About Limberg Dam

The Limberg Reservoir is part of the legendary Kaprun hydropower complex in the state of Salzburg, built in the years following World War II as a symbol of Austrian reconstruction. The arch dam, completed in 1951, stands 120 metres tall and stores 85 million cubic metres at 2,040 metres above sea level in the Hohe Tauern. Together with the Mooserboden reservoir above it, Limberg forms a two-stage system for VERBUND's Kaprun pumped-storage plant. Water descends from Mooserboden into Limberg and then further down to the valley powerhouse near the town of Kaprun, generating electricity at multiple stages. The project is celebrated as a monument to post-war engineering effort: thousands of workers, many of them prisoners of war, laboured in extreme alpine conditions to build the dams and tunnels. A gondola tourist attraction now runs to the reservoir area, making the Kaprun complex one of Austria's most visited industrial heritage sites. The reservoir's elevation and aspect mean it typically retains ice cover from November through May.