Savvy Sightseer - tips and insights for seasoned travelers!
This boat, left over from the Three Musketeers filming, is not what visitors ride on; that's more of a boxy boat.
Outside of Austria's Old Towns
Not all interesting sights are in town - or even above ground. Salzburg and Vienna each have venues deep into mountain mines offering unique opportunities. Amid the picturesque woods outside of Vienna lies a place as far removed from the bustle of city life as possible.
Berchtesgaden
About a half-hour south of Salzburg, just over the border in the Bavarian Alps, is the picturesque town of Berchtesgaden. Visitors passing through the area would never guess that deep into the mountain lay the equivalent of white gold - salt, a valuable mineral used at times as currency and a valuable export. And the namesake of Salzburg (salt city), which controlled shipment of the commodity along the Salzach River.
Wearing coveralls, visitors take a train ride into the heart of the mine, then slide deeper into the tunnels. There’s a nice mix of types of exhibits and modes of travel – train, slide, funicular and boat. Although sad to think of the men who toiled in the dark caves to provide the valuable cash-product of salt, great efforts have been taken to make this an educational experience geared toward different age levels. A surprise treat amid the darkness of the mines comes while on a short ferry ride across the incredibly clear salt Mirror Lake - a dazzling sound and light display flashes across the cavernous walls. Click the pictures to the left for a slideshow and more information; click the light display to the right for a taste of the show.
Abbey of Heiligenkreuz
From the bustle of Vienna central, a 10-mile drive through the Viennese woods is relaxing and pleasant. Amid this tranquil setting is the Abbey of Heiligenkreuz, the oldest continuously active and still inhabited Cistercian monastery in the world.
Exhibit details the different levels of the mines. Photo credit: Südsalz GmbH
Click on each set of images for an expanded slide-show view and additional information.
A mishmash of varying architectural styles, the Abbey is an expansive complex, steeped in almost 900 years of history. If the timing is right (they sing five times a day), the Cistercian monks' Gregorian chants resonate from the church, accompanied by an elaborate floor-to-ceiling organ - one of the biggest musical instruments in Austria, with 3700 pipes! The monks'choir stalls, a combination of nut and linden woods created in the early 1700s, display religous scenes and busts of bishops, abbots and statesmen.
Each room of the Abbey is distinctive and has stories to tell: the lead fountain was the Abbey's washing room until the mid-1500s, the cloister's hall boasts statues by Giovanni Giuliani made in 1705 and windows dating back to the 13th century, the Chapterhouse's rosette-window won first prize for colours and composition at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889, and the wooden cross in church is a replica of an Italian original from 1138.
For a peaceful and soothing break in traditional sightseeing, this venerable Viennese Abbey provides a perfect interlude.
Click on the set of images for an expanded slide-show view and additional information.
A replica of the first fighter jet, manufactured inside the gypsum mine, at the expense of forced labor of concentration camp prisoners.
Seegrotte
Pitched as a ride on the largest subterranean lake, this destination just outside of Vienna inspires mixed feelings. Unlike Berchtesgaden's educational efforts, Seegrotte is a very different experience. Going deep inside a gypsum mine to the promised boat ride involves walking in the original miners’ steps down a long and narrow, cold tunnel, a compelling recognition of the dismal workday environ for the miners. There’s a tribute to an aviation milestone – the first jet fighter was built here, but then there’s the sad memorial to the WWII prisoners forced to work underground in order to make that possible. It is here, also, that priceless works of art were hidden by Nazis.
Background information is interesting but grim – horses were blinded to work 20 years in the mines; even the lake came at the expense of disaster – a detonation in 1912 went awry, causing the mine to flood and creating the lake. Seegrotte’s other claim to fame is it served as the set for filming Disney’s 1993 version of The Three Musketeers.
For those interested in the man-made mine and lake, as well as the historical significance of Seegrotte, this is a sight to visit.
Continue your trip through Austria with a visit to the Royal Residences or Salzburg and Vienna pages,
or go back to the Austria home page.
