Kläfferquelle

Kläfferbrünnequelle

Useful Information

Location:	13km von Wildalpen
Open:	MAY to OCT Mon-Fri 10-12, 13-15, Sun, Hol 10-12. Visits only for groups after appointment. [2020]
Fee:	Adults EUR 5, Children (6-15) EUR 2, Children (0-5) free. Guided tour: Per Group EUR 20. [2020]
Classification:	Karst spring
Light:	n/a
Dimension:	Average Production: 4,790 l/s. Maximum Production: 10,000 l/s. Minimum Production: l/s.
Guided tours:	Museum: D=90min. Kläfferquelle: D=30min.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	Museum: yes. Kläfferquelle: no
Bibliography:
Address:	Kläfferquelle, Museum "HochQuellenWasser", Säusenbach 14, 8924 Wildalpen, Tel: +43-3636-451-31871, Fax: +43-3636-451-472649. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

The Kläfferquelle is one of the largest sources of drinking water in Europe. It was integrated into II Wiener Hochquellenleitung (2nd Vienna High Spings Aqueduct) in 1910. This drinking water pipe transports drinking water from the Hochschwab area in Styria to Vienna. A water protection area was established around the Brunngraben, Höllbach, Siebensee, Schreyerklamm and the Kläfferquelle. 217 million liters of water are transported to Vienna every day.

The water flows by its own weight in the same way as it did in a Roman aqueduct, in a canal which is 192cm wide and 208cm highs. The aqueduct has a total length of 183km with an normal gradient of 0,22 ‰. The gradient causes a flow speed of 4 to 5 km/h, which mean that the water moves about as fast as a hiker. The water needs 36 hours from Kläfferquelle to Vienna. Obviously there is a gap: the distance of 180 km with 360m height difference would result in an average gradient of 2.1 ‰. The difference is used for the production of electric energy. There are numerous so-called Wasserleitungskraftwerke (drinking water power plants) which produce electricity, which was used for the pumping of water in vienna. Once they had a separate network of electric wires, but today the electricity is added to the grid and the pumps use the electricity from te grid.

The Kläfferquelle is a karst spring, the production depends on the recharge in the catchment area, the reaction on snow melt or heavy rains is counted in hours or a few days. Also the spring produces dirty water with a high sediment content during maximum production. At this time the spring is not used for drinking water. All the water is leaving the spring building through the overflow and the often dry riverbed below is full of impressive rapids. At those high water event a lot of small intermittend springs around the building also start to produce water and waterfalls with up to 70m height form.

The historic spring buildings and the 90m long tunnel into the mountain, which collects the water from the cave behind, are open for tourists on special tours. Groups of minimum 10 persons can make a reservation at the Museum HochQuellenWasser. This is the new name of the Wasserleitungsmuseum Wildalpen which is also a Heritage and Parish museum inside a historic hammer mill. The guided tour includes the museum and the spring.