Pasterze Glacier
Pasterze from the southeast, from the Kaiser- Franz- Josef - height at center of Johannisberg (2006)
The Pasterze is a little more than 8 km of the largest glacier in Austria and the longest in the Eastern Alps. It is located at the foot of the Grossglockner in the uppermost valley of the Mölltal valley ( Pasterzen floor ), and is the source of the Möll. Since 1856 the area of the time over 30 km ² has decreased by almost half.
Location and landscape
The highest point is the 3453 m above sea level. A. high Johannisberg. There is the top Pasterzen soil, the accumulation area of the glacier, which passes down the valley over the Hufeisenbruch in the actual Pasterzengletscher. The lower point located at about 2100 m above sea level. A. The tongue ends a few hundred meters before the Sandersee. The water of the Pasterze feeds the reservoir Margaritze, which is below the Glockner house.
From the Franz- Josef - height on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, a funicular leading to the point where at the time of commissioning of the railway (1963 ) was the edge of the glacier. Meanwhile, the Pasterze below the base station is ready melted, that from there, a 300 meters long staircase to the glacier tongue. Also in the length of the glacier is losing 10 meters per year, making the trail from the cablecar to Pasterze continuously changed.
In the area of Pasterze with amongst others the mountain peaks Large, Medium and Small Burgstaller, Spielmann, Racherin and locust head. These names are associated with a story about the origin of the Pasterze in conjunction, after a village said to have been petrified because of the transgressions of its inhabitants.
Glaciology
Finds of wood and peat, which has released in the years 2009 to 2010, the glacier, suggest that has been in the period 5000-1500 BC bog vegetation and pasture land on what is now the Pasterze. An analysis of the University of Innsbruck could prove pollen of grasses and gentians. Kophrophile fungi ( mushrooms dung ) show that pastures have been used for livestock. According to the results of the University of Graz is in a piece of wood to a 7000 years old stone pine with 200 annual rings that could grow there at the time ( in the postglacial warm period ).
Name
The name Pasterze should be underpinned by Slovenian roots and refers to an area that is suitable for pasture. Until at least the 19th century, it was used as a toponym for a larger mountain pastures in the occupied area in the valley of the upper Möll. Relations with the Hungarian- Slavic river names Beszterce (Rough Bach) etymologically can not yet be proven.