Editor Pick
Land Salzburg
- July 2, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
Wasatch from heber ctity, Utah
Land Salzburg (the Austrian State of Salzburg) is a name best understood with a little history. Way back when, salt was a very precious commodity and salt mines were its source. Salt deposits were not everywhere, so easy transportation from mine to market was critical to the salt trade. Salzburg town had a great location for the trade-- close to Europe's largest salt mines and on the River Salzach which flows into the River Inn which is known as the Danube after it merges with that much smaller river. Topping it off, Salzburg has a naturally easy to defend location, between the mountians and the river. Protecting its salt trade with a fortified castle (burg in German), Salzburg-- the Salt Fort-- became one of Europe's most important cities. Today, Land Salzburg is noted for scenery and tourism.
I read someplace that 25% of Austria's GDP comes from tourism, and that Austria is the # 1 destination for Europeans when traveling outside their own country. Land Salzburg is Austria's tourist center, featuring histoic Salzburg city and the great scenery of the Salzkammergut (lit., 'the good salt chamber') lakes and the icy heights of the mighty Dachstein.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the most famous citizen of Salzburg. Mozart followed his father as the Prince Archbishop’s court composer. Mozart didn’t get along with his boss, and eventually quit and moved to Vienna. The nondescript house where Mozart was born, 9 Getreidegasse, and where he lived during his adult years in Salzburg, 8 Makartplatz, are now museums with collections of original scores, furniture, and some of Mozart’s instruments.
The first Cathedral was erected in 767, replaced in the 12th Century, burned down in 1598, with the current church finished in 1657. The Cathedral was built in Italian Renaissance stye and finished with a Baroque interior, making for an interesting structure. Mozart, and his father and Michael Haydn, played the organ in the Cathedral and led the orchestra and choir, often preforming their own compositions. The cemetery behind the Cathedral is well worth a visit. The spacious Residenz Platz and smaller Dom Platz on the other side of the Cathedral are a stark contrast to narrow Gothic streets of the old town. The Prince Archbishop’s place (Residenz) and castle (Hohensalzburg) are moderately interesting for their interiors and museums. Mozart performed in the Conference Hall, Residenz.
Across the river, Salzburg’s once grandest sight, the 18th Century Mirabell Palace was largely destroyed by fire in 1818, but the gardens, with their views of Hohensalzburg across the river, should not be missed. Take some time to stroll the attractive streets of both the old town and the newer, 16-17th Centuries, town across the river around Mirabell.
Schloss Heilbronn, in the suburbs beyond the airport, is an entertaining place to visit. If I tell you why, it will spoil the fun.
Austria is my favorite country in Europe. I’ve visited Austria on 16 vacation trips, including three visits to Salzburg, and the bottom line is that I don’t much like Salzburg. The popular tourist areas of Salzburg for the most part do not look like Austria. Visit only Salzburg and you will have seen Austria. You will miss Europe’s best country to visit. But Salzburg is the gateway to one of Europe's top tourist areas, the Salzkammergut. The Salzkammergut is a district of lakes and mountians. Covering an area about 50x60 km (30x36 miles), few places on Earth pack so much scenery into such a small area as does the Salzkammergut (Zalts-kammer-goot). Although it can be visited by local bus, by car is really the only way to fully appreciate the scenic variety found here, in the heart of the Alps. It is best to enter the Salzkammergut from the north so that the scenery builds from the rolling hills of the pre-Alps with their pretty lakes to a crescendo in the high mountians and glaciers of the mighty Dachstein and the Totes Gebirge. North of the Hallstattersee, a certain amount of driving in circles is needed to see all that is worth seeing.
The most scenic road in the lake district is Bad Ischl to Gmunden, but also take in Gmunden to Attersee town via the east shore of Lake Attersee, from Mondsee town to St Wolfgang via the east side of Lake Mondsee, and the west side of Lake St Wolfgangsee. (Note that the directions given for these drives are the way to go for the best views along each lake, although it is well worth driving both north and south along each lake, where possible). Every visit to the lake region of the Salzkammergut should end in bad Ischl, for here is where the grand mountian scenery begins. After a short visit to this quiet old spa town (see the Emperor's Hunting Lodge), we always head south on Rt 145 to the Snack Bar just off Rt 145 between Bad Ischl and Bad Aussee for one of the greatest Alpine views, but it’s not in any guide book I’ve ever seen. It is worth a major detour to see. Leave Bad Ischl going toward Bad Aussee. The highway begins to climb a mountain. About two-thirds the way to the top, the road makes a hairpin turn to the left. You will see a parking lot on your left, tucked into the bend in the road. Park here. Walk to the downhill corner of the parking lot nearest the highway to the tunnel under the road. The best views are from the terrace in front of the snack bar. Below, ringed by cliffs and high mountain walls lies the famous Lake Hallstatt. At the far end of the lake towers the mighty Dachstein, its glaciers sparkling in the midsummer sun.
Now come the High Alps. For a complete tour, continue on to Bad Aussee, another pleasant spa resort where you can see the shack where the composer Mahler spent his summers writing symphonies. Visit the Grundelsee, Toplitzsee, and Kammersee, accessible only by a boat trip across the Toplitzsee. Nearby is the pretty Althousersee (if you haven’t caught on yet, –see is the name of a lake) and the road to the summit of the Loser for panoramic views. From Bad Aussee, go west along the Traun river to the Trippenstein cable car for a ride to the top of the mighty Dachstein itself with vast panoramic views of mountains, glaciers, and the Hallstattersee.
Now to one of the most famous picturesque villages in the world. Everybody knows Hallstatt before going there because this little village on the shores of the Hallstattersee is probably pictured on more travel posters than any other place in the world. Pass by the first turnoff for Hallstatt because you will never find a parking place at this exit unless you are staying in town at a hotel with a parking lot. Continue north. The highway enters a tunnel. Watch for parking signs turning off to the right inside the tunnel. The town’s main parking lot is carved out of the inside of the mountain from which it is short walk to the center of town. There are scenic boat rides on the lake. Everybody takes pictures of the church, the best views being from the north of the church. Just off shore are found some of the oldest human settlements in Europe, estimated to be about 30,000 years old.
Continue north from the parking lot, and turn left on Rt 146 to Gosau, then head south toward the Gosausee through a quaint little farm valley. The Gosausee is one of the most spectacular Alpine lakes. We like it even better than the Hallstattersee for sheer scenic beauty. Continue up river to the equally spectacular setting of the Hintergosausee. At the far end of the lake looms the rocky crags of the mighty Dachstein.
Returning from the Gosausee to Gosau, continue west on Rt 166 and Rt 162 to the expressway south of Salzburg. This dive, Rts 166 & 162, is one of the most pleasant in the Alps, not the grandest scenery, but scenery that feels right for a drive thorough the Alps.
For a longer trip in the Salzkammergut, go south on Rt 166 from the intersection with Rt 162 and follow the more northern road from Eben in Pongau to Aich, with a trip up the Hunnerkogle cable car for a dead on look from 9,000 ft. at the 10,000 ft summit of the Hoher Dachstein itself.
There are waterfalls, ice caves, and salt mines to visit at several locations along the route.
From journal The Four Austrias