IN salzburger land
On the shores of the Zeller See lie the villages of Thumersbach( in the foreground), Zell am See( background, right) and Schüttdorf.
The PINZGAU
Saalfelden
Parish church, Neo-Romanesque, Late-Gothic winged altar( 1539), Gothic crypt. Pinzgau Heritage Museum at Schloss Ritzen( 1604), large collection of minerals and biggest presentation of cribs in the Alpine region( Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays 2 to 4 p. m.). Next to the castle, Lake Ritzensee with a swimming beach. Rock Hermitage; Klause St. Georg with chapel( 17 th cent.), inhabited by a hermit; 1-hour walk to the north-east( footpath). Longest alpine slide in Europe, 1,632 m, 63 bends and 3 tunnels.
WEISSBACH. NATURE PARK AND SEISENBERG GORGE
One of Austria’ s most beautiful gorges. Direct access from the village on the B 311. Open to the public since 1831, 400 m long. Visitors stroll on wooden bridges, past waterfalls to the Dunkelklamm Gorge – the rock faces are so close, that barely any daylight penetrates through.
St. Martin bei Lofer
Lamprecht’ s Cave: Largest cave in Austria with a water course; grotesque rock formations. Vorderkaser Gorge: Protected natural monument. Maria Kirchenthal: Baroque pilgrimage church( 1693 – 1701), built to the plans of Fischer v. Erlach, main altar with Gothic, purportedly miraculous painting( 15 th cent.); in the vestry, largest Austrian collection of votive tablets. 1 hour from St. Martin on foot, or simply take the toll road.
Zell am See
Parish church( 12 th cent.), Romanesque, Gothic frescos. Kastner Tower on the town square, 11 th cent., former grain crib, today a heritage museum. Renaissance Castle Rosenberg: 1583, with 4 corner towers and central tower, typical Salzburg country residence, today the town hall. Cable car up to the Schmittenhöhe( 1,968 m), nice view of over 300 peaks.
Kaprun
Tauern hydroelectric power stations: the reservoirs, the power station and the information centre below the steep water pipes are open to the public. Route: up to the car park at the » Kesselfall « mountain hut. Then by bus and lift( up to 1,640 m in only 8 minutes) to the most impressive dams on the reservoirs: » Wasserfallboden «( 1,672 m) and » Moserboden « reservoirs( 2,040 m). The visitors’ centre, with its » Power & Ice « exhibition, Focusing on electricity from the Tauern and the ice of the glaciers, is situated between the two reservoirs. From here there are also amazing views of overwhelming alpine landscapes. www. tauerntouristik. at
Krimml
Krimml Waterfalls: Europe’ s tallest waterfall, dropping 380 m in 3 stages. The Krimml River is fed by 12 glaciers, plunging thunderously into the valley below- a magical rainbow of color in the midday sunlight! 15 min. to the Lower Falls( 105 m high); then come the Middle Falls, dropping 103 m; and after a 1-hour walk, you reach the spectacular 145 m-high Upper Falls.
THE HABACH VALLEY – VALLEY OF EMERALDS
Its wealth of minerals has led hundreds of collectors to populate this picturesquely situated Tauern valley year in and year out. In spite of intensive searching by collectors in decades past, interesting mineral finds have continued to be made in recent years. One of the most significant finds of smoky quartz occurred in 1934. It involved crystal clumps weighing as much as 60 kg and groups as much as 1 metre in length, all of which was later turned into jewelry. The only emerald deposits in Europe were first mentioned in a letter from Archduchess Anna Medici to her brother.
Since that time, the rights to the deposits have passed from one owner to the next, with the village of Bramberg purchasing the mine in 1913. Since 1964, a Munich family has held exclusive mining rights. Nowadays, the Leckbachrinne, with its own emerald deposits, has become quite a gathering spot for fortune hunters, mineral collectors and scientists. Every since a giant mudslide thundered out of the Leckbachrinne and down into the valley in the summer of 2002, the emeralds have literally been strewn across the fields. Countless mineral collectors, not in the slightest deterred by the distance involved, have tried their luck close to the Alpenrose mountain inn. And some have been amply rewarded.