CULTURE & TRADITION
Custom and culture play an important role in the Lungau holiday region in the sunny south of Salzburg province: Museums, pilgrimage churches, castles and fortresses offer tour programmes and active offers for children and adults. They are so real to witness the eventful history of the Alpine region and still allow a deep insight today into the lives of our ancestors.
Between Katschberg and Obertauern and in the side valleys of the Lungau, dialect und costume are still alive. Unique customs reflect a long-lived tradition. Many have changed very little to this day. The entire annual cycle is characterised therefore by a lively, original custom, which is deeply rooted and passes with much care and love to the next generation.
The cultural programme and the event calendar of the Lungau Tourist Board offers a wide range of dates to which holiday guests are cordially invited.
Interactive regional map
Hiking trails, alpine huts, mountain bike routes, attractions and much more on a map.
Lungau customs in pictures
The splendid Prangstangen decorated with thousands of flowers (top left), the impressive Samson parades known far beyond the borders (top right), the artistically hewn and then higly visible Easter bonfire (bottom left) or the harvest festival of children (bottom right) - in the Lungau centuries-old traditions are often maintained.
MOUNTAIN PASTURE SIGHTS
The Lungau and its surroundings offer a wealth of attractions and excursions for the whole family. Here we present a selection. Our reception will gladely give you further tips.
Bundschuh
A blast furnace in the Lungau
About
10 km from St. Michael, a historic blast furnace is located in Bundschuh in the
municipality Thomatal. The monument of the industrial economy presents a
historical feature. Bundschuh was in 1880 one of the largest mining areas of
Salzburg. The blast furnace was fired up in 1867, in 1903 mining and smelting
was ceased in Bundschuh.
More information see http://www.hochofen-bundschuh.at/
The largest ice caves in the world
In Werfen, about 60 km torwards Salzburg, ice
palaces of
crystal clear beauty seduce you, even on hot summer days
in a wintery giant ice world. Behind a huge
portal with a width of 20 m and a height of 18 m
extends a 42 km long cave system. The first, about 1 km long, has
huge ice formations and can be visited in the summer. Average temperature
is about 0° C.
For more information: http://www.eisriesenwelt.at/
On the topic of wood
The Styrian Wood Museum in
St. Ruprecht ob Murau, about 35 km east of St. Michael, demonstrates to children everything on
the theme of wood and is part and centre of the Holzstraße
(wood road). A former cattle barn was converted into an extraordinary
exhibition building. Later the building was expanded
and completed with an open-air enclosure.
For more information: http://www.holzmuseum.at/
Around the world in a day.
Undertake just once a world tour. Only
about 115 km from St. Michael, you can make a short stop at the
Sydney Opera House, drink a coffee beneath the Eiffel Tower, visit
the Statue of Liberty or walk the Great Wall of
China. In the Minimundus leisure park between Villach and
Klagenfurt, 150 models of the most beautiful buildings from all five continents
in excellent detail await you.
For more information: http://www.minimundus.at/.
Mauterndorf Castle
About
10 km from St. Michael is 13th century Mauterndorf castle on a rock
in the northwest of the area. An exciting journey back to
the Middle Ages awaits you here. Meet the master of the
house, Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach and his entourage in
person...
For more information: www.salzburg-burgen.at/de/mauterndorf.
The visit of the Lungau Regional Museum and the 44 metre high fortified tower with stunning views of Mauterndorf and the adjacent mountains round off the visitor offer.
Information at: www.salzburg.gv.at/museum_anzeige?id=35
National Trust Mauergut
The National Trust "Maurergut" is located
about 17 km from
Wastlwirt, approximately 2.7 km beyond the town of Zederhaus (torwards Riedingtal).
It is a typical Lungau farm, whose origins date back
to the late Middle Ages. Visitors gain a comprehensive insight into
the rural life of past centuries. On display are living
culture and traditions, tools and farming tools. Special mention
is made of the tool of sow neuterers, the threshold
hacker and the rope maker.
For more information: www.denkmalhof-maurergut.at
Dream road to the highest mountain in Austria
The most famous alpine road leads into the heart
of the national park Hohe Tauern,
to the highest mountain in Austria, the Grossglockner (3,798 m) and its
glacier, the Pasterze. On the 48 kilometre Grossglockner High Alpine road
with 36 curves and an increase in height to
2,504 m, you will find a natural and a driving experience of
a special kind. Directions from St. Michael: about 110 km.
For more information: http://www.grossglockner.at/de/
Hohenwerfen Fortress
High above the Salzach valley, between the Tennen
and Hagen mountains, the 900 year old Hohenwerfen fortress is throned
on a mighty rock near Werfen. A variety of entertainment and information await
the visitor. A special attraction is the 1st Austrian
Falcon's museum and the bird of prey trail. In daily
flight displays the audience is brought closer to
traditional hunting with birds of pey. (Coming from Wastlwirt: 67
km)
For more information: http://www.salzburg-burgen.at/de/werfen/index.php.
Riedingtal Nature Park
The Riedingtal Nature Park in Zederhaus comprises
an area of 3,600 hectares which is surrounded by mountains on the edge of the
Radstätter Tauern. It is characterised by a widely intact natural
landscape in conjunction with a cultural landscape close to nature made
up of Wild Kare, high peaks, clear mountain lakes and traditionally cultivated
mountain pastures, which are lined up next to
one another like pearls on a chain and accessible by a great
number of public footpaths. From the information centre at
the end of the toll road runs a valley
bus. The route from Wastlwirt is 27 km.
For more information: http://www.naturpark-riedingtal.at/
Nockalm Road
The almost 35 km long Nockalm Road leads into 52
sharp turns through a unique European national park in the high mountains with
the largest portion of spruce and pine trees in the eastern Alps. The rounded
"Nocken" characterise the distintive appearance. They are part of the geological
rarities and are unique in the total Alp area. The toll road starts in Innerkrems, about
30 km south of St. Michael.
For more information: http://www.nockalmstrasse.at/de/
Porsche Museum
In Gmünd in Carinthia, about 30 km south of St.
Michael, the antiques dealer Helmut Pfeilhofer opened the first private Porsche car museum in
Europe on May 18, 1982. In the little
town, car makers Porsche and its team survived the turmoil of the
2nd World War with their plant. In March 1948, the first car
with the name Porsche, Porsche 356, was built there. This Porsche from the
very first Gmündner series is the pride of the collection, which
has now increased to 48 vehicles.
For more information: http://www.auto-museum.at/
Water target shooting: Lake water can bounce off bullets
At the foot of Preber (2,741 m),
one of the highest mountains in the Lungau, a lake is picturesquely located that
has a secret. It is famous, in fact, due to water target
shooting. It is aimed at the reflection of the disk;
the ball bounces off the surface and flies to the finish on the shore.
A trail around the 1,500 m high Prebersee invites a relaxing walk
in the conservation area and the surrounding mountains attract beautiful
hiking and mountain climbing.
For more information: www.preber.at
Moosham Castle
Moosham Castle, a few miles from St. Michael, is
an
eloquent witness to the medieval social order in the province of Salzburg.
This impressive building, first demonstrated in 1256, was
for centuries a fortified mansion with legal, administrative and
inherent cultural tasks. In an age of global
tourism, it is now a significant exhibition object with charming architectural,
historical, art historical and ethnographic
aspects. Tours daily except Monday. A visit to the castle tavern
should not to be missed.
For more information: www.schloss-moosham.info
