Bad Aussee is a health resort (brine spa) in Styria and the
center of the Styrian part of the Salzkammergut-Ausseerland region.
The city has about 5,000 inhabitants. Bad Aussee is considered the
geographical center of Austria.
go to history The Celts were
considered to be the first salt producers. Approx. 100 years after
Christ, the Romans found the salt on the sandling. In 1147 it was
first mentioned that monks extracted the salt from the mountain with
the help of water. In order to get the water to evaporate again, you
need a lot of wood. In order to use the two rivers of the Traun as a
means of transport, the brewing pans were built in Bad Aussee. In
1450 a salt custodian was appointed by decree to ensure the
administration of the salt. When it was noticed how healthy the salt
was for breathing and skin, Bad Aussee was declared a health resort
in 1868. From 1877 onwards, "summer visitors" and cultural workers
as well as many industrialists came to Bad Aussee by train and built
houses here, most of which are still family-owned.
Bad Aussee Pauli Conversion Catholic Parish Church: First mentioned
around 1300, with a Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary of the “Beautiful
Madonna” type and a tabernacle from the early 16th century.
Heilig
Geist Kirche: The church served as a chapel for the former salt works
hospital and has a church designed by Emperor Friedrich III. (HRR)
donated winged altar.
Evangelical parish church in Bad Aussee:
consecrated in 1908 and raised to the status of a parish church in 1921.
The Kammerhof was first mentioned in a document in 1395 and was the
official seat of the Salzamt until 1926. A special feature of the
Kammerhof is the Kaisersaal with its fresco paintings (1740-1756), in
which Emperor Friedrich III. and Emperor Maximilian have stayed.
The
listed buildings include the Old Stone Mill, the construction of which
began before 1500. A special feature is the sgraffito decoration, which
dates from around 1600. In the 18th century the building belonged to
Josef Fröhlich from Bad Aussee, who became a conjurer at the court of
August the Strong, King of Saxony.
The central museum in the region, the Kammerhof Museum, is located in
Bad Aussee. It has extensive collections on the history and folk culture
of the Ausseerland. The collection focuses on archaeology, salt and
local history, costumes, folk music, customs, fossils and speleology.
The Alpengarten Bad Aussee presents classic alpine flora and plants from
other high alpine regions of the world.
The private Lotus Museum in
Bad Aussee offers an insight into the world of the automobile
manufacturer Lotus.
Show mine of the Altaussee salt mine: In the
summer months, the exhibition series Kunst am Steinberg takes place in
the rooms of the show mine in Altaussee. The Imperial Stables in
Grundlsee are also used for exhibitions in the summer months.
Other
museums in the Ausseerland are
the Altaussee Literature Museum
the
salt mines of Altaussee
In 2005, the Styrian state exhibition was
held in Bad Aussee under the motto "Fools and visionaries - with a pinch
of salt". The title alludes to the diverse customs, such as the drummers
during the carnival season.
The gorge and waterfalls at the Teichengrabenbachs are protected natural monuments (listed entry).
In the spring of 2005, the pedestrian bridge erected over the
confluence of the Grundlseer and Altausseertraun was opened in the form
of a Mercedes star, the Mercedes Bridge.
Chlumeckyplatz (also
Oberer Markt) is also worth seeing. A small market takes place here once
a week (from the end of March to the end of November).
In the
Kurpark there is a colorful fish fountain and the Archduke Johann
monument.
Bad Aussee often describes itself as the geographical
center of Austria, which can be traced back to a 1949 competition and
expert opinion. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of this event,
the center stone was unveiled in the city spa park in 1989. On the other
hand, current computer-aided calculations, based on property-specific
border data of the state border, determined the geographical center of
Austria in the municipality of Stainach-Pürgg.
Bad Aussee
received the title of Alpine Town of the Year 2010. Bad Aussee is thus
honored as a mediator between the town and the surrounding area in the
Salzkammergut and for its active perception of the Alpine Convention.
From the Tressensteinwarte, which was built in 2013 on the summit of
the Tressenstein, centrally located between Lake Altausseer See and Bad
Aussee, there is an excellent view of Bad Aussee, as well as a panoramic
view of the entire Ausseerland.
Bad Aussee is also a traditional
costume stronghold, in several shops you can buy both traditional and
modern costumes. In the Ausseerland, wearing the traditional costume is
still widespread and also common in everyday life.
There are not
only four seasons in Bad Aussee. Carnival is considered the "fifth
season". Drum women, Flinserln and Maschkera make a colorful picture in
the town center. Various carnival events take place in all districts
from Thursday to Shrove Tuesday.
As one of the seven Styrian
cities, Bad Aussee received a total of five Floras in the state flower
decoration competition “Die Flora”|19, making it one of the state’s
winners.
For hang-gliding and paragliding, there are two launch sites on the nearby Loser. (http://www.loser.at) The hotel DIE WASNERIN offers year-round yoga workshops on certain dates and topics. (http://www.diewasnerin.at)
By car: From Salzburg via the B 156 to Bad Ischl and on via the B 145. From Graz via the A 9 to the Selzthal junction, the B 146 to Stainach and the B 145. From Vienna via the A 1 to Regau and over the B 145 and past Gmunden and Bad Ischl. By train via the Salkzkammergutbahn, which connects the Attnang-Puchheim (Salzburg - Vienna route) and Stainach-Irdning (Salzburg - Graz route) stations.
Since May 1st, 2015 the Ausseerland has been offering a new type of pick-up bus. The "Narzissenjet" supports public transport and offers mobility at a fixed price. The Daffodil Jet is the perfect alternative, especially for train drivers. For € 4.50 per person you can travel from the nearest train station to any of the stops you want.
Bad Aussee and the Ausseerland are known for their tried
and tested traditional costumes. Like the Ausseer Dirndl, lederhosen
have always been part of the Gwand in Ausseerland. Here, traditional
costumes are not only worn at festivities, but also lederhosen and
colorful dirndls when shopping in town.
You will find a wide
variety of patterns and fabrics in the many traditional costume
shops. Your personal dirndl will be ready for you in no time. All
other accessories (leather shoes, costume jewelry, scarves ...)
should of course not be missing.
Bad Aussee offers a "little nightlife" with charming bars and cafes. Many events in a wide variety of locations make it possible again and again to enjoy a glass of beer or wine in a small group. Always an experience, mostly framed by local music.
1 Gasthof and Hotel zur Sonne, Hauptstraße 50. Tel.: +43
(0)3622-52206, e-mail: info@gasthofsonne.at. Price: € 36.50-54.00 per
person.
2 Healthy and natural Hotel Die Wasnerin,
Sommersbergseestrasse 19. Tel.: +43 (0)3622-52108, e-mail:
info@diewasnerin.at.
3 Narzissenhotel Bad Aussee, Pötschenstraße
172. Tel.: +43 (0)3622-55300-200, e-mail: info@narzissenhotel.at.
Feature: ★★★★.
Bad Aussee is located at the confluence of the headwaters of the Traun and owes its existence to the salt mines near Altaussee and the associated salt pans (still before 1300). Bad Aussee is connected to Upper Austria via two passes, the Pötschenpass and the Koppenpass. Historically, Bad Aussee describes itself as the geographical center of Austria (represented by the center stone in the city spa park), which has now been refuted by modern calculation methods. In the municipality lies the Sommersbergsee.
The first documented mention of the name was in 1246 as "Awse", 1310
"Úzsê" is attested. The name probably goes back to the Slavic word for
estuary (Slovenian ustje). Here the Altausseer and the Grundlseer Traun
flow into the Kainisch-Traun. Until the 15th century, the Salzkammergut,
including Aussee and Ausseerland, was the direct property of the emperor
(Kammergut). Due to a dispute over salt mining, the Ausseerland came to
Styria. From 1599, a religious reformation commission pushed through the
Counter-Reformation in Ausseerland, which had become Protestant.
In 1850 district court, tax office and gendarmerie post were
established. In 1868 Aussee was declared a health resort, followed in
1877 by the opening of the Salzkammergut Railway. In 1911, Aussee
received the title "Bad".
During the National Socialist period,
the Ausseerland was spun off into the administrative unit Reichsgau
Oberdonau (Upper Austria). In 1942, the previously independent
communities of Reitern and Strassen as well as the district of
Obertressen were incorporated into the community of Grundlsee and Bad
Aussee.
On July 1, 1948, the place came back to Styria. With the
decision of the Styrian provincial government on November 22, 1993, the
town was elevated in 1994. The numerous villas in the region, most of
them built in the 19th century, bear witness to the wealth of the
Styrian Salzkammergut.
The city was named Alpine City of the Year
2010.
Due to its traditional status as a trading town, the
topographical conditions and the peculiarities of its population, Bad
Aussee had a special position in the state administration. A tax office
was based in Bad Aussee in the 19th and 20th centuries, and until 2005
it also had its own jurisdiction in the form of the Bad Aussee District
Court. In the course of the introduction of the district administrative
authorities, the Bad Aussee branch of the Gröbming district
administration was founded in 1872. With the reorganization of the
Ausseerland to Styria, the Bad Aussee branch was subordinated to the
Liezen district authority until it was dissolved in 2011 (which means
that the BA license plate number has also expired). Since then, only one
citizen service has been run as a branch of the Liezen district
authority in Bad Aussee.
In addition to an elementary school with a musical focus and a middle
school, there is an upper secondary school (Archduke Johann BORG Bad
Aussee) and a college for economic professions (HLW Bad Aussee). Today's
BORG goes back to a private middle school founded in 1950, came to the
municipality of Bad Aussee in 1964 and has been a federal school since
1978. In addition, a polytechnic course is held at the location of the
secondary school.
There is also a music school in town.
In
the Kammerhof there is a public library and toy library.
The town has three hospital facilities. The state hospital (LKH) is a
fully-fledged hospital with a department for surgery and internal
medicine. There is also a psychosomatic clinic run by a private provider
and a sanatorium run by the pension insurance company as a special
hospital.
Due to the status of a spa, there is also a spa doctor
in town. In addition, several general practitioners, dentists and some
specialists are resident in the village.
Tourism is a key economic factor: classic summer resorts (spa since
1868, title "Bad" since 1911, brine spa, Grundlsee and Altausseer See)
and winter sports (Loser ski area). The Daffodil Festival takes place at
the end of May, attracting around 25,000 visitors every year.
Bad
Aussee has always been characterized by gentle tourism. The
ever-increasing number of second homes is characteristic of the entire
region (this is why Bad Aussee has around 2,700 second homes – for every
main home there are 0.5 second homes).
Together with Altaussee,
Bad Mitterndorf and Grundlsee, the municipality forms the
"Ausseerland-Salzkammergut" tourist association. Its headquarters are in
Bad Aussee.
In terms of spatial planning, Bad Aussee is considered a "regional
secondary center" because it fulfills a supra-local supply function.
Trade is primarily characterized by independent trading businesses,
almost all of which are located in the town center with mostly very
small-scale shops. A particular focus is on traditional costumes, which
are often commercially manufactured on site. There are still almost
extinct trades in the village such as lederhosen makers, dirndl tailors,
shoemakers, hat makers, fabric printers, goldsmiths and master
watchmakers. They also market themselves as the “traditional capital”.
From the end of March to the end of November, a weekly market takes
place on Chlumeckyplatz every Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (or
on Wednesday if Thursday is a public holiday). Here, self-marketing from
the region and the Upper Austrian central area offer their products.
In the village there are a large number of tradespeople in the
service sector. One of the best-known is the Ausseer Lebkuchen.
One of the largest employers in the community is Rigips Austria, which has its Austrian headquarters in Bad Aussee.
Bad Aussee is on the Salzkammergutstraße B145 (Vöcklabruck -
Trautenfels) and is the starting point for state roads to Obertraun,
Grundlsee and Altaussee.
On the outskirts is the Bad Aussee train
station, an important train station on the Salzkammergut Railway. There
are regional train connections to Stainach-Irdning and Attnang-Puchheim
every two hours. There is an InterCity connection to Vienna on weekends
and public holidays.
The town is served by five bus lines and one
on-demand bus line from Postbus. There are bus routes to
Altaussee-Losermaut, Grundlsee/Gößl, Radling (district of Bad Aussee),
Bad Goisern and Stainach (via Bad Mitterndorf). There is also a
dial-a-bus route between Obertraun and Bad Aussee train station.
There are several taxi companies in Bad Aussee.
The nearest
international airport is in Salzburg.
The sports shop and the two
bicycle shops rent bicycles in the village.
The regional newspaper Alpenpost and the regional television station "Ausseer Regionalfernsehen" (ARF) are based in Bad Aussee.
Due to early industrialization (salt mining), agriculture has long played a subordinate role. Today there are hardly any full-time farmers in the municipality.
Bad Aussee has a larger police station.
The District Court
closed in 2004.
There are five volunteer fire brigades spread
across the entire municipal area, as well as a company fire brigade in
the Rigips company.
There is a modern recycling center with attached landfill and a sewage treatment plant. The local E-Werk and the regional energy supplier operate several power plants for the electrical supply.
For a long time, the most important representative of Aussee sports
was the SV Bad Aussee football club. This club, founded in 1932, rose
from the regional league middle to the first league in 2007 and thus
celebrated the greatest success in the club's history. Home stadium is
the panorama stadium near the train station. The last president of SV
Bad Aussee was the German employer president Dieter Hundt. At the time
it belonged to the first division, SV Bad Aussee was the largest
advertising medium in the municipality of Bad Aussee, with an
advertising value of around EUR 1.9 million. After compensation and
dissolution of the club, FC Ausseerland was formed as a new club in Bad
Aussee in cooperation with FC Altaussee. The executive committee
consists of the industrialist Hans Christof and the former Styrian
provincial councilor Günter Dörflinger.
There used to be a ski
jump in Bad Aussee, but it has since been demolished. Shots of the
system can be seen in the documentary The Great Ecstasy by the carver
Steiner.