See a mountain in flames!


Get ready for an incredible summer solstice display at the Tirolean Zugspitz Arena  in Austria  next month. On 20th June 2009, when dusk settles, over 8,000 fires will be lit  on the  rock faces of Zugspitze, Grubigstein, Sonnenspitze and Marienberg creating a spectacular display at an altitude of more than 200 metres. Preparations for the event are already underway with  700 kilo bags filled with rapeseed oil or sawdust anchored into the rock at high altitudes ready to be lit.   The event stems from an ancient Alpine tradition  that dates back to the  14th Century when summer solstice fires were burned on St. John’s Eve on the mountain peaks to symbolize the sun and to ward off demons.


Comments (6)

  1. Adi says:

    Certainly sounds an interesting display and a bit different from the usual fireworks that you see everywhere now.

  2. Kendal H says:

    Sounds super cool! I wonder what they do in the event of high winds though? Sounds like winds could ruin the event.

  3. Kay says:

    Anyone know what the impact on the environment would be? OK, so they’re not burning fossil fuels but they must be creating a heck of a lot of smoke.

  4. Kendal H says:

    I think it really depends how that smoke is generated for the effects on the environment.

  5. Kay,
    It doesn’t exactly sound environmental-friendly to me either. It sounds very cool but my first question when reading was: “Can they do that”

  6. irene says:

    something a bit different and with a historical angle – cool

Leave a comment



Your actual name, not your online persona, website name, company name or keywords, otherwise your comment won't be published





Please do not advertise and make sure your comment adds value, otherwise we regret that it won't be published. Comments such as "Nice post. Thanks for sharing." do NOT add value to the discussion! Homepage links (not deep links) are allowed in the 'Website' field only - if you would like to advertise, please contact us for details and we will be happy to help.

If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a Gravatar.

Our readers also enjoyed these posts…