Pioneering journey across the Alps: 90 years ago, the first crossing of the Alps on the still unfinished Grossglockner High Alpine Road

Carinthia/Salzburg/Tyrol - Grossglockner/Hohe Tauern: Salzburg Governor Franz Rehrl (1890-1947), who was in office from 1922 to 1938, is regarded as the driving political force behind the construction of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. He recognised the touristic significance of combining high culture and natural Alpine beauty early on: guests to the city of Salzburg were to be able to experience the breathtaking mountain world via the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. Rehrl was also a keen car enthusiast. As early as 1934 - one year before the official opening of this extraordinary panoramic road in the high mountains - he announced that he wanted to be the first person to cross the Hohe Tauern in an automobile.

Road planner and engineer Franz Wallack was initially sceptical about this plan, as at that time a footpath had only just been blasted out of the rock at the Mittertörl tunnel. However, work was carried out at full speed to make the road passable. In his memoirs, Wallack noted with a wink: ‘It should just come, and if everything doesn't work out somewhere, then we'll carry the crate - as long as it's not too heavy.’

With a Modified “Steyr 100” Over Rough Terrain
Governor Franz Rehrl successfully carried out his plan. Since the "road" at that time largely consisted of rough terrain, he had his own "Steyr 100" specially modified for the upcoming first drive. A fortunate coincidence was the width of the vehicle: at only 1.58 meters, it just fit through the narrowest sections of the road, which measured only 1.65 meters – leaving just seven centimeters of clearance!

22nd Sept 1934: The first crossing of the Hohe Tauern by car
On 22nd September 1934, the time had finally come: while the Grossglockner High Alpine Road was still under construction, Governor Rehrl, accompanied by road engineer Franz Wallack, became the first person to cross the Tauern massif in an automobile. At the wheel of his converted ‘Steyr 100’, Rehrl mastered the adventurous journey over the rough roadbed from Heiligenblut over the Hochtor and back. The breakneck, but at the same time extremely effective promotional journey took almost seven hours - five hours from Ferleiten to Heiligenblut and almost two hours for the return journey.
This sporting challenge, which above all demonstrated the driving skills of the provincial governor, went down in history. Less than a year later, on 3rd August 1935, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road was officially opened to the public.

EXHIBITION TIP: The replica of the original ‘Steyr 100’, in which LH Franz Rehrl and Ing. Franz Wallack dared to cross the Tauern massif for the first time, can be seen in Austria's highest automobile exhibition on the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe. The visitor centre is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00. As with all other exhibitions along the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, admission is free.