Salzburger Land

 Exploring a little closer to home.

Map

We are staying in Neumarkt am Wallersee, a town in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the state of Salzburg in Austria. The town was established in 1240 and has a population of about 5,700. It’s located about 25 km northeast of Salzburg near the northern tip of the Wallersee (Lake Waller). The area is a mix of bedroom communities and family farms, all amid rolling hills and small lakes. We have spent a fair amount of time wandering along small country roads.

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Wallersee

Wallersee

Mattsee on the shores of the apt named Mattee.

The town of Mattsee on the shores of the aptly named Mattsee.

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Mattsee

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The Seeham Ferry

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Wallersee

Wallersee

The Little Chapel on the Hill

If memory serves me, when I was little we used to sing a hymn about the Little Chapel on the Hill. An Austrian must have written it because every hill seems to have a small chapel or devotional altar on it. Even working in the fields you’re never far from a quick prayer.

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A Little Further Afield

We spent a rainy day in Sankt Gilgen, a picturesque village by the Wolfgangsee in Upper Austria.

St. Gilgen Stock Photo

St. Gilgen, Austria                                                                                                              Stock Photo

St. Gilgen is also designated as a “Mozart Village” which is a bit of a stretch as the Big Guy never even visited, although Mozart’s grandfather did work in the town, his mother was born here, and his sister Nannerl moved here after her marriage.

Thr Rathaus - Town Hall

The Rathaus – Town Hall

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Ice Cream in the Rain

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The Ferry to St. Wolfgang

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The Parish Church of St. Giles has a very old cemetery behind it with some interesting art. I’m not big on religious art, but this stuff is pretty surreal.

St. Giles Cemetery

St. Giles Cemetery

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St. Giles was founded in 1376, but it wasn’t until 1873 when shipping on the Wolfgangsee started that tourism took hold and many rich Viennese began to build summer villas here including the surgeon Theodor Billroth.

Theodor was a pretty interesting guy whose first love was music, but his parents forced him into the medical profession. He is generally regarded as the founding father of modern abdominal surgery. Although legend has it that Billroth was nearly stoned to death in the streets of Vienna when his first gastrectomy patient died after the new procedure. It’s all trial and error, right?

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Theodor Billroth at work

 





2 thoughts on “Salzburger Land

  1. Jan de Lange

    The Sound of Music landscape but then in , how pity , drizzle and rain.
    This landscape with sun and clouds in a blue sky is so different. You can image the Trapp Family in it.
    But you both enjoy the country.
    Hopefully there will come a few days of “Altweibersommer” so you can leave Europe with nice impressions
    What a big heavy trip..

    Reply

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