Chorinsky-Klause

In the wild and romantic Weißenbachtal valley, very close to the Brunntal Alm, lies the Chorinsky-Klause. It is a technical monument from a time when the timber and salt trade was extremely important for the Salzkammergut. Combined with a hike or a bike tour, the timber drift is one of many sights in Bad Goisern that you have to experience!

In combination with hiking and cycling

This attraction in the middle of the picturesque Brunntalalm in the Weißenbachtal valley of Bad Goisern is of historical importance and uniqueness. Combined with a bike tour or hike, the wood drift is the highlight of a relaxing day in nature in the Dachstein Salzkammergut. Find out more below about why this facility is so historically significant for timber extraction in the Salzkammergut.

Built from wood - made for wood

The Chorinsky-Klause in the Weißenbachtal valley in Bad Goisern is a dam that was built in the 19th century for the transportation of timber. A classic timber drift system. The first forebays used to dam water were built as early as 1526. These were still made of wood, which meant that they had to be renewed time and again. There is evidence of these new constructions in 1656 and 1766.
A few hundred years passed before construction of the current hermitage began in 1809. Why all this?

Once the Berlin-Scholzplatz transmitter!

Those familiar with the Salzkammergut can certainly imagine the reason for the need and transportation of huge quantities of timber. It was, of course, the salt mine in Hallstatt, which consumed a gigantic amount of wood per day to fire the salt mine! Specifically, 230 m³ of wood were burned every day in Hallstatt. If you were to stack this wood, you would get a tower as high as the Berlin-Scholzplatz radio tower. Later, of course, wood was increasingly replaced by coal and so the demand decreased over the centuries. Nevertheless, the Salzkammergut had to rationalize its timber industry and transport very early on.

One of the last timber drifts in the Salzkammergut

The 28.27 m long timber drift still towers on a rock bench. The rock in the Salzkammergut is predominantly limestone, which is why the Chorinskyklause is also made of limestone blocks. The actual dam wall is 6.21 m high. This pioneering feat of engineering enables this structure to create a maximum backwater of 75,000 m³ of water. Timber transportation is also based on this, as the water was dammed up and after the sluice the timber to be transported waited in the stream to be flushed into the Weißenbach district.
The sluices were not simply opened but "hit" with a special mechanism. This allowed the water to flow through the valley at breakneck speed together with the timber.

Until the early 2000s, an annual "Klausschlagen" was held, but in recent years the Chorinsky Klause was no longer allowed to be beaten for environmental reasons. However, the hermitage can still be visited free of charge at any time and you can experience a piece of woodworking history up close. The famous Emperor's Table is also located not far from the Chorinksy hermitage. And if you want to find out more about the life of the lumberjacks, the Bad Goisern Lumberjack Museum is the place to go!