Attractions & Landmarks In Bad Gastein
Thermal springs, waterfalls, and stunning mountain scenery are the hallmarks of the little spa town and ski resort of Bad Gastein in the Austrian Alps. Rich in history, having been a royal retreat and mining hub in the Middle Ages, Bad Gastein provides a special fusion of natural activities and culture. Explore sights like the stunning Bad Gasteiner Wasserfall that winds through the village or enjoy expansive vistas from the Stubnerkogel Suspension Bridge. A look at the town’s architectural legacy may be had at the Pfarrkirche Bad Gastein, while the Gasteiner Museum offers insight into its history. For the most daring, take a drive down the picturesque Gasteiner Alpenstrasse or hike the Der Gasteiner Hoehenweg. While the town is historically significant because to monuments like the Kaiser Wilhelm Denkmal and the Christophoruskirche, observation decks like the Stubnerkogel Talblick provide breath-taking views. A calm stroll through old pine trees may be had on the Graukogel Zirbenweg. Every tourist to Bad Gastein may find something to enjoy whether they are looking for leisure, outdoor adventure, or cultural discovery.
Church of St. Primus and Felizian
The history of Bad Gastein, Austria’s parish church of St. Primus and Felizian begins with its purported expansion from a chapel in 1122. Consecration of the church in 1706 was the outcome of several building and repair projects carried out throughout the ages, including major efforts between 1636 and 1699. The old church was replaced by the present neo-Gothic building, which was designed by Oswald Stuelebmer and built between 1720 and 1736. It was subsequently restored in 1953–1954, and 1974.
The church, which bears the names of the patron saints Primus and Felizian, is neo-Gothic in style and faces north with a tower facade facing south. Situated on the east side of the valley, the structure has a basement and retaining walls. A five-eighth note choir is housed beneath a gabled roof of this single-nave nave. Stepped buttresses, a cornice and lancet tracery windows define the exterior. Along with a ribbed-vaulted hall, cornices, pointed-arch tracery windows, and triangular gables with pointed helmets, the tower facade also has flanking buttresses and a chamfered pointed arch entry. To the northeast is a two-story sacristy extension.
Among the important pieces of art in the church is the high altar, which Jakob Adlhart built in 1953 and which has baroque saint console statues and a Gothic Madonna. Adlhart also created the people’s altar in 1980 and relief wings with scenes from the lives of St. Primus and Felician. There are console figures of St. Joseph and the Man of Sorrows on the side altars. Neo-Gothic pulpit and organ; behind the gallery is a baroque sculpture of St. Judas Thaddeus. Within the choir is a neo-Gothic crucifixion group, and the tower hall has a reproduction from 1846 that tells the story of Badgastein’s foundation.
Matthäus Mauracher added the organ to the church’s musical legacy in 1874. Furthermore, in 1953 Josef Widmoser added glass artworks that improved the interior’s aesthetic appeal. Reflecting centuries of spiritual and cultural legacy, the church is a prominent landmark in the area because of its historical and artistic value as well as its architectural characteristics and religious significance.
Grand Hotel de l'Europe
The Grand Hotel de l’Europe is a national landmark with a significant architectural and historical value situated in Bad Gastein, Salzburg, Austria. Building it as a late historicist building between 1906 and 1909, master builder Matthäus Schlager was the architect. The hotel was refurbished in 1982 and has an Art Nouveau pavilion to the south that was created by the Thilo art locksmith studio. Currently it is home to the Gasteiner Museum, a restaurant, a condominium, and an event space.
At first founded by restaurateur Viktor Sedlacek, the hotel debuted on May 29, 1909, with 10 stories and a reputation for being one of the biggest and most contemporary in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its 1970 sale to Alpenländische Hotel- und Kuranstalt AG, which stopped hotel operations, was brought about by financial difficulties.
Reopening the hotel in 1982, doctor and management consultant Reinhardt Stefan Tomek created 170 permanent employment. Although Bad Gastein underwent extensive renovations and made an effort to improve its reputation, outside events like the Chernobyl nuclear accident and the ensuing banking crisis led the hotel to close in 1988.
Members of royal families, well-known industrialists, authors, and singers have all been guests of the Grand Hotel de l’Europe during its history. The complex as a whole, including the apartments, has been designated as a protected building since 1980. Up until 2015, when operations were halted, the hotel was home to a Casinos Austria casino. Furthermore, since 2011 the Grand Hotel has housed the Gasteiner Museum, one of the oldest museums in the state outside of Salzburg.
Bad Gasteiner Wasserfall
The Gasteiner Ache river, which rises in the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park, supplies the waterfall. Two streams that gather water from the glaciers and snowfields of the neighboring mountains, the Anlaufbach and the Naßfelder Ache, converge to form the river. Till it reaches Bad Gastein, the river meanders through the magnificent Gastein valley, past a number of cities and villages. There the river makes the waterfall by plunging over the sheer cliffs.
Being 341 meters high overall, the waterfall is among the tallest in Europe. Three phases, each with a distinct personality and look, make up the waterfall. At 129 metres, the first level is the most obvious and spectacular. There’s a great roar and a lot of mist as the water plunges into a pool below from a little canyon. At 146 metres, the second level is more calm and pleasant. Over a broad, level slope, the water creates a shimmering curtain of water in the sunlight. At 66 metres below, the third stage is the shortest and least accessible. At the bottom of the valley, where it joins the Salzach river, the water vanishes into a little ravine and then resurfaces.
The volume of water in the river determines the seasonal changes in the waterfall. The waterfall is reduced to a tiny trickle that hardly covers the rocks in the winter when most of the water freezes. Up to 10,000 litres of water per second cascade over the edge of the waterfall in the spring and summer as the snow melts and the rainfall rises. Depending on the direction and strength of the sunlight, the waterfall also has different looks during the day. The sun rising in the morning gives the waterfall a warm, golden hue. Afternoon shadows from the mountains give the cascade a calm, blue color. Artificial lights illuminating the waterfall in the evenings create a mystical and romantic ambiance.
Due to its centuries-long inspiration of several composers and painters, the waterfall also has cultural and historical value. Renowned painters, draughtsmen, and photographers like Gustav Klimt, Max Liebermann, Wilhelm Trübner, and Carl Spitzweg have all painted, drawn, or photographed the waterfall. Renowned writers, poets, and composers including Franz Schubert, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Thomas Mann, and Stefan Zweig have all used the waterfall into their works. Along with numerous celebrities and nobility, the waterfall has drawn Sigmund Freud, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King Edward VII of England, and Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Gasteiner Museum
Since 2011 the Gasteiner Museum has been housed at the Grand Hotel de l’Europe and tells the story of Bad Gastein, Austria. Its origins are in a 1936 anniversary display that spa director Heinrich von Zimburg organized and featured paintings and antiques by well-known painters including Matthäus Loder von Archduke John and Thomas Ender.
Heinrich von Zimburg restored the museum after World War II and included the 76 kilogram rock crystal and the Böckstein mineral collection. The Association of Friends of the Gastein Museum was founded to preserve the museum’s heritage even after it closed later on because of the Kursaal’s destruction and the sale of Haus Austria.
The museum, which under this organization found temporary residence in Haus Austria, displayed displays on the history of Gastein, traditional traditions, and the Tauern Crystals. Faced with closure once more in 2008, the museum managed to rent exhibition and storage rooms in the Grand Hotel de l’Europe, which had been refurbished by the architectural firm FLEOS.
In 2011, the museum reopened with the help of regional councilor Tina Widmann and hotel owner Rosina Tscherne, carrying on its goal of protecting and introducing tourists to Bad Gastein’s cultural legacy.
Christophorus Church Bad Gastein
The neo-Gothic Christophoruskirche is an evangelical parish church in Bad Gastein, Salzburg, built between 1868 and 1871 according to the plans of Berlin chief construction officer Wilhelm Salzenberg. It was built under the direction of master builders Jacob Ceconi and Pecol from Schladming, and dedication was held in 1872. 1959 and 1981 saw restoration work. Physically, the church and the evangelical parsonage are joined.
Stepped corner buttresses, lancet windows, and triangular gabled facades characterize this cross-ground plan church built of stone-faced ashlar masonry. A bell tower with pointed arched sound windows and a pointed helmet as well as a gorged pointed arch doorway with a triforium window above it are noteworthy architectural features. The interior has a cross-floor layout with pillar-supported neo-Gothic ribbed ceiling. In 1870 Binder signed a neo-Gothic image of Christ in a recess with a pointed arch.
Neo-Gothic glass windows of the church were created by the Royal Institute for Glass Painting in Berlin, and a case organ in the organ gallery. Berlin-based artist Wendler made contributions to the gallery parapet, chairs, preacher’s chair, door, and entrance among other architectural features. The 150 kg church bell, fashioned in Salzburg in 1871, has an e2 tone.
Church of Maria, Mutter vom Guten Rat
In the Böckstein area of Bad Gastein, Salzburg, stands the Maria, Mutter vom Guten Rat Parish Church, sometimes referred to as the Kirchberg parish church. It was built as a vicarage in 1766 and consecrated in 1767 on a hill north of the Hohe Tauern gold mining region. Converted as a parish church in 1891, it had interior renovation in 1981, facade restoration in 1979, and restorations in 1950–1951, and 1965.
Building the early classicist core building from 1764 to 1767, master builder Christian Glaner followed architect Wolfgang Hagenauer’s designs. One noteworthy feature is the octagonal domed tower, which has a tent roof, clock faces, rectangular sound windows and a lantern. Within the church are an oval area with high round-arched niches, a gallery on the western wall, and a ceiling painting by Johann Weiß that shows the miraculous image of Genazzano and followers.
The altarpiece, which Rosa Hagenauer painted, shows Genazzano’s miraculous image and was created by Johann Baptist Hagenauer. Built in 1776, side altars by Leopold Hacksteiner depict images from Mary’s marriage and the temple. The soundboard shows gospel emblems, the tablets of the law, and a globe; the spherical pulpit basket has reliefs of celestial attributes. 1850 saw the sculptures and crucifix created by Kaspar Bichler.
Two additional noteworthy aspects of the church are the 1895 Hans Mauracher organ and a 1784 Bartholomäus Zehntmayr memorial stone. Coats of arms from Count Czernin from 1905 and 1927 also grace the cathedral. The church has historical value as Karl Wolfgang Gugg, who is well-known for his Salzburg bells, cast a bell there in 1766.
St. Nikolaus Church
Built before 1400 and first mentioned in 1412, the branch church St. Nikolaus in Bad Gastein, Salzburg, is a late Gothic Roman Catholic church. Up to 1639, it was used as a pastoral church. Restorations started in 1893 and continued extensively between 1950 and 1953.
Nestled on a hillside north of Bad Gastein, a cemetery encircles the church. The nave is square in layout, with a choir pulled in, and ends in a polygonal shape under a high gabled roof. Among the noteworthy elements are stepped fluted buttresses, a coffin cornice above the chancel, and threefold round-arched doors. The unfinished north tower includes truncated gables with an octagonal clapboard pointed helmet, biforia windows, and narrow arched openings.
The nave, within, is a square, single-column space with an octagonal star ceiling. The twelve apostles, Christ in the mandorla, the Last Judgment, and episodes from Christ’s life are among the religious events shown in late Gothic wall paintings from the fifteenth century. In the northeast corner are frescoes by Master von Schöder that depict the life and ascension of Christ and date from around 1470 to 1480.
Restoring the frescoes was a long-term undertaking that was mostly supported by the Rotary Club Bad Gastein and completed in 1989, the church’s 600th anniversary. 2022 saw the larch roof of the church reshingled.
Hotel Straubinger
Rich entrepreneur Anton Straubinger intended to build a magnificent hotel in the center of Bad Gastein, and he did it in 1894. The hotel’s sumptuous design and close proximity to the thermal springs and waterfall made it well-known very fast. Numerous well-known visitors to the hotel included Emperor Franz Joseph I, who made multiple visits and stayed in his own suite. Other well-known guests were the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud; the dramatist and author Arthur Schnitzler; and the mystery queen Agatha Christie.
Important historical events, notably the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo that started the First World War, were also observed at the hotel. During the war, the hotel served as an Austrian army headquarters and subsequently a hospital for injured troops. The hotel resumed operating as a posh resort following the war, but it had some difficulties both during the Second World War and the ensuing economic downturn. Till 2016, when it was closed for renovations, the hotel managed to thrive and carry on with business.
2020 saw the hotel purchased by the German Hirmer Hospitality group, which specialized in historic hotel restoration. The hotel was renovated with 50 million euros by the company, but its original architecture and charm were maintained. Three years passed during the reconstruction, which was beset by unforeseen difficulties including a helicopter mishap that destroyed the dining room chandelier and ceiling. Happily, nobody was injured, and the chandelier was fixed and put back up as a reminder of the hotel’s tenacity.
Reopening in 2023, the hotel features 46 well furnished rooms, each with a distinctive style and a view of the valley or waterfall. Along with an indoor pool, sauna, and infinity pool with a view of the mountains, the hotel has a three-tiered spa. The spa makes use of the well-known medicinal thermal waters high in radon that are good for the skin, joints, and immune system. The hotel also features a dining area and bar where visitors can savour foreign and local food together with a choice of wines and beverages.
Hotel Badeschloss
Beginning as a bathing palace commissioned by Salzburg Prince-Archbishop Colloredo between 1791 and 1794, the Hotel Badeschloss is situated in Bad Gastein, Salzburg. A classic serpentine entryway created by Anton Högl in 1794 was a highlight of the Wolfgang Hagenauer-designed castle. Converted as a public spa in 1807, it was disassembled and rebuilt up to the first floor in 1857. Especially, from 1863 until 1887, German Emperor Wilhelm I paid yearly visits to the location. Later converted into a military spa in 1912, it was converted into a hotel in the 1920s.
After Viennese real estate magnate Franz Duval took over the hotel in 1999, it was let to degrade until a fire in the roof truss on March 27, 2013, which the authorities declared to be arson. The hotel announced on November 14, 2018, the “Hirmer Real Estate Group” from Munich as a new investor. In order to save the historic core of Bad Gastein from deteriorating, the agreement calls for the building of a commercial hotel within three years with an objective for a 4-star superior or 5-star rating.
A rectangular floor plan and elaborate borders and pilasters on the entryway of this four-story, seven-axle building date the edifice to 1794. Hans Prutscher’s designs also included a symmetrical double staircase that led to the Badeschloss and housed the jeweler Julius Hügler’s business. With restoration and preservation activities now in progress, this historic property is significant for its architectural legacy and function in the spa and hotel business.
Kongresshaus Bad Gastein
Architect Gerhard Garstenauer planned the Kongresshaus Bad Gastein as a multipurpose complex to operate as the town’s cultural and commercial center in the 1970s Brutalist style. Though it was first well received, it was criticized and lost favor over time. Owing to operating problems, the building closed in 2007 and started to degrade, turning into a safety risk and a target for vandals.
Following his purchase of the structure in 2013, Philippe Duval sought to restore and reopen it, however several townspeople and officials expressed doubt and opposition. In 2016 Duval organized a public display with Gastein Historic City GmbH to highlight the building’s potential and get community input.
A cable car station integration was one of the several ideas put forward for the Kongresshaus to increase tourism and the local economy. But because the structure is a protected monument, which needs government approval and adherence to preservation regulations, these ideas ran into legal and technical difficulties. Notwithstanding these obstacles, attempts to revive the structure while honoring its architectural value are still being investigated.
Bockstein Castle
Originally built as a hunting lodge for well-known Austrian politician and statesman Count Rudolf von Czernin between 1882 and 1884, Bockstein Castle, also called Jagdschloss Czernin. A sumptuous mountain hideaway, the castle was built by Josef Wessicken and overseen by Angelo Comini. It combined traditional German and English architectural elements.
Count Czernin painstakingly reconstructed the castle the next year, restoring its previous grandeur and attractiveness, after it was destroyed by fire in 1902. The Czernin-Kinsky family has owned Bockstein Castle for all of its existence, and it has long been a beloved summer and vacation home.
Although the castle is closed to the public, its outside is a monument to its magnificence, tucked away in the stunning Badgastein countryside. Rich in historical significance, it has received eminent visitors throughout the years, including Winston Churchill, Prince Otto von Bismarck, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and Emperor Franz Joseph I.
In addition, Bockstein Castle was important throughout the war, housing injured soldiers, serving as a German army headquarters, and protecting the royal jewels of Czechoslovakia. Bockstein Castle is still a beloved icon in the area, representing both national and family heritage and a history of grandeur and tenacity.
Gasteiner Heilstollen
Operational since 1943 in Böckstein, Gastein Valley, Salzburg, the Pasel Tunnel was once a gold mine but, since 1952, has been used as a radon balneology spa complex known as Gasteiner Heilstollen. Near the Radhausberg mountain, it is run under mining law by Erzbergbau Radhausberg GesmbH and for medical reasons by Gasteiner Kur-, Rehab- und Heilstollen BetriebsgesmbH.
The therapeutic region of the tunnel, which is nearly two kilometers long and has precise measurements of 3.40 m in height, 3.40 m in base width, and 3.0 m in ridge width, is split into five stations with different temperatures (37–41.5 °C) and humidity (75–100%). Treatments for chronic musculoskeletal, respiratory, and skin conditions are available; about 14,000 patients are seen yearly.
For a three-week therapy with ten tunnel administrations, the effective radiation dosage is about 1.8 mSv. The tunnel conforms with radiation protection laws; EU nations have imposed an extra exposure limit of 1 mSv annually, while natural yearly radiation exposure varies between 1 and 10 mSv.
Although there isn’t any research to back up radon treatment, Austrian social insurance covers the tunnel’s therapeutic openings for certain ailments like psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Morbus Bechterew.
Montanmuseum Altböckstein
The Salzstadel and the Säumerstall, two historic structures from the 16th and 17th centuries, respectively, house the museum. These buildings were essential to the medieval mining hamlet of Altböckstein, which was the center of gold mining in the Gastein Valley up until the 19th century when mines closed for financial reasons and environmental concerns. The structures were restored in 1979–1980 under the direction of Peter Sika and with the help of local mining historian Fritz Gruber, and the museum opened in 1981.
The museum’s displays provide socioeconomic aspects as well as historical background and development of gold mining in the Gastein Valley. The salt barn is split into two halves and uses pictures to illustrate mining conditions and procedures as well as gear used by miners. Picks, shovels and helmets are among the tools on show next to pictures of miners working in tunnels and moving ore.
The mule stable display centers on pochers, covert miners who took gold without authorization. Many times, former miners became pochers because they lost their jobs or were unhappy with their salaries. Reproductions show their dangerous attempts to avoid capture, including gold smuggling and tunnel digging.
Furthermore on exhibit is a replica of the 1903 Rathausberg am Nassfeld showcase power plant. An early hydroelectric facility that powered the settlement as well as the mines, the power plant represented mining technology breakthroughs.
All things considered, the museum gives visitors a thorough account of the area’s mining history and a window into the hardworking but important industry that molded the Gastein Valley’s past.
Felsentherme Bad Gastein
Architect Gerhard Garstenauer designed the rock pool that is now Felsentherme Bad Gastein in the Salzburg area between 1967 and 1968. The facility’s distinctive architecture blends seamlessly with the surroundings; portions of the indoor pool area have exposed rock, while glass and wood accents embellish the concrete skeletal construction.
Four different zones make up the thermal region of Felsentherme:
- Relaxation among magnificent rock formations is a unique feature of quiet thermal spas in Austria.
- Families with kids will find Erlebnistherme, a zone with water activities and attractions including a 70-meter-long adventure slide.
- Outdoor thermal bath: Offering a choice of two pools, one 25 meters long and the other 34 degrees hot, both against a picturesque setting.
- Sauna area: Situated at about 1,100 metres above sea level, this area provides massage treatments and sauna facilities with sweeping views of the Gastein mountains.
All things considered, Felsentherme Bad Gastein provides a wide choice of thermal experiences that blend contemporary conveniences with natural features to provide guests a special and revitalising atmosphere.
Suspension Bridge in Stubnerkogel
It is not a normal bridge, this suspension bridge at Stubnerkogel. The building swings softly in time with the breeze and the guests’ footsteps. A glass floor on it also lets you view the 28-meter-deep chasm below. You will feel as though you are walking on air, hence crossing the bridge requires a head for heights and strong nerves. The sense of adventure is increased by the fact that all that keeps you from the edge of the bridge is a wire mesh railing.
Not your average bridge is the suspension bridge in Stubnerkogel. The building swings softly in time with the breeze and the guests’ footsteps. A glass floor on it also lets you view the 28-meter-deep chasm below. You will feel as though you are walking on air, hence crossing the bridge requires a head for heights and strong nerves. The sense of adventure is increased by the fact that all that keeps you from the edge of the bridge is a wire mesh railing.
The Stubnerkogel suspension bridge is conveniently reachable by train, bus, or automobile. About 90 kilometres south of Salzburg, in the Gastein Valley, you may drive and park at the Stubnerkogel lift’s valley station. For the closest town, Bad Gastein, take a bus or train and then walk to the lift station. Daily operations of the lift are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; adult tickets are 25 euros, while kid tickets are 12.50 euros. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the suspension bridge is free.
A rare and thrilling experience, the suspension bridge at Stubnerkogel will stay with you. It is a terrific approach to appreciate the wonders of nature and push oneself.
