Großer Sonnstein, Mountain summit in Ebensee, Austria

The Großer Sonnstein is a 1,037-metre summit on the west shore of Lake Traunsee, in the municipality of Ebensee am Traunsee in Upper Austria. It belongs to the Salzkammergut mountains and is climbed by marked trail 13, which continues over the Großer Sonnstein to the Kleiner Sonnstein. Near the top grows a Schneeheide pine forest of Scots pines, with bloody cranesbill beneath.

The Großer Sonnstein rises to 1,037 metres on the west bank of the Traunsee in the municipality of Ebensee. Marked trail 13 links Ebensee with the Großer Sonnstein and continues to the Kleiner Sonnstein, the route walkers use to reach the summit today. The mountain belongs to the Salzkammergut range in Upper Austria, where average annual rainfall reaches 1,801 millimetres.

The mountain's name, Sonnstein, links it to the sunny side of the Traunsee's western shore above Ebensee. The marked route 13 connects the Großer Sonnstein with the Kleiner Sonnstein, so walkers often combine both summits in one outing. In the summit area, a Schneeheide-Föhrenwald of Scots pines grows, with the heat-loving bloody cranesbill beneath the trees.

The ascent starts from Ebensee church and follows a marked trail, taking roughly one and a half hours to reach the summit. The route is fairly steep, so sturdy footwear and sure-footedness are important.

The summit area holds a Schneeheide pine forest, a dry pine woodland of Pinus sylvestris with the heat-loving bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum) growing beneath the trees. This combination of dry pine and warmth-demanding flora is what botanists note on the Großer Sonnstein; Gerhard Pils described Upper Austria's plant world in a 1999 Ennsthaler volume.