Image collection »Gilfenklamm Gorge«

The Ratschingser Bach stream at the head of the Ratschingstal valley, is responsible for forming one of South Tyrol's famous sights: the Gilfenklamm. This deeply incised and almost one kilometre-long gorge runs from the community of Lange to Jaufensteg and is characterised, above all, by the white marble that, exposed through surface weathering, shimmers mostly dark and green. The famous Ratschingser marble is mined near the Gilfenklamm and has been used to decorate such buildings as the Triumphpforte in Innsbruck. The marble, which has been ground down and polished by the waters of the Ratschingser Bach, has been shaped into gently rounded forms which are characteristic of this gorge. Numerous waterfalls and rapids run over an altitude difference of some 200 m., and the absolute highlight is created by a 15 m high waterfall. In the years 1893 - 1895 the Gilfenbach was already made accessible to the public by means of a daring system of steps and bridges and was officially opened under the name "Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Klamm" in 1898. After many years of neglect, the gorge was restored in 1961 and renovated anew in 1991. Nowadays, however, the gorge is known under the name of Gilfenklamm.