Page 210 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Austria

208  A USTRIA REGION B Y REGION

The riverside townscape of the health resort of Gmunden, on the banks of the Traun river
i Vöcklabruck St Remigius) has an attractive the town and its salt production,
Road map D3. * 12,000. £ @ late-Gothic polyptych (1507) a room on the astronomer and
n Graben 8, (07672) 26 644. carved in wood. mathematician Johannes von
Gmunden, and a section
The name of this town was first o Gmunden dedicated to the history of
documented in 1134 as Pons sanitation, which includes
(bridge) Veckelahe. Soon after, Road map D3. * 13,000. £ @ displays of locally made toilet
a trading settlement sprang up n Rathausplatz 1, (07612) 65 752. bowls and chamber pots.
on the banks of the Vöckla river. In Traunsee stands the water
The only original structures to This lakeside town, on the fortress of Lake Castle Ort, built
have survived from this period northern end of Traunsee, in the 15th and 16th centuries
are two medieval towers. established itself as a trading and rebuilt inn 1634. It has an
At the centre of town stands post in the salt trade. Today, it is enchanting triangular, arcaded
the small, 15th-century, late- a popular and well-run health courtyard and remnants of
Gothic St Ulrichkirche (church resort, and it is also known for Renaissance frescoes. A popular
of St Ulrich), which has a Baroque its fine ceramics. Gmunden’s TV series is set in the castle.
interior. The site of the 12th- old town centre is situated
century hospital and chapel is between the lake and the left E Gmunden K-Hof Museum
occupied by the magnificent (western) bank of the Traun Kammerhofgasse 8. Tel (07612) 794
Baroque St Ägidiuskir che, river. Its Hauptplatz boasts a 423. Open 10am–5pm Wed–Sun (also
designed by Carlo Carlone, with Renaissance town hall with a Tue Jun–Aug). &
sculptures by Giovanni Battista small, arcaded tower and a
Carlone. The ceiling frescoes carillon that plays regularly.
depict scenes from the The Stadtpfarrkirche p Traunkirchen
lives of Christ and (parish church) has a Road map D3. * 1,600. @
the Virgin Mary. two-fold dedi cation: n Ortsplatz 1, (07617) 2255.
The former parish the Virgin Mary
house, at No. 10 and the Three Kings. Precariously perched on a rocky
Hinterstadt, now The Magi are also promontory, the small village of
houses a regional depicted in the Traunkirchen is one of the most
museum with a main altarpiece, one popular tourist destinations in
room devoted to of the most beautiful Salzkammergut (see p213). It
Anton Bruckner. A detail from Gmunden works by Thomas presents a lovely picture,
The south of the town hall Schwanthaler. clinging to the west shore of
town is dominated The figures of saints
by the silhouette Elizabeth and Zacharias were
of Wallfahrtskirche carved by Michael Zürn. Each
Maria Schöndorf, a church year on Epiphany Eve (5 Jan),
of pilgrimage. It has a Neo- a barge travels along the Traun
Gothic altar piece with a river bringing the Three Kings to
beautiful 15th-cen tury town; they then solemnly
statue of the Virgin Mary, and proceed to “their” church. A
pretty stained-glass windows ceramic fountain decorated
behind the main altar from the with a figure of a salt miner
same period. stands adjacent to the church.
The Gmunden K-Hof
Environs: West of Vöcklabruck, Museum, based in the
about 12 km (7 miles) away, is Renaissance building of the
the small town of Gampern. former Salt Mines Authorities, Johannesbergkapelle above Traunsee
Its Remigiuskirche (church of has exhibits on the history of in Traunkirchen
The picturesque town of Hallstatt along the banks of the Hallstätter See

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