Page 211 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Austria

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Austria’s deepest lake, with d St Wolfgang Mary attended by Christ,
views of the lake’s wild southern Road map D4. * 2,800. @ n Au St Benedict and St Wolfgang.
shore and the Traunstein peak 140 (06138) 8003. ∑ stwolfgang.at The church of St Wolfgang
on the eastern shore, the high- also has a lovely Baroque altar-
est mountain of the region rising On the northern shore of piece by Thomas Schwanthaler,
to 1,691 m (5,548 ft). Above Wolfgangsee lies the popular depic ting the Holy Family on
the village towers the pretty town of St Wolfgang. According their journey to Jerusalem.
Johannesbergkapelle. On the to legend it arose around a The three side altarpieces on
northern end of the headland chapel built by Wolfgang (died the north wall and the magnifi-
stands the Jesuit Pfarrkirche, 994), Bishop of Regensburg cently ornate pulpit are the
rebuilt after a fire in 1632. in Germany and teacher of works of a Mondsee master,
It has an unusual fishermen’s Emperor Henry II. Although he Meinrad Guggenbichler.
pulpit shaped like a fishing boat, died a hermit, Wolfgang was an St Wolfgang is also popular
with the apostles drawing extremely popular figure in his with tourists who come to see
nets filled with fish. Since day, and was later canonized. the hotel “Weisses Rössl” which
1632, Traunkirchen has also His chapel became a much- inspired an operetta of the same
hosted the annual Corpus visited place of pilgrimage. In name, White Horse Inn, by
Christi boat procession. the 15th century it was replaced Ralph Benatzky.
by a church with room for a
a Salzkammergut much larger number of pilgrims. f Bad Ischl
Lakes It was around that time that the Road map D4. * 14,000. @ £
Abbot of Mondsee commis-
See pp210–11. sioned the famed South n Auböckplatz 5 (06132) 27 757-0.
Tyrolean artist, Michael Pacher, ∑ badischl.com
to create an altar for the
pilgrimage church. Unusually potent saltwater
Pacher’s high altar, combining springs were discovered in
sculpture, painting and archi- this region as early as the
tecture, is acclaimed as one of 16th century, but Bad Ischl did
the most beautiful works of the not become a popular health
late-Gothic era. The four scenes resort until the early 1800s,
visible on the wings of the when the court doctor ordered
altarpiece when they are closed saline treatments for the infertile
(on weekdays) depict events Archduchess Sophie. Soon,
from the life of St Wolfgang, she started producing babies.
patron saint of the church. The The most famous of these was
saint is shown holding a model Franz Joseph I, the future
The steam mountain railway leading to the of the church and is flanked by emperor, who spent all his
top of Schafberg the figures of the Saints George summer holidays with his wife
and Florian. On Sundays, the Elizabeth at the Kaiservilla.
s Schafberg wings of the altar are opened It was also here that he signed
to reveal eight painted scenes the declaration of war with
Road map D4.
from the life of Christ. They are Serbia, on 1 August 1914,
One of the most picturesque striking in their coloration, the signalling the start of World War I.
peaks in the area, Schafberg dynamics of their life-like figures Many aristocrats and artists
(Sheep Mountain) rises to and, above all, in the architec- have been attracted to the spa,
1,783 m (5,850 ft) between tural perspective employed by among them the composer
Attersee and Wolfgangsee. the artist. The brightly gilded, Franz Lehár, who lived at No. 8
A mountain railway with steam sculpted centrepiece depicts Franz-Lehár-Kai, which is now a
locomotives takes visitors to the Coronation of the Virgin museum devoted to him.
the summit, although you
have to walk the last bit.
The views from the top are
truly unforgettable, embracing
the most beautiful lakes of the
Salzkammergut: Mondsee,
Attersee and Wolfgangsee.
Visible in the background are
the towering mountain ranges
running up to the Dachstein
massif in the south, and,
beyond Salzburg, you can
see the Bavarian Alps on the
German-Austrian border. The imposing Spa House in the popular resort of Bad Ischl
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp296–7 and pp320–21

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