Birnhorn, Mountain peak in Leogang, Austria

Birnhorn is the highest peak of the Leoganger Steinberge, reaching 2634 m and located in the Salzburg Pinzgau on the border of the Grub and Nebelsberg forest districts. Its south face, about 1400 m high and largely made of dolomite, rises above Leogang and is one of the highest rock walls in the Eastern Alps. The pyramidal summit is built of thick-bedded Dachstein limestone.

Surveyors' assistants set up a trigonometric signal on the summit in 1825; until then it was visited only by locals. Peter Karl Thurwieser made the first tourist ascent on 2 September 1831 with guide Bartholomäus Stachelsberger, reaching the top via the Kuchelnieder. Painter Michael Hofer, head of the local nickel mine, later established the route through the Melkerloch, and in 1880 the Pinzgau section completed the marked Hofersteig, still the most-used ascent.

The Birnhorn appears in the name of a street in Berlin-Mariendorf, the Birnhornweg. On the mountain itself, the Melkerloch, a large rock arch on the east ridge, is a landmark on the Hofersteig route. The peak is climbed from the Passauer Hütte, and the Ebersbergkar approach to the Kuchelnieder is a popular ski tour in snowy winters.

The climb requires Alpine equipment and leads over marked trails with some steep sections and via ferrata portions. High-altitude hiking experience is important, and visitors should prepare for changeable weather and long full-day excursions.

The Birnhorn's south face drops about 1,400 m above Leogang, mostly dolomite, and is often compared with the Watzmann east face. Josef Oberlader and Karl Mayrhofer made the first ascent of the wall on 1 October 1900 after nine hours of climbing; their route near the Hochbrettgraben is rated III+.