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.
Natural monuments
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.
Activities
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)
Getting there
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.
Aroung the city
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.
Shopping
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.
Nightlife
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.
Accommodation
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: ★★★★.
Landscape and Topographic Setting
Bad Aussee occupies the heart of
the Ausseer Becken (Aussee Basin), a plateau-like, wooded mid-mountain
landscape built primarily from Quaternary deposits. This basin forms a
relatively gentle, settlement-friendly zone of hills and valleys set in
strong contrast to the surrounding high alpine terrain.
To the north
and east rise the steep, often bare rock walls of the Totes Gebirge
(“Dead Mountains”), a major range of the Northern Limestone Alps. This
is a large karst plateau characterized by extensive limestone
(especially Dachstein limestone), sparse high-elevation vegetation in
places, sinkholes, crevices, shafts, and numerous caves. Water drains
rapidly underground and reappears as springs in the valleys. The range’s
highest summit is the Großer Priel (2,515 m), though peaks closer to the
Ausseerland include the Loser (1,837 m) and others framing the lakes.
To the southwest stands the Dachstein massif, with permanent glaciers
and high peaks (Hoher Dachstein reaches nearly 3,000 m). The overall
setting creates a dramatic landscape of abrupt transitions between
forested, rolling mid-mountain terrain and stark limestone highlands.
The municipality experiences significant local relief: within a few
kilometers elevation differences of over 900–1,000 m are common, and the
broader area shows even larger contrasts typical of the Northern
Limestone Alps.
Hydrology and Water Features
The town
developed at the confluence of the source streams of the Traun
River—primarily the Altausseer Traun and Grundlseer Traun (sometimes
referenced in relation to the Kainisch-Traun system). This meeting point
is marked in the Kurpark and historically influenced settlement and the
salt industry.
Nearby lakes define the region’s character and belong
to the classic Salzkammergut lake landscape:
Altausseer See
(Altaussee Lake) lies at the foot of the Loser mountain.
Grundlsee,
often called the “Styrian Sea,” is the largest lake in Styria. It is fed
by the smaller Toplitzsee and Kammersee; the latter is traditionally
regarded as one origin point of the Traun.
Sommersbergsee, a small
natural moor lake (roughly 2.2 ha, max depth about 24 m) within Bad
Aussee’s municipal territory at 856 m elevation, sits in a boggy
depression between lower peaks (near the Sarstein massif). It is fed
intermittently by a small stream from a northern fen and drains via the
Kirchlatzbach toward the Koppentraun system.
These lakes occupy
glacial troughs and basins shaped by Ice Age glaciers (notably the
former Traun Glacier).
Connectivity and Passes
Bad Aussee
connects to Upper Austria via the Pötschenpass and Koppenpass. The
Salzkammergut Straße (B 145) runs through the area, linking it to Bad
Ischl, Hallstatt/Obertraun, and the Enns valley. Neighboring
municipalities include Altaussee and Grundlsee (north/northeast), Bad
Mitterndorf (east), and, across the state border, Obertraun and Bad
Goisern am Hallstättersee.
Geology and Natural Character
The
surrounding highlands are classic Northern Limestone Alps karst: highly
permeable carbonate rocks (Dachstein limestone and related formations)
produce rapid underground drainage, limited surface streams on the
plateaus, and extensive cave systems. The Ausseer Becken itself consists
of softer Quaternary glacial and fluvial deposits that create the more
habitable, plateau-like terrain. Salt deposits in the nearby Altaussee
area (associated with older evaporite layers) historically drove the
local economy and the placement of saltworks near the river confluence.
Much of the broader Styrian Salzkammergut enjoys nature protection, with
only core settlement areas and certain ski zones largely exempt. Local
protected features include gorges and waterfalls (e.g., along the
Teichengrabenbach).
Climate Context
The location yields a
humid alpine / cool continental climate influenced by elevation and
surrounding mountains. Annual precipitation is high (around 1,500–1,550
mm), with wetter summers. Mean annual temperature is roughly 8 °C;
winters are cold (January averages often near or below freezing) and
summers mild. The basin setting moderates extremes somewhat compared
with the high plateaus, while surrounding peaks create local weather
contrasts and frequent cloud/fog effects.
Geographical Midpoint
Note
Historically, Bad Aussee has been presented as the geographical
center of Austria, based on a 1949 University of Vienna determination
using specific latitude/longitude values near the river confluence. A
monument (Mittelpunktstein) in the Kurpark commemorates this. Later
calculations using different methods have shifted the computed center
roughly 26 km southeast, but the local claim and monument remain part of
the town’s identity.
Prehistoric and Ancient Periods
Paleolithic finds in the
Salzofenhöhle (a high cave in the Totes Gebirge at about 2,700 m)
indicate temporary hunter-gatherer presence around 30,000 years ago,
when the climate was warmer; remains include bones of elk and cave
bears. Neolithic stone axes (around 8,000 years old) and Bronze Age
tools and weapons (circa 1100 BCE) point to early trade and transit
routes through the area.
Roman presence is attested by coins, small
finds (including in the Kammerhof garden area), two Roman stones in the
market, and a settlement discovered in 1997 in the Leislingtal near
Altaussee, likely connected to salt-related activity south of the
Sandling. Intensive Roman exploitation of salt deposits on the
Michlhallberg side of the Sandling has been confirmed by research. Salt
was a critical preservative and economic resource long before the
medieval boom.
Medieval Foundations and the Rise of the Salt
Industry
The region formed part of the Grafschaft Ennstal under the
Styrian Otakars. In 1147, Margrave Ottokar III donated two salt pans
near Altaussee (plus farms) to Rein Abbey—the earliest explicit
documentary mention of salt production here, predating comparable
references for other Alpine sites.
In 1192 the territory passed to
the Babenbergs. In 1211 Duke Leopold VI redeemed the salt pans, becoming
sole owner. Between roughly 1211 and 1217 he founded (or formalized) a
landesfürstlicher Markt at the site of an existing settlement—the origin
of Aussee. After the Babenberg extinction (1246), conflict followed:
Salzburg Archbishop Philipp von Spanheim occupied the area (1248–1254)
and built Burg Pflindsberg (near modern Altaussee), later used as a
prison and execution site. The Peace of Ofen (1254) and subsequent
shifts brought Bohemian and then Habsburg control.
The name appears
as “Awse” (1246), “Item in Ausse” (Ottokarian urbar, 1265–67), “oppidum
dictum Ause” (1296), and “markcht ze Auzse” (1359). It likely derives
from a Slavic word for confluence or mouth (ustje), reflecting the river
junction. The settlement was designated a market town by the late 13th
century (often cited as 1295).
Salt production drove growth.
Initially pans operated near the Altaussee sources. By the late 13th
century (around or shortly before 1300), the boiling pans were relocated
to the confluence of the Traun source streams in what is now Bad Aussee.
This allowed use of both rivers for floating wood (critical fuel for
evaporation) and opened access to larger forest resources around
Grundlsee and Ödensee. The present Kurpark area was then an industrial
zone. Production capacity expanded dramatically in the early 14th
century (investments around 1319 and 1334), making the Aussee works
among the most important in the Alps.
The Hallinger (families
involved in salt production and mining; originally 24 families) gained
significant rights and prosperity. They founded a Bürgerspital
(citizens’ hospital) for disabled salt workers, linked to the
Spitalkirche. In 1450 Emperor Frederick III forced them to sell their
rights so the lucrative revenues would flow to the crown; as
compensation he donated a wing altar (still visible) to the
Spitalkirche. In 1505 Maximilian I granted a silver seal with a new
market coat of arms featuring two salt buckets, a trout (Saibling), and
the inscription “sigilum awse 1505,” replacing an older three-fish seal.
Key surviving medieval structures include the Romanesque-to-late-Gothic
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Paul (13th century, with a 1420 Gothic Madonna and
1523 sacrament house), the Spitalkirche (before 1395, with 15th-century
winged altarpieces and frescoes), and the Kammerhof (origins before
1200/1395), long the seat of salt administration. Fifteenth-century
houses still frame the town center and Kurpark.
Until the 15th
century the broader Salzkammergut (including Aussee) was imperial
Kammergut (crown domain). A dispute over salt rights later tied the
Ausseerland more firmly to Styria. The Herrschaft Pflindsberg
administered the salt works and related forestry as princely property.
Early Modern Period
The salt industry remained a state monopoly
under strict administration from the Kammerhof (with a notable
Kaisersaal frescoed in the mid-18th century). Protestantism spread in
the region; from 1599 a Counter-Reformation commission enforced
Catholicism. Fires, including a major one in 1752 that destroyed houses
on Ischlerstraße after a boiling-house blaze, periodically set the town
back. Population in the late 18th century was modest (around 1,050 in
1794).
19th Century: From Salt Town to Spa Resort
Salt
remained central, but the boiling works eventually shifted (19th
century) toward Unterkainisch near the emerging railway. Administrative
institutions arrived: a district court, tax office, and gendarmerie post
in 1850. In 1868 Aussee was declared a Kurort (spa town), capitalizing
on brine baths and the healthy Alpine climate. The Salzkammergutbahn
opened in 1877, bringing “Sommerfrischler” (summer visitors), writers,
artists, and industrialists who built many of the villas still
characteristic of the area.
A defining personal story is that of Anna
Plochl (1804–1885), daughter of the local postmaster Jakob Plochl. She
met Archduke Johann of Austria in 1819 near the Toplitzsee (or in
related local settings). After years of imperial resistance to the
unequal match, they married morganatically in 1829 (public
acknowledgment later). She received the titles Baroness von Brandhofen
and later Countess von Meran. Archduke Johann’s affection for the
region, his economic and cultural initiatives in Styria, and the
romantic narrative itself greatly boosted Aussee’s fame. A statue of the
Archduke stands in the Kurpark.
The suffix “Bad” was officially
granted in 1911.
20th Century and Modern Era
Under the Nazi
regime the Ausseerland was administratively attached to the Reichsgau
Oberdonau (Upper Austria). In 1942 the independent communities of
Reitern and Strassen, plus Obertressen from Grundlsee, were incorporated
into Bad Aussee. The nearby Altaussee salt mine became one of the most
important Nazi repositories for looted and evacuated art (thousands of
paintings, sculptures, and other works, including major pieces intended
for Hitler’s planned Führermuseum in Linz). In the final days of the war
local miners and officials removed bombs placed to destroy the
repository and sealed entrances, preventing catastrophe; American forces
secured the site in May 1945.
On 1 July 1948 Bad Aussee returned to
Styria. It was elevated to Stadtgemeinde (town status) in 1994. In 2010
it was named Alpine Town of the Year for sustainable development efforts
under the Alpine Convention. The salt boiling era effectively ended with
the closure of the last works in the 1980s (the mine itself continues in
limited form as a visitor site).
Today Bad Aussee (population roughly
4,800–5,000) is a spa and cultural center known for traditional Tracht
(still worn daily by many), the Narzissenfest (narcissus festival with
large floral sculptures), carnival customs (Flinserln, Trommelweiber,
Maschgera), the Kammerhofmuseum (local history, salt trade, fossils,
Tracht), and its claim as a geographical midpoint of Austria (marked by
a stone in the Kurpark). The economy rests on tourism, spa treatments
(brine, Kneipp therapy), culture, and residual industry, while the
landscape of lakes, mountains, and historic fabric continues the layered
legacy of salt, Habsburg patronage, and Alpine life.