Auf der Kehr

The **Auf der Kehr**, or **Flatzer Wand** ( ; or *Auf der Kehr* ; ) is a rocky outcrop of the mountain Auf der Kehr (790 m above sea level). It is located near Flatz (municipality of Ternitz) in Lower Austria, in the Sierningtal-Auf der Kehr Nature Park of the Gutenstein Alps. In general, Flatzer wand is used for the mountain, while auf der Kehr is just used for the rock formation (which is about  high. Occasionally, Auf der Kehr is used for the whole mountain range. The highest peak of the range is Gösling, at a height of . Overall, the Auf der Kehr resembles the well-known Hohe Wand.

## Settlement 
The Auf der Kehr is an old settlement area. Human bones and artefacts have been found in the Long Hole, suggesting that there has been at least a temporary settlement since the early Stone Age. In the late Bronze Age (around 1000 BC) there was a small mining settlement along the southern slope below the Auf der Kehr. Several houses stood on artificial settlement terraces, the remains of which were built in the course of the expansion of the forest road network at the end of the 20th century.  Copper ore was smelted on the opposite slope of the Gösing.

## Paths and huts 
On the western edge of the wall is the *Neunkirchner Naturfreundehaus*, which is open on weekends  all year round. The base of the wall as well as the wall edge are well developed with paths, with numerous accesses to the climbing routes. The Willi Gottwaldsteig leads off the forest roads, but without climbing sections, up to the refuge.

## Climbing area 
The Auf der Kehr is a well-developed climbing area with a dozen via ferrata routes in the difficulties 0-D (the most difficult route is the E60 route with C/D) and over 100 climbing routes up to about difficulty grade IX. The most famous secured via ferratas are (from west to east):

* E60 (C / D)
* Ternitzersteig (A)
* Flatzerlochsteig (A / B)
* Fürststeig (A)
* Jubilee Trail (A / B)

One of the "most beautiful 'very easy' climbing routes in the foothills of the Alps" also leads to the Auf der Kehr: the historic Doppelsteig is difficulty grade II.

## Caves 
The Auf der Kehr is rich in caves.

* The best known is the Flatzer Tropfsteinhöhle (Long Hole, cadastral number 1861/9) with side entrance Dachslucke (1861/2), which was opened up as a show cave in 1904-1906, with artefact and fossil finds.
* Second largest cave of the Auf der Kehr is Rötellucke (Rötelloch, 1861/13) with a total passage length of 81 m (end room Forscherhalle), in the entrance area there are excavation traces of potsherds, and animal bones.
* Walled gap (Flatzer Loch, 1861/5, length 12 m), in the western part of the Auf der Kehr, accessible via Ternitzer Steig - here the Flatzer population sought refuge from the Turks in vain in 1683.
* Schiebbögen (1861/14) in the western part: cave ruins consisting of two passage caves (natural bridges), the Fürststeig leads through the larger one, the Ternitzer Steig, which starts here, leads through the other one.
* Also interesting is the Schwarze Lucke (Jungfrauenhöhle, Marienhöhle, 1861/16), about 100 m west of the Langes Loch, a rocky niche, as a cave cult site furnished with contemporary religious devotional objects (images of the Virgin Mary).
* Bergmilchkluft (1861/32, total length 33 m): a crevice cave with scour and sinter formations, as well as whitish mountain milk.
* Rohrauerhöhle (wall cave, 1861/24, length 48 m): silt route, labyrinthine and dangerous
* New cave (1861/11, 26 m, barred after first hall)

## Other websites 
*Description and photos of the caves and the slope of the Auf der Kehr on hoehlen.jimdo.com, accessed on 9. September 2012

## References