Attersee is the largest lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 of the Salzkammergut

Salzkammergut

The Salzkammergut is a resort area located in Austria. It stretches from City of Salzburg to the Dachstein mountain range, spanning the federal states of Upper Austria , Salzburg , and Styria . The main river of the region is the Traun, a tributary of the Danube...

 area of Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. It extends for about 20 km from north to south and 4 km from east to west. Its water comes from the Seeache

Seeache

The "Seeache" is the natural outflow of the Mondsee and flows into the Attersee after 3 kilometres.The rapid river possesses Grade A to B water quality and is often used for rafting . In the Seeache are now living perlfishes ....

, which flows out of another lake, the Mondsee. The Höllengebirge (literally meaning mountains of hell), with a height of up to 1,800 m, are located southeast of the lake.
Situated to the southwest of the lake is the Schafberg

Schafberg

Schafberg is a mountain in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Its height is 1783 metres. Situated within the Salzkammergut mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps the Schafberg rises at the shore of a lake called Wolfgangsee....

 (the "Sheep Mountain", 1,782 m).

At Litzlberg, there is a small island château

Château

A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...

, which Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches, and other art objects...

 frequently visited during the summer.
Due to its steady winds and clean water quality, Attersee is famous for attracting sailors and swimmers alike. During the season numerous sailing competitions are held.

One of the most cherished winds on Attersee is the so-called "Rosenwind" meaning "breeze of roses". It is an easterly wind that crosses a castle's rose garden and fills the air across the lake with the smell of roses.

The best time to visit Attersee is during spring, summer and autumn.

Because of the lake's size and despite the cold temperatures during winter the lake rarely freezes. The last time the lake was entirely covered with ice was in the late 1940s, when people were seen skating and riding motorcycles across the thickly frozen surface of the lake.

The following types of fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 live in the lake:

• pike
  Northern Pike
  The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
  
  
• brown trout
  Brown trout
  The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
  
  
• rainbow trout
  Rainbow trout
  The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
  
  
• lake char
  Arctic char
  Arctic char or Arctic charr is both a freshwater and saltwater fish in the Salmonidae family, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters. No other freshwater fish is found as far north. It is the only species of fish in Lake Hazen, on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic...
  
   (Salvelinus alpinus)
• European eel
  European eel
  The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is a species of eel, a snake-like, catadromous fish. They can reach in exceptional cases a length of 1½ m, but are normally much smaller, about 60–80 cm, and rarely more than 1 m....
  
  
• carp
  Carp
  Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
  
  
• burbot
  Burbot
  The burbot is the only gadiform fish inhabiting freshwaters. It is also known as mariah, the lawyer, and eelpout. It is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk...
  
  
• perch
  Perch
  Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
  
  
• whitefish

History

In August 1870, remains of prehistoric pile dwellings were found at Seewalchen near the northern end of the lake. In the middle of the 19th Century paddlesteamers were introduced on the lake to ferry mail and goods between the villages located around the Attersee. Today it is an important recreation site for people from the urban areas of Vienna and Linz.

External links

• Attersee [information Attersee and surrounding area]
• Attersee tourist information
• Attersee ships