Wolfgangsee
Encyclopedia
Wolfgangsee is a lake
in Austria
that lies mostly within the state
of Salzburg
and is one of the best known lakes in the Salzkammergut
resort region. The municipalities on its shore are Strobl
, St. Gilgen
with the villages of Abersee
and Ried as well as the market town
of St. Wolfgang in the state of Upper Austria
. The town and the lake are named after Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg
, who, according to legend, built the first church here in the late 10th century.
The Wolfgangsee stretches about 10.5 kilometres from the northwest to the southeast. It is divided into two parts by a peninsula, called die Enge (the Narrow), situated roughly in the middle of its southern shore opposite St. Wolfgang, where the breadth is no more than 200 metres. The western portion of the lake at St. Gilgen is known as the Abersee.
The lake has an area of about 12.9 to 13.1 km² and is completely surrounded by the Salzkammergut mountain range. On the northern side, the Schafberg
is located. A rack railway
, the Schafbergbahn
leads up to the summit at 1,782 m. Due to the steep shore at its foot only a footpath connects St. Wolfgang and the village of Ried with St. Gilgen along the Falkensteinwand, the set of the Bergpsalmen ("mountain psalms") lyric anthology
written by Joseph Viktor von Scheffel
in 1870. In the south and southwest of the Wolfgangsee lies the Osterhorngruppe, with heights up to 1,800 metres. Directly south of St. Gilgen rises the Zwölferhorn (1,521 m), which can be visited by cable car
.
The settlements around the lake, especially St. Wolfgang and St. Gilgen are popular resort town
s, mainly in summer. The Gasthaus
Weißes Rössl at St. Wolfgang is the set of the famous 1897 operetta
The White Horse Inn
by Ralph Benatzky
, performed throughout the world and filmed several times. Furthermore the area around the lake was the location of several Heimatfilm
movies, suggesting an untouched alpine idyll
. As the Wolfgangsee has been the vacation resort of former German chancellor Helmut Kohl
for many years, the film director Christoph Schlingensief
made the lake a site of his Chance 2000 project of 1998 when he invited "Germany's four million unemployed
" to take a bath in the lake and flood Kohl's residence.
B158 from Bad Ischl
to Salzburg
runs along the southern shore of the Wolfgangsee. In St. Gilgen the B154 highway branches off, leading to the A1 Westautobahn
motorway (European route E55
and E60
). The former Salzkammergut-Lokalbahn
narrow gauge railway to Salzburg went out of service in 1957. Ship transport on the lake is provided by the Salzburg AG public utility
company, which runs six vessels.
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,...
in 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...
that lies mostly within the state
States of Austria
Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states, known in German as Länder . Since Land is also the German word for a country, the term Bundesländer is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitution of Austria uses both terms...
of Salzburg
Salzburg (state)
Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...
and is one of the best known lakes in 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...
resort region. The municipalities on its shore are Strobl
Strobl
Strobl is a municipality of the Salzburg-Umgebung District , in the northeastern portion of the Austrian state of Salzburg, right on the border with Upper Austria...
, St. Gilgen
St. Gilgen
Sankt Gilgen is a picturesque village by the Wolfgangsee in the Austrian state of Salzburg, in the "Salzkammergut" region.-History:In the year 1376 Sankt Gilgen was first mentioned in documents. 1873 the shipping on the Wolfgangsee started and so did the tourism too. Also the construction of the...
with the villages of Abersee
Abersee
Abersee is a name given to the a western end of the Wolfgangsee, a lake in Austria that lies mostly within the state of Salzburg and which is one of the best known lakes in the Salzkammergut resort region. The name ia also associated with the south-western part of the municipality of St...
and Ried as well as the market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
of St. Wolfgang in the state of Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
. The town and the lake are named after Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg
Wolfgang of Regensburg
Saint Wolfgang was bishop of Regensburg in Bavaria from Christmas 972 until his death. He is a saint of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches...
, who, according to legend, built the first church here in the late 10th century.
The lake has an area of about 12.9 to 13.1 km² and is completely surrounded by the Salzkammergut mountain range. On the northern side, 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....
is located. A rack railway
Rack railway
A rack-and-pinion railway is a railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail...
, the Schafbergbahn
Schafbergbahn
The Schafberg Railway is a metre gauge cog railway in Upper Austria leading from Sankt Wolfgang im Salzkammergut up to the Schafberg . With a total length of 5.85 km it gains about 1,200 m in height difference. The rail gauge is . It uses the Abt system. Operation started in 1893...
leads up to the summit at 1,782 m. Due to the steep shore at its foot only a footpath connects St. Wolfgang and the village of Ried with St. Gilgen along the Falkensteinwand, the set of the Bergpsalmen ("mountain psalms") lyric anthology
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
written by Joseph Viktor von Scheffel
Joseph Viktor von Scheffel
Joseph Victor von Scheffel was a German poet and novelist.-Biography:He was born at Karlsruhe. His father, a retired major in the Baden army, was a civil engineer and member of the commission for regulating the course of the Rhine; his mother, née Josephine Krederer, the daughter of a prosperous...
in 1870. In the south and southwest of the Wolfgangsee lies the Osterhorngruppe, with heights up to 1,800 metres. Directly south of St. Gilgen rises the Zwölferhorn (1,521 m), which can be visited by cable car
Gondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
.
The settlements around the lake, especially St. Wolfgang and St. Gilgen are popular resort town
Resort town
A resort town, sometimes called a resort city or resort destination, is a town or area where tourism or vacationing is a primary component of the local culture and economy...
s, mainly in summer. The Gasthaus
Gasthaus
A Gasthaus is a German-style inn or tavern with a bar, a restaurant, banquet facilities and hotel rooms for rent.Gasthäuser are typically found in smaller towns and are often family-owned...
Weißes Rössl at St. Wolfgang is the set of the famous 1897 operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
The White Horse Inn
The White Horse Inn
Im weißen Rößl is an operetta or musical comedy set in the picturesque Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria. It is about the head waiter of the White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang who is desperately in love with the owner of the inn, a resolute young woman who at first only has eyes for one of her...
by Ralph Benatzky
Ralph Benatzky
Ralph Benatzky , Moravia, Austrian Empire – 16 October 1957), born in Moravské Budějovice as Rudolf Josef František Benatzki, was an Austrian composer of Czech origin...
, performed throughout the world and filmed several times. Furthermore the area around the lake was the location of several Heimatfilm
Heimatfilm
Heimatfilm is the name given to a film genre that was popular in Germany, Switzerland and Austria from the late 40s to the early 70s. They were usually shot in the Alps, the Black Forest or the Lüneburg Heath and always involved the outdoors...
movies, suggesting an untouched alpine idyll
Idyll
An idyll or idyl is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls....
. As the Wolfgangsee has been the vacation resort of former German chancellor Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
for many years, the film director Christoph Schlingensief
Christoph Schlingensief
Christoph Maria Schlingensief was a German film and theatre director, actor, artist, and author. Starting as an independent underground filmmaker, Schlingensief later began staging productions for theatres and festivals, which often were accompanied by public controversies...
made the lake a site of his Chance 2000 project of 1998 when he invited "Germany's four million unemployed
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
" to take a bath in the lake and flood Kohl's residence.
Transportation
The BundesstraßeBundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
B158 from Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the Traun River in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden Ahorn, Bad Ischl, Haiden, Jainzen, Kaltenbach, Lauffen, Lindau, Pfandl, Perneck, Reiterndorf and Rettenbach...
to Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
runs along the southern shore of the Wolfgangsee. In St. Gilgen the B154 highway branches off, leading to the A1 Westautobahn
Westautobahn
The West Autobahn was the first motorway, or ‘Autobahn’, to be built in Austria originating from plans drawn up for the so-called Reichsautobahn system. Today it runs from Vienna via Linz to Salzburg, where it joins the German Bundesautobahn 8 at the Walserberg border crossing...
motorway (European route E55
European route E55
European route E 55 is a E-route. It passes through the following cities:Helsingborg … Helsingør – Copenhagen – Køge – Vordingborg – Nykøbing Falster – Gedser … Rostock – Berlin – Lübbenau – Dresden – Teplice – Prague – Tábor – Linz – Salzburg – Villach – Tarvisio – Udine – Palmanova – Mestre...
and E60
European route E60
European route E 60 is a E-road running from Brest, France , to Irkeshtam, Kyrgyzstan...
). The former Salzkammergut-Lokalbahn
SKGLB-Museum
The SKGLB-museum shows relics of the former Salzkammergut-Lokalbahn that was a railway line in gauge track from Salzburg to Bad Ischl with a branch to Mondsee - a town located at the lake Mondsee. The engine shed of the terminal station at Mondsee is the only preserved engine shed of this line...
narrow gauge railway to Salzburg went out of service in 1957. Ship transport on the lake is provided by the Salzburg AG public utility
Public utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
company, which runs six vessels.
External links
- Guide to Wolfgangsee from the Wolfgangsee Tourismus Gesellschaft