminger Tauern*), - [Rottenmann and Wölz Tauern](/source/Rottenmann_and_W%C3%B6lz_Tauern) (German: *Rottenmanner und Wölzer Tauern*) - [Seckau Tauern](/source/Seckau_Tauern) (German: *Seckauer Tauern*),
- [Ossiach Tauern](/source/Ossiach_Tauern), a ridge in the [Gurktal Alps](/source/Gurktal_Alps)

The High and Low Tauern together were historically called the Tauern Alps (*Tauernalpen*) and are still described as such in many sources today. They also extend to the [Brenner Pass](/source/Brenner_Pass)–Liesing/Palten valley, i.e. including the [Zillertal Alps](/source/Zillertal_Alps).

### Transport links

The following transport links facilitate the crossing of the Tauern from north to south:

- The [Felbertauern Road](/source/Felbertauern_Road) (B108) which passes under the range through the [Felbertauern Tunnel](/source/Felbertauern_Tunnel) in the area of the Felber Tauern.
- The [Tauern Railway](/source/Tauern_Railway) passes under the mountains through the [Tauern Tunnel](/source/Tauern_Tunnel_(railway)) between the Mallnitz Tauern and the High Tauern. This is the only north-south railway link between the [Brenner Pass](/source/Brenner_Pass) in the west and the [Schober Pass](/source/Schober_Pass) in the east.
- The [Großglockner High Alpine Road](/source/Gro%C3%9Fglockner_High_Alpine_Road) crosses over the Tauern in the area of the Hochtor mountain.
- The [Tauern Autobahn](/source/Tauern_Autobahn) (A10) passes under the Radstadt Tauern.
- The [Katschberg Road](/source/Katschberg_Road) (B99) crosses the Radstadt Tauern over the Radstadt Tauern Pass.
- The [Sölk Pass](/source/S%C3%B6lk_Pass) crosses the Low Tauern and delineates the boundary between the Schladming and the Wölz Tauern.
- The [Trieben Road](/source/Trieben_Road) (B114) crosses the Low Tauern at the village of [Hohentauern](/source/Hohentauern) and delineates the boundary between the Rottenmann and the Triebener (Seckau) Tauern.

## Passes

The following passes bear the name Tauern (from west to east):

- In the [High Tauern](/source/High_Tauern) they are all non-drivable [bridleways](/source/Bridleway): - The *[Krimmler Tauern](/source/Krimmler_Tauern)* (2,634 m) links the [Krimmler Achental](/source/Krimmler_Achental) with the South Tyrolean [Ahrntal](/source/Ahrntal). - The *[Felber Tauern](/source/Felber_Tauern)* or *Windisch-Matrei Tauern* (2,481 m) links the Pinzgau valley of [Felbertal](/source/Felbertal) with the East Tyrolean [Tauerntal](/source/Tauerntal), in the immediate vicinity of the *Alten Tauern* (2,498 m). - The *[Kalser Tauern](/source/Kalser_Tauern)* (2,518 m) links the Pinzgau valley of [Stubachtal](/source/Stubachtal) with the East Tyrolean Kalser Dorfer valley. - The *Heiligenbluter* or *Rauris Tauern* (2,576 m), commonly called the *[Hochtor](/source/Hochtor_(pass))*, links the Pinzgau valley of the [Fuscher Ache](/source/Fuscher_Ache) with the Carinthian [Möll valley](/source/M%C3%B6ll_valley). - The *Goldberg* or *Fragant Tauern* (2,754 m) links the Pinzgau [Rauriser Tal](/source/Rauriser_Tal) with the Carinthian Fragant valley. - The *Low Tauern*, also *[Mallnitz Tauern](/source/Mallnitz_Tauern)* and the *High Tauern* (2,459 m), also called the *Korntauern*, link the Pinzgau valley of [Gasteinertal](/source/Gasteinertal) with the Carinthian village of [Mallnitz](/source/Mallnitz) and the Möll valley.
- In the [Low Tauern](/source/Low_Tauern): - The *[Radstadt Tauern](/source/Radst%C3%A4dter_Tauern_Pass)* (1,738 m) links [Radstadt](/source/Radstadt) in the Pongau with [Mauterndorf](/source/Mauterndorf) in the Lungau via the two [Taurach valleys](/source/Taurachtal). - The *[Triebener Tauern](/source/Triebener_Tauern)* (1,278 m), also called the *Rottenmann Tauern*, links the [Palten](/source/Palten) valley near [Trieben](/source/Trieben) with the [Pöls](/source/P%C3%B6ls) valley.
- In the [Kitzbühel Alps](/source/Kitzb%C3%BChel_Alps): - *Thurntauern*, today the [Thurn Pass](/source/Thurn_Pass)

Corresponding to the passes there are also several places called *[Tauerntal](/source/Tauerntal)* ('Tauern valley'), *[Tauernbach](/source/Tauernbach)* ('Tauern stream') and *[Taurach](/source/Taurach_(disambiguation))* ('Tauern river'), the latter sometimes descending from a Tauern pass in both directions.

## Places

The following places also take their names from the term Tauern:

- The Pongau municipality of [Untertauern](/source/Untertauern) below the Radstadt Tauern Pass,
- The winter sports village of [Obertauern](/source/Obertauern) on the Radstadt Tauern Pass,
- The cadastral municipality of [Untertauern](/source/Untertauern_(Gemeinde_Ossiach)) from Ossiach by the Ossiach Tauern
- The hamlet of [Tauern](/source/Tauern_(Ossiach)) in Ossiach
- The village of [Tauer](/source/Tauer_(Matrei_in_Osttirol)) in Matrei in Osttirol

## Mountains

Several mountains, especially near the passes, bear names derived from the term Tauern:

- *[Felber Tauernkogel](/source/Felber_Tauernkogel)* (2,988 m), west of the Felber Tauern pass in the [Venediger Group](/source/Venediger_Group). - *Tauernkopf* (2,704 m), an insignificant subpeak on the eastern arête of the Felber Tauernkogel.
- *[Krimmler Tauernkogel](/source/Krimmler_Tauernkogel)* (2,872 m), near the Krimmler Tauern pass in the eastern [Zillertal Alps](/source/Zillertal_Alps), Salzburg–South Tyrolean border
- *Tauernklammhöhe* (2,798 m), an insignificant summit between the [Hollersbachtal](/source/Hollersbachtal) and the Felbertal in the Venediger Group. The ravine of *Tauernklamm* bisects its eastern flank.
- *[Kalser Tauernkogel](/source/Kalser_Tauernkogel)* (2,683 m), northwest of the Kals Tauern in the [Granatspitze Group](/source/Granatspitze_Group).
- *Tauernkopf* (2,626 m),east of the Hochtor in the [Goldberg Group](/source/Goldberg_Group).
- *[Tauernkogel](/source/Tauernkogel_(Tennen_Mountains))* (2,249 m) in the [Tennen Mountains](/source/Tennen_Mountains), giving its name to the *Tauernkogel Group*.
- *[Funtenseetauern](/source/Funtenseetauern)* and *[Gotzentauern](/source/Gotzentauern)* in the [Berchtesgaden Alps](/source/Berchtesgaden_Alps).

## Other usages

- The [Tauern Ridgeway](/source/Tauern_Ridgeway) crosses the [Ankogel](/source/Ankogel_Group) and [Goldberg Groups](/source/Goldberg_Group) from Murtörl to the Heiligenbluter Hochtor.
- [Tauernmoossee](/source/Tauernmoossee), a lake in the Stubach valley
- [Hohe Tauern National Park](/source/Hohe_Tauern_National_Park)
- [Tauernkraftwerke AG](/source/Tauernkraftwerke_AG) ([Kaprun Power Station](/source/Kaprun_Power_Station))
- [Tauernsheck](/source/Tauernsheck), a breed of Austrian goat

## Literature

- August Prinzinger: *Die Tauern.* In: *Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Salzburger Landeskunde* (MGSLK) 7, 1867, S. 46-78 ([Google eBook, vollständige Ansicht](https://books.google.com/books?id=rp8VAAAAYAAJ))
- Heinrich Wallmann: In: *Zeitschrift des Deutschen Alpenvereins*, Jahrgang 1869–70 (Band I), pp. 442–472. (Online at [ALO](/source/Austrian_Literature_Online)).
- Eberhard Kranzmayer: *Ortsnamenbuch von Kärnten*. Band 1, Die Siedlungsgeschichte Kärntens von der Urzeit bis zur Gegenwart im Spiegel der Namen. Archiv für vaterländische Geschichte und Topographie, Band 50. Verlag des Geschichtsvereines für Kärnten, Klagenfurt 1956. [4]
- Willi End, Hubert Peterka: *Glocknergruppe und Granatspitzgruppe – ein Führer für Täler, Hütten und Berge, verfaßt nach den Richtlinien der [UIAA](/source/UIAA)*. 8th, fully revised edition. Alpenvereinsführer, Zentralalpen. Bergverlag Rother, Munich, 1990, ISBN 3-7633-1258-7.
- Willi End, Hubert Peterka (Begr.): *Venedigergruppe – mit nördlichen Deferegger Alpen (Panargenkamm, Lasörlingkamm). Alpenvereinsführer für Täler, Hütten und Berge, verfasst nach den Richtlinien der UIAA für Wanderer, Bergsteiger und Kletterer*. 5th, updated and fully revised edition. Alpenvereinsführer, Ostalpen. Bergverlag Rother, Munich, 2006, ISBN 3-7633-1242-0.
- Heinz-Dieter Pohl: *Die Bergnamen der Hohen Tauern*. OeAV-Dokumente, Vol. 6. Österreichischer Alpenverein, Fachabteilung Raumplanung-Naturschutz, Innsbruck 2009. [5]

## References

1. Heinz-Dieter Pohl: [*Kärnten – deutsche and slowenische Namen. Namenkundliche Grundlagen*](http://members.chello.at/heinz.pohl/Namen.htm). In: *members.chello.at/heinz.pohl*, 16 May 2010, accessed on 27 March 2011.

1. Pohl: *Bergnamen*, pp. 17 ff.

1. Kranzmayer: *Ortsnamenbuch von Kärnten*, pp. 21.

1. [Permalink *Österreichischer Bibliothekenverbund*](http://aleph20-prod-acc.obvsg.at/F?func=direct&local_base=ACC01&doc_number=000804435) [Archived](https://archive.today/20120701114644/http://aleph20-prod-acc.obvsg.at/F?func=direct&local_base=ACC01&doc_number=000804435) 2012-07-01 at archive.today.

1. [Permalink *Österreichischer Bibliothekenverbund*](https://archive.today/20120707033034/http://aleph20-prod-acc.obvsg.at/F?func=direct&local_base=ACC01&doc_number=007752008). — [Inhaltsverzeichnis online](http://members.chello.at/heinz.pohl/Namen_Hohe_Tauern.htm), accessed on 27 March 2011.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tauern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauern) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauern?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.