St Wolfgang and Wolfgangsee

A Lakeside Village On The Wolfgangsee With The Late Gothic Pilgrimage Church (Michael Pacher Altar, 1481) And The Im Weissen Rossl (White Horse Inn) Made Famous By The 1930 Operetta. The Schafberg Rack Railway Climbs To 1,783 M, Austria'S Steepest Steam Cog Line, With Views Over Thirteen Lakes. · St Wolfgang im Salzkammergut, Upper Austria

Wolfgangsee is a lake in the Salzkammergut, shared by Salzburg and Upper Austria, with three small lakeshore towns: St Gilgen, Strobl and St Wolfgang. St Wolfgang is the best known, a pilgrimage village with a Gothic church holding Michael Pacher's winged altarpiece of 1481, and the Im Weissen Rossl, the White Horse Inn, which stands at the main dock and was made famous by Ralph Benatzky's 1930 operetta. Above the village the Schafbergbahn, the steepest cog steam railway in Austria, climbs to 1,783 m for views of 13 lakes. Boats link all three towns, and in summer the water reaches roughly 22-24 C. The honest picture: the village is tiny and overrun on summer weekends, and rain is common. From Salzburg it takes about 1 hour 20 minutes by bus 150 to St Gilgen, then a boat. Come on a weekday, stay a night if you can, and expect the small village to feel full by late morning in July and August, when day visitors arrive by boat, bus and car. Winter is quiet, the lake boats stop, and the railway is closed until spring.

Pilgrimage village on the northern shore of Lake Wolfgang in the Salzkammergut, about 50 km east of Salzburg, with the White Horse Inn on the lakefront and the Schafberg railway above, St Wolfgang im Salzkammergut, Upper Austria, Austria

The village and lakeshore are open all year and FREE to walk. Lake boats and the Schafbergbahn run SEASONALLY, roughly mid-May to October, and are CLOSED in winter. The church keeps daytime visiting hours; the Advent market runs late November to December. Check boat and train times before you go.

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