Brandstein, Alpine summit in Hochschwab range, Austria

Brandstein is a summit in the Hochschwab range in Styria, Austria. It rises to about 2,000 meters and stands out clearly from the surrounding peaks due to its prominence.

The ridge between Brandstein and Ebenstein is the head scarp of the prehistoric Wildalpen rock avalanche, which moved about 1.3 to 1.4 km³ of rock northward into the Salzatal. Blocks up to several 100,000 m³ still expose the original rock fabric, and the Schaufelwand is a remnant of the same event.

The summit lies on the district border between Liezen and Bruck-Mürzzuschlag. Below it, the Pfaffingalm and Androthalm alpine huts are farmed in summer, and the ridge toward Ebenstein marks the headwall of the Wildalpen landslide, whose blocks up to several 100,000 m³ expose the original rock fabric.

Marked trails reach the summit from several trailheads: Sonnschienhütte via the Androthalm in 3 hours, Gsollkehre near Eisenerz (932 m) via the Pfaffingalm in 4 hours, Leopoldsteiner See through the Fobistal in 5 hours, Wildalpen over the Schafhalssattel in 5½ hours. The routes are mostly easy but long, and the summit's isolation makes it hard to climb in a single day.

The ridge between Brandstein and Ebenstein is the head scarp of the prehistoric Wildalpen landslide, a mass movement of roughly 1.3 to 1.4 km³ that ran north down into the Salzatal. Blocks up to several 100,000 m³ still expose the original rock fabric, and the Schaufelwand is regarded as a remnant of the same event.