Sankt Johann is a city in the state of Salzburg and the capital
of the Pongau region. The city has about 11,000 inhabitants.
Coat of arms
The city's coat of arms is: "In the red shield, the
figure of St. John the Baptist standing on a green floor, half to
the right, with a yellowish undergarment and a brown, loden-colored
upper garment, in his right hand holding a book with an Easter lamb
with a flag on it."
Tourism
St. Johann im Pongau benefits
from its alpine location primarily in the tourism sector. Not only
in winter is the Alpendorf district an important tourist center with
a large number of hotels and a cable car. A chair lift leads
directly from the center of the village to the Hahnbaum. The
Hahnbaum slopes are mainly used by locals and families. Annual
events (traditional parades, festivals) are an integral part of the
city's annual cycle. Many visitors flock to the big Krampus run in
winter, for which St. Johann is famous in the area.
In summer
there are numerous mountain tours and hikes, a swimming pool and a
bathing area.
Attractions
1 Parish Church of St. Johannes: first documentary
mention of a church at this point in 924. Today's church is a
reconstruction from 1855, after the great market fire: neo-Gothic
with a tower, which however collapsed in 1871. The church was
rebuilt in the same style, but with two towers. The neo-Gothic
altars house several late Gothic figures. A major work of church
architecture in the Alpine region. The church is popularly known as
the Pongau Cathedral. This name is explained by the shape of the
building, but not by its history, as the parish church was never a
bishopric. From 2007 interior renovation with redesign of the church
windows.
Anna Chapel. Located to the left of the “Dom”, it is the
only Gothic sacral building in St. Johann that was spared from the
great fire in 1855. The Anna Chapel is characterized by two special
features: First, it is a two-story church. Since the original
building from the 9th century was slowly covered by soil, a second
floor (the church space used today) was added around 1340. Second,
from 1980 onwards, the Anna chapel was renovated jointly by the
Roman Catholic parish and the Protestant parish at a shared cost,
and is used by both religious communities for church services. The
lower church is now used as an exhibition space - from around May to
September there are annually changing exhibitions.
2
Liechtenstein Gorge. Tel .: (0) 6412 8572. The Liechtenstein Gorge:
The thundering waterfalls and the raging water masses of the
"Großarler Ache" have cut deeper and deeper into the mountain over
thousands of years, creating a gorge. In places the rocks are so
close and high that the sky can only be seen as a small strip. In
1875 some people from Pongau succeeded in making the gorge
accessible to the public through a donation from Prince
Liechtenstein - hence the name Liechtenstein Gorge). Open from May
to October.
3 Friedenskirche Hochgründeck Friedenskirche, private
chapel of the Heinrich-Kiener-Haus on the Hochgründeck.
Activities
Summer
Ghost Mountain. - Excursion destination for
families with children, reachable with the Alpendorf cable car
Hiking: numerous alpine pastures, Alpendorf gondola open in summer
numerous mountain bike trails
Running and Nordic walking in the
St. Johann running park
Rafting, canyoning, paragliding
Winter
Ski association "Ski amadé" (together with Wagrain and
Flachau, among others)
Cross-country skiing - 3 different
cross-country trails
Tobogganing - an illuminated toboggan run
Numerous winter hiking trails, snowshoe hikes, ice skating, curling
and much more.
Shop
Whether designer fashion, handcrafted
lederhosen and traditional costumes, whether jewelry, cosmetics or
books, regional specialties and handmade chocolate, whether flowers
or the latest smartphones - the shopping options in St. Johann have
a lot to offer. The many owner-managed family businesses convey the
feeling of an individual shopping experience away from mass-produced
goods and artificial "standardized worlds".
1 Sport
Wielandner, Hauptstrasse 74. Tel .: +43 (0) 6412 8413, E-Mail:
info@wielandner.at.
Getting there
St. Johann im Pongau is located in the middle of
the Salzburg region, approx. 60 km south of the city of Salzburg.
By plane
The nearest international airports are Salzburg
Airport (approx. 60 km away) and Munich Airport (approx. 200 km
away).
By street
Arrival by car: Via the A10 -
Tauernautobahn) to the Pongau junction, then via Bischofshofen and
the B311 - Pinzgauer Bundesstrasse approx. 10 km further to St.
Johann.
By train
St. Johann im Pongau train station is an
intercity train station.
By bicycle
Tauern bike path:
leads from Krimml via St. Johann to Salzburg