The Salzkammergut lakes

The Salzkammergut with its 76 mountain lakes is the largest lake area in Austria and in 1997 UNESCO included the Salzkammergut area and the Austrian lakes as World Heritage sites. It is an excellent holiday area not only for water lovers, but also for hikers and mountain bikers.

The Salzkammergut. What a difficult word to pronounce, isn’t it? But rest assured that at the sight of its marvellous views you will be speechless in any case. Overlooking Austria’s famous water mirrors and surrounded by the majestic Alps, its name derives from the German “Salz”, salt, as it was already famous for its salt mines in ancient times.

The most famous town in the Salzkammergut is Hallstatt. Of which they even made a copy in China, built in a residential area of Louyang.

Another important town in the Salzkammergut is Bad Ischl. Chosen as a holiday resort by artists such as Klimt and Strauss, it was named Kaiserstadt, imperial town, in honour of Princess Sissi and Franz Joseph I of Austria and the Villa Eltz donated to them. The two met in this city in 1853, where the city museum stands today.

The name imperial town is due to the fact that there were no service rooms or even a kitchen in the Habsburg villa. Everything was done outside, in the village, which was thus directly involved in Court life. The town has not changed since then. It differs from the small towns of the Salzkammergut in its grand palaces and more opulent appearance.

The spa town with its numerous salt-water springs is ideal for the treatment of many illnesses.

Another characteristic town of the Salzkammergut is St. Wolfgang, famous for its wooden houses and beautiful views of the lake.

How about a nice holiday from reality in this wonderful kingdom?

I leave you the link to our tour here: Walking in Salzkammergut