The Piccard Denkmal at Obergurgl commemorates Auguste Piccard’s forced landing here in 1931 after his record-breaking ascent to 15,781 meters in a pressurized balloon sphere. A jammed valve prevented descent for 16 hours; the balloon finally settled on the Gurgler Ferner glacier above the village. The memorial and hiking trail are part of Obergurgl’s trail network. Free access. Obergurgl is at the end of the Ötztal valley, bus from Ötztal Bahnhof on the Innsbruck-Vienna main line. Allow 1-2 hours for the round-trip hike.
monument in Obergurgl-Hochgurgl
Piccard Denkmal
A memorial and hiking trail at Obergurgl in the Ötztal dedicated to Auguste Piccard, the Swiss physicist who made the first ascent to the stratosphere in his pressurized balloon in 1931 and landed on the Gurgler Ferner glacier near Obergurgl after his 16-hour flight.
- Type
- monument
- Destination
- Obergurgl-Hochgurgl
- Cost
- Free to visit
- Address
- 6456 Obergurgl-Hochgurgl
- Coordinates
- 46.8794, 11.0387