Plans for the dam were already drafted in the late 1930s by the German AEG engineering company, when the Kaprun power plant was built north of the Alpine divide.

The project was resumed by the Austrian authorities after World War II with extended exploratory drilling from 1957 onwards, nevertheless the construction of the Kölnbrein Dam did not begin until 1971.

This proved difficult as the steep Malta Valley rises over 300 metres (980 ft) along a 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) stretch and at times has 13 percent gradients.

In 1973, as superstructure construction progressed, cement was transported on site and mixed with aggregate from local sources.

To reduce thermal expansion, concrete was poured 30 cubic metres (39 cu yd) at a time and pipes with circulating water were placed throughout the mass.

Construction conditions high in the valley were not ideal as workers coped with snow and rain along with wind speeds of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph; 43 kn).

Uplift pressure on the dam had unexpectedly increased as well and engineers worried that the structure's grout curtain had been damaged.

Between 1980 and 1981, a polyurethane resin grout was used to re-grout joints and they were frozen during the next impoundment attempt, allowing them to thaw naturally.

As remedial works progressed, cracks near the abutments (flanks) of the dam formed as well; on the downstream side and in a horizontal direction.

Joining the dam and the block are over 600 special neoprene pads which adjust to forces from the reservoir rising and lowering.

Because the catchment area around the dam can only supply half the needed water to sustain its reservoir levels, a series pumps and pumped-storage power plants are utilized to supplement storage capacity.

From there, the water is then received at the Rosswiese reservoir and utilized to generate power at the Kolbnitz station down in the Möll Valley.

The upper stage consists of two reversible Francis turbine generators with a total installed capacity of 120 MW.

Water can then be released back through 20.4 km (13 mi) of pipeline south towards the Möll River Valley.

[9][24][25] The Kölnbrein Dam is the terminus of a 14.3 kilometres (8.9 mi) long scenic route through the Maltatal, the former construction site road, including a restaurant, a hotel and an exhibition on hydroelectricity.

[26][27] In 2010 a "skywalk", a horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge, was installed on top of the dam for visitors which is also a popular bungee jumping venue.