Tauern

The word Tauern is German and originally meant "high mountain pass" in the Austrian Central Alps, referring to the many bridleways and passes of the parallel side valleys of the River Salzach that cut into the mountain ranges. From the Middle Ages, when mining reached its heyday, the word "Tauern" was also used to name the corresponding ranges. The name has survived in many local placenames today.

The derivation of the name "Tauern" has been variously ascribed:

If the name Tauern is pre-Slavic, it could possibly be Celtic, and thus presumably linked to the Taurisci, or it could be Illyrian, a collective term possibly for the pre- and early Celtic population in the Alpine region. There is no clear link with the name of the municipality of Thaur near Innsbruck, which could be analogous to the Illyrian for "rock", but could also be derived from the Rhaeto-Romance word Tgaura ("goat").

There are several mountain ranges that bear the name Tauern today. In German, the first part of these names is usually the adjectival version of a placename. It is common in English sources, however, just to use the original name without the adjectival inflexion:

The High and Low Tauern together were historically called the Tauern Alps (Tauernalpen) and are still described as such in many sources today. They also extend to the Brenner Pass–Liesing/Palten valley, i.e. including the Zillertal Alps.

The following transport links facilitate the crossing of the Tauern from north to south:

The following passes bear the name Tauern (from west to east):

Corresponding to the passes there are also several places called Tauerntal ("Tauern valley"), Tauernbach ("Tauern stream") and ("Tauern river"), the latter sometimes descending from a Tauern pass in both directions.

The following places also take their names from the term Tauern:

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