Grünberg, Gmunden

The Grünberg is a 984 m above sea level mountain of the flysch zone southeast of Gmunden in Upper Austria. It is clearly overlooked by the peak of the rugged Traunstein, which is only 3 km away.

A two-cable ropeway based on the Wallmannsberger system has been running to the summit of Grünberg since 1957. The Grünberg cable car was built by the VÖEST company and later rebuilt several times. In the fall of 2010, it ceased operation. Prior to that, there had been a ropeway accident on October 16, 2004, which had caused two serious injuries. Construction of a new large-cabin reversible aerial tramway began in May 2013; it was opened on June 14, 2014. In the section between the bottom station and the first support, the passenger has an unobstructed view of the town of Gmunden.

For skiing guests, a drag lift was available at Grünberg until 2014. However, this was converted for the use of the summer toboggan run as part of the redevelopment of the Grünberg recreation area and can now no longer be used by skiers. A descent all the way to Gmunden is possible, depending on snow conditions. Hiking trails lead from the mountain station to the Laudachsee lake and on to the Traunstein.

Next to the Grünbergalm restaurant there is a bronze sculpture in the shape of a donkey loaded with two sacks. This dates back to the time when there was no cable car to the Grünberg. In the 1950s, the landlord of the Grünberghütte, Karl Danner, owned a donkey named Agi, who regularly made the unaccompanied journey from the Grünberg to the weekly market in the town of Gmunden to transport food and drinks up the mountain for visitors to the hut. Two large baskets on the donkey's back contained a shopping list and some money. The donkey always sought out the same merchants, and they filled the baskets according to the list. After that, the donkey made its way back to the Green Mountain.

In summer 2018, the Salzkammergut treetop trail with a 39-meter-high observation tower was opened on the Grünberg. In 2019, the tower was complemented by a 75-meter tunnel slide.