Echern Valley in Hallstatt - © Kraft

The “Ebenhoch” Stone in the Echern Valley

 

Contemporary witness at the edge of the path

Many visitors of the Echerntal in Hallstatt may just pass by and think "What a stone?" But as with so many ancient stone remnants there is sometimes also a story to be told. What’s with the "Ebenhoch stone" for example?

Fall into the depths

The boulder detached itself from the „Echernwand“ after the glacier retracted from the valley some 12,000 years ago.
The rock engraving "A.u.J.E. 16./7. 1908 "is a reminder of celebrities, who chose Hallstatt as their home and liked to visit the Echerntal and immortalised their silver wedding there. Alfred and Josefine Ebenhoch were highly regarded in Hallstatt and played an important role in the social life of Hallstatt as cultural sponsors and donors.

Born in Immenstadt on Lake Constance in Germany as the son of a freight forwarder in 1855, Alfred Ebenhoch studied law in Prague and Innsbruck and after his traineeship at court in Vienna, he joined a law firm in Linz. In 1883 he married the Innsbrucker Josefine Rhomberg and they became parents to three daughters. As a Catholic conservative politician, he was posted to the Imperial Council and to the state parliament of Upper Austria.

He was the provincial governor of Upper Austria, one of the largest provinces in Austria, and earned a great deal of money as minister of agricultural building, for the development of engineering structures along the wild streams and the river Traun in the Salzkammergut. He was also known as a successful writer through several works of political and belletrist content. Alfred Ebenhoch died in 1912 in Vienna.

Our tip: The path to the "Ebenhoch-Stein" on Echernntalweg can be combined wonderfully with a three-hour exploring tour to the “Glücksplatz” (place of happiness) at the "Waldbachstrub" waterfall or a visit to the primeval glacier garden.

Heavenly Perspective

Lace up your hiking boots, load up your backpack and hit the trail! Enjoy gorgeous natural surroundings, charming architecture and friendly people as you wander down idyllic lanes and paths. The daily grind gets left behind and your head becomes as clear as the air in the high alpine landscape of the UNESCO World Heritage Region of Hallstatt Dachstein Salzkammergut. Along the well-marked paths, you will find the ideal conditions for escaping the monotony of everyday life. Whether you’re a passionate mountain hiker or a nature enthusiast, traveling alone or with the entire family, you’ll enjoy scaling our regional peaks. In our comprehensive route planner, you’ll discover a variety of suggestions for creating your ideal hike. You can pick up a detailed hiking map at one of the four tourist offices of the Dachstein Salzkammergut holiday region. Each map describes favourite routes for exploring Hallstatt, Bad Goisern on Lake Hallstatt, Gosau and Obertraun. We hope you’ll have a wonderful time discovering the wonders between our mountains and lakes!

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