Before the Salzkammergut became a destination people longed to visit, the journey here was anything but comfortable. For a long time, the region was rather isolated. Those who came did so by choice. Not just passing through. Not in a hurry.

The journey from Vienna to the Salzkammergut used to take several days. Today, that sounds almost unbelievable. And perhaps a little charming, too. Because anyone who had travelled that far didn’t just stay for a short while, but for several weeks.

As enthusiasm for Bad Ischl and the Salzkammergut grew, Traunkirchen also began to flourish. From the 19th century onwards, the region became a place of longing for the aristocracy, the arts, music, literature and city-dwellers. Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth made Bad Ischl their imperial summer retreat. Gustav Klimt found light, tranquillity and inspiration on Lake Attersee. Franz Lehár composed in his villa in Ischl on the River Traun. Johannes Brahms, Stefan Zweig and many others, too, were repeatedly drawn to this landscape nestled between water, mountains and high society.

Villas sprang up along the lakeshores. Summer residences. Retreats. Places to think, write, paint, make music – and to do nothing at all.

 

Anyone strolling through Traunkirchen today can still sense this past. Not overtly. More between the lines.

Villa Pantschoulidzeff, for example – also known as the ‘Russian Villa’ – was built between 1850 and 1854 to a design by Theophil von Hansen. It was commissioned by Sophie Pantschoulidzeff, the daughter of a Russian prince. Even today, the house remains one of the town’s most remarkable historic buildings.

Villa Anka, too, tells the story of that era. Of summers when Traunkirchen was not merely a retreat, but a meeting place for art, society and quiet eccentricity. Anka von Löwenthal, a writer, patron of the arts and honorary citizen of Traunkirchen, owned several plots of land here in addition to Villa Anka, which featured a spacious studio. As a member and benefactor of the Vienna Association of Women Writers and Artists, she brought to the lake precisely the spirit that made the summer retreat so special: exchange, creativity and poise.

 

What began back then in villas, salons and summer houses has not disappeared. It has simply taken on new forms.

In Traunkirchen itself, the Erlas Galerie brings contemporary art right to the heart of the peninsula – in an old monastery barn that has been restored and given a new lease of life. In Bad Ischl, the Lehár Festival fills the town every summer with operetta, music and grand performances. All around Lake Traunsee, spa music, jazz, cabaret, exhibitions, architectural heritage and little cultural moments add to the mix. Not loud. Not museum-like. Just part of life here.

Perhaps that is precisely why Bad Ischl Salzkammergut, the European Capital of Culture 2024, fitted so well into this region. Because it didn’t invent anything completely new. Instead, it brought to light what has always been here: craftsmanship. Contemporary art. Local character. New voices. Old places with new ideas. And the desire to think of culture not just in grand venues, but wherever people come together.

So here, culture isn’t just an item on the programme. It’s more like a second landscape. Between lake and mountains. Between history and the present. Between a stroll through the village and an evening at the theatre.

A playground for your inner artist.