Kaprun (German pronunciation:[kaˈpruːn]) is a municipality in the Zell am See District in the province of Salzburg in Austria. Together with the neighboring city of Zell am See the town presents itself as the tourist destination and skiing area "Zell am See-Kaprun". Kaprun distinguishes itself from its larger neighbor at the lake, by offering all year access to the Kitzsteinhorn with its Top of Salzburg viewing platform at 3029 metres (9938') altitude and its glacier ski area that is open October through May.
Geography
It is located in the Pinzgau region on the northern slopes of the Alpine Glockner Group with Mt. Großes Wiesbachhorn, 3,564 m (11,693 ft), part of the Hohe Tauern range, forming the border of Salzburg with Carinthia. Located at the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, Kaprun is a year-round sports center. The Kapruner Ache creek joins the Salzach River south of the settlement. The Mooserboden hydroelectric plant uses water from two reservoirs held back by some of Austria's largest dam walls. The reservoir area has become a tourist attraction, with views over the towns of Kaprun and Zell am See. The visitors centre gives guided tours of the area. Tauern Spa World was completed in November 2010 and is the second largest spa complex in Austria. It is a two-hour transfer to resort from Salzburg Airport.[citation needed]
Climate
There is a weather station by the Mooserboden reservoir in Kaprun, situated at an elevation of 2,036 m (6,680 ft).
Climate data for Mooserboden: 2036 metres (6680') (1981−2010 normals, extremes 1971−2010)
Kaprun CastleKaprun July 1903The Kitzsteinhorn"Heidnische Kirche" on the Mooserboden in Kaprun.A commemoration sign to the forced-work labourers who perished while building the Kaprun dam during WWII at the "Heidnische Kirche"
The Kitzsteinhorn is accessed by the Gletscherbahn 1, an aerial lift in three sections, opened on 12 December 1965 to develop the area for glacier skiing. The lowest section, running from Kapruner Thoerl up to the Salzburg Hut, is 2028 metres (6654') long and climbs 970 metres (3182') in altitude. The second section, to the Krefeld Hut, climbs 554 metres (1818'). The third section, from the Krefeld Hut, is 2,192 metres (1.362 miles) long and climbs 575 metres (1186'). This section includes the world's tallest aerial lift pylon, a steel framework construction 113.9 metres (374') (originally 106 meters; 348') high. This pillar was built in 1966 and has of a pipe of 2.2 metres (7.2 feet) diameter in the center, in which a ladder and a maintenance elevator are installed.
Gletscherbahn 2 was a funicular railway with two carriages running from Kaprun to the Kitzsteinhorn which opened on 23 March 1974. This railway had the unusual track gauge of 946 millimetres (3.104 feet), and a length of 3.9 kilometres (2.4 miles), of which 3.3 kilometres (2.1 miles) was through a tunnel. On 11 November 2000, it was the site of the Kaprun disaster, in which 149 skiers lost their lives in a tunnel fire. Six more deaths occurred indirectly. Three died in the shop and restaurant because of smoke. The attendant in the burning train died with the 149 skiers. The smoke killed the attendant and the only passenger in the other identical train. Only twelve people survived the disaster. The tunnel and the funicular railway have remained closed since then. A memorial to the victims, located opposite the present valley station, was dedicated on 11 November, 2004.