Journey into the past
The Kitzlochklamm gorge is a natural wonder with its own magic. The name comes from the young goat people who liked to visit the cooling gorge and tunnel in summer. Here, the Rauriser Ache river has bored its way through the limestone slate and carved vertical walls over thousands of years of labour.
The tunnel you pass here is called the "Ritzstollen" because it was used by miners to search for gold. It bears the date 1553. Iron tools of Roman origin were also found during the construction of the path through the gorge. Johann Zehentner made the gorge accessible. In 1877 the path was improved and led through the entire gorge. Mr Embach Anton began construction in 1877 at the bottom on the right bank of the Rauriser Ache up to the start of the gorge. It was then continued at the top of the centre path by widening the old Kitzloch and building the high Embach Staircase, which was broken up the following year and laid out in serpentines, making access to the stalactite grotto much easier. From the stalactite grotto, the path on the left bank was then led outwards through the gorge and the connection with the first company built, the breakthrough of the rock and the construction of the Embacher Schreckbrücke including gallery, where the imposing waterfalls come into splendid view.
The gorge must have been particularly famous at the end of the last century, because even then tens of thousands of visitors were counted in the gorge.
After the tragic accident in the Kitzlochklamm in July 1974, the gorge was closed. In 1976 it was reopened with newly built bridges and footbridges and every year many visitors from near and far come again to admire the beauty of this natural monument.
