The Semmering is a mountain pass in the Eastern Northern Limestone Alps connecting Lower Austria and Styria between which it forms a natural border.

Location

The Semmering Pass is located at an elevation of 965 m. The Sonnwendstein and Hirschenkogel lie to the east of it, the Penken-Kogel to the west.

Beside the Wechsel Pass, the Semmering is the most important connection between Lower Austria and Styria. It can be crossed by road (an autobahn with a tunnel is currently under construction) and with the Semmering Railway.

A village also bearing the name Semmering is located on the pass. The villages of Maria Schutz and Spital am Semmering are located slightly below the pass on the Lower Austrian and the Styrian side respectively. Schottwien and Mürzzuschlag are the closest sizeable towns on each side.

Rail Transportation

As the Semmering is a major bottleneck in the Austrian railway network, the Semmering Railway, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, is to be supplemented by a tunnel located at the base of the mountains. The project is supported by the Austrian Federal Government and the governments of Styria and Carinthia, but heavily opposed by the government of Lower Austria, which persists in blocking the project by issuing negative environmental impact statements. The project has now been stalled for several years, even though the administrative acts issued by the Lower Austrian government have been repeatedly declared invalid by the Austrian Administrative Court . The main argument against the tunnel are possible negative effects on ground water, which, strangely, seems not to apply to the Autobahn tunnel already under construction.

Skiing

The Semmering ski resort, which also hosts World Cup events, is located at the pass and extends on the Hirschenkogel mountain. It is mainly used by skiers from Vienna, from where it can be reached within one hour, and increasingly by people from Hungary and Slovakia.