You only see what you know (Goethe)
The Knappenwelt (Pitmen’s World) in Angertal is an open-air museum about the late medieval gold and silver smelting in the Gasteinertal area. It is a station of the Via Aurea, which focuses on gold mining in the Austrian Tauern mountain ranges. [German]
For many years, the Gastein collector Hans Breyer (1927-1997) collected gramophones, radios and cameras. The Schinderhaus houses this collection (Technische Sammlung Hans Breyer), making it accessible to visitors to Bad Hofgastein. [German]
A modern-looking building houses the Mineral Museum in a quiet district of Bad Hofgastein. Generally, the collector of the minerals is present and then likes to tell the story of the collected pieces. [German]
Children can try their luck at panning for gold at this remarkable place on a creek in Angertal. Display boards explain how the young diggers will find gold in water courses. In a hut, rubber boots and pans are available for the gold panning adventure. [German]
This mural in Bischofshofen was created by Ferdinand Kubitschek in 1967. Besides the big scale of the mural I was also impressed by the beautiful decorated soffit you can see in the upper right corner of this picture.
Höch Castle (Schloss Höch), first mentioned in the 11th century, offers a nice view over the Flachau area. Inside, visitors find a big salon with a splendid decoration made of wood. Today, it serves as a venue for cultural events.
While walking along the venues of the festival Natura.Kreativ in Altenmarkt I came across a class in creative sculpture ran by artist Walter Puchmayr. Participants were told how to create artworks by combining driftwood, stones and metal in a creative way.
Sundial admirers find this piece on the facade of the Dechantskirche in Altenmarkt. The figure represents a Madonna for which the church is famous. You can see a copy of this statue at one of the side altars in the church.
My first visit to the Natura.Kreativ led me to the Reitlehenalm, an alpine pasture near Altenmarkt im Pongau. Right in the middle of the hills, a class in voice training took place. The teacher was Annelie Leuthäuser, an experienced theatre and concert singer.
Villa Excelsior has already hosted famous guests. For example, Sigmund Freud spent several summer holidays here. My tour guide told me it was here where the Austrian neurologist was thinking about the concept of Eros and Thanatos.
The hotel is situated next to a biking route at the northern beginning of the Gastein Valley. The place is fine as starting point for biking, hiking, skiing and collecting mushrooms. Actually I had a delicious mushroom dish while staying at the hotel.
At my hotel in Dorfgastein I had a fun bedside lamp. One can turn on and off the light just by touching anywhere at the metal. Any ideas how this works?