Thousands of bikers at the 15th motorbike blessing on top of Kölnbrein Dam

Thousands of bikers heeded the call to attend VERBUND's traditional motorbike blessing at Kölnbreinsperre. For the 15th time, this event, so popular with bikers from Austria and abroad, took place on the 200 m high barrage wall. Following the blessing of the 1,000 plus motorbikes by Reverend Zoltán Papp, there was a diverse programme to entertain the visitors.
 
In the course of the morning, the bikers all lined up on top of Austria's highest barrage wall. The time until the blessing was spent sharing and exchanging topic specific information. And it also provided a good opportunity for the visitors that had arrived by car to catch a glance of the numerous bikes. At 12 noon, Reverend Zoltán Papp blessed those present and their motorcycles. With that, the participating motor cyclists are not only under the protection of St. Christopher; as an outward symbol, those present also received the traditional biker's pin, which, over the past years, has become a much-coveted collector's item.  

Malta High Alpine Dream Road

Arrival to and departure from the 15th motorbike dedication ensued via Malta High Alpine Road. The road to Austria's highest barrage wall consists of 14.4 km of twists and bends: a true delight for all motorcyclists and drivers. Gerhard Walter, CEO of VERBUND Tourismus, comments: "Malta High Alpine Road is a true dream road. As an enthusiastic biker, I use each and every opportunity to travel to Kölnbrein dam by motorbike." Sebastiaan de Vos, hotel manager of Berghotel Malta, confirms the popularity of VERBUND's offer in the Malta valley: "Motorcyclists are welcome guests with us, whether for overnight stays or as part of an excursion. Word gets around regarding our offer, and more and more bikers are stopping by even apart from the motorbike blessing."
 

Music , BBQ and a special power place

After the introspective part of the event, VERBUND offered a diversified entertainment programme around Kölnbrein dam and Berghotel Malta***. The well-known Carinthian rock band "The Gang" took the visitors on a trip back to the sixties and seventies. The culinary delicacies to match were provided by team of Berghotel Malta***
The airwalk, a viewing platform of the special kind located at the Kölnbrein dam, offered the visitors new and dizzying perspectives of the Malta valley. Those who venture onto the platform experience a feeling of soaring above the abyss. Free guided tours of the barrage wall took the visitors into the interior of the Kölnbrein dam, which is responsible for containing the unbelievable amount of 200,000,000 m³ of water, corresponding to approx. 1.4 billion bath tub volumes. A visit to VERBUND Energiewelt Malta rounded off the journey of exploration into the world of electricity generation.