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Bad Aussee is a town in the Austrian state of Styria , located at the confluence of the three sources of the Traun River in the Ausseerland region. Bad Aussee serves as the economic and cultural center of the Styrian part of the Salzkammergut lakes region. HISTORY Prehistoric artifacts were discovered in the nearby Salzofenhöhle cave. The town began to flourish in the Middle Ages , when salt works started operating in the late thirteenth century. Bad Aussee was designated a market town in 1295. The Romanesque and late Gothic Stadtpfarrkirche St. Paul (''parish church'') dates from the thirteenth century and contains a Gothic Madonna from 1420. The sacrament house dates from 1523. The Spitalkirche (''hospital church'') on Meranplatz square was erected before 1395 and contains two Gothic altarpieces with movable wings from the fifteenth century and frescoes. Other important historical buildings include the Kammerhof, which was built before 1200. Until 1926, it housed the salt administration for the region. Charming houses that date from the fifteenth century surround the Kurpark and the harmonious center of town. Bad Aussee was the birthplace of Anna Plochl, a postman’s daughter who became the wife of Archduke Johann Of Austria , whose economic, cultural, and educational impact on Styria and the Salzkammergut is still remembered by the people. A statue of the beloved archduke stands at nearby Gründlsee lake. CULTURE AND TOURISM Today, the town’s primary focus is on culture and tourism. Bad Aussee has a fine regional museum and a spa that offers medicinal brine baths and the Kneipp Cure therapy, invented by the German priest Sebastian Kneipp , which combines cold-water treatment, diets, and outdoor exercise. The town also sponsors a music festival that runs for several weeks each year. The biggest yearly event in Bad Aussee occurs on Faschingsdienstag (''Shrive Tuesday''), when the Flinserin dress up in sequinned costumes and parade through town to announce the coming of spring. They are accompanied by the Zacharin, who keep them in line by waving pigs' bladders on the ends of sticks. The celebration is rounded off by the Drum Women, men dressed in nightgowns going from inn to inn, banging on drums and enjoying the free food and beer. Bad Aussee's other major yearly event is the Narzissenfest (''Narcissus Festival''). Every spring, on the last weekend in May, participants construct massive floral sculptures made from daffodil blossoms, and parade them through town on large floats, accompanied by regional folk music. Some of these floral sculptures are later displayed along the shores of Gründlsee. Bad Aussee, which has a population of 5,086, is said to be the geographical mid-point of Austria, symbolized by a bridge that is shaped like the star logo for . FAMOUS PEOPLE
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REFERENCES Pollner, M. Das Salz-Kammergut, 1993. |
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