In times past, the Hochkönig was not as grim, inaccessible and covered in snow as it is today. The sun was warmer, the wind blew more softly up there, and instead of a glacier, there was a lush green Alpine Meadow. The sound of tinkling cow bells could be heard as far as Dienten valley far below.
Other sounds could also be heard from up on the mountain: Merry, strapping dairymaids were going about their business. They laughed, sang and celebrated day and night. The dairymen brought them the finest foods and wines from Salzburg - and they really appreciated Salzburg cuisine!
But they became frivolous and shameless from living in this kind of luxury. They laid a cheese pathway, bathed in milk and threw butter at each other. They hung silver bells around the cows' necks and gold-plated the bulls' horns. There were rumours in the village that the people "up there" were not God-fearing at all.
One evening, an old man appeared on the Alm, dressed in a grey pilgrim's cloak. Carrying a walking stick and with his hat pulled down low over his face, he humbly asked for shelter. The dairymaids just laughed in his face and sent him away.
The next day black clouds were seen gathering ominously around the mountain. The oldest villagers couldn't recall ever seeing anything like it. Bolts of lightning flashed around the summit and the whole of Pinzgau shook from the rolling thunder. A mighty flood poured over ("übergoss") the meadow and instantly froze to ice. But the devils broke through the holes in the rocky face, screaming.
In case you have any doubts about the story, just look up at the Hochkönig, and you'll see that the devil holes are still there.
From the legend to the resort
The Übergossene Alm Resort has been built at the foot of the Hochkönig, and not at the summit. The tasty treats and finest wines are still there, not to mention the cheerful dairymaids. Only now they're decent and well-behaved. Anyone looking for shelter won't be sent away.
Come and visit us, have a good time, eat, drink and be merry, to your heart's content. Tell those back home that the Übergossene Alm Resort is a place where you no longer need to fear thunder, lightning and floods. Those times are long gone.
Spend your holidays in a place where legends and stories from the old days are still recounted - in the idyllic location of Dienten am Hochkönig.
