Sankt Wolfgang im Salzkammergut Things to Do

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Saint Wolfgang came to this place at about 976 and legend has it that he built the first church here and was responsible for a lot of miracle cures. In the 12th century, a roman church was built and pilgrimages to this place started, as Wolfgang was pronounced a saint. A new church was constructed between 1314 and 1318, and it was enlarged in the 15th century to make room for more pilgrims.

This church, also called "Kalvarienbergkirche", is most famous for the winged altar made by Michael Pacher. Michael Pacher was one of the bests artists of the 15th century. He was both a painter and a wood-carver, what makes his works extraordinary in both ways, and he combined gothic and renaissance style, which is extraordinary as well. The Saint Wolfgang altar is considered to be his masterpiece.
This winged altar, just like the one in Hallstatt, is moved to different positions throughout the ecclesiastical year and thus displays different pictures. It is changed on different dates though - the different positions are not applied for lent, christmas time and festive days, but for workdays, for sundays, and for festive days. On workdays, the altar shows scenes from the legend of Saint Wolfgang, on sundays it shows scenes from the life of Jesus, and on festive days Jeses together with Mary.
I find it very interesting that there are two different concepts for winged altars and that they are moved on very different dates in two churches so close together!

In the middle of the church there is also another baroque altar that contains the relics of Saint Wolfgang.

Photography is not allowed inside.

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A stroll around the city is another thing to do in Sankt Wolfgang - there are many shops and it is a very lively atmosphere. The old architecture is beautiful, and there are many narrow alleys. You find some cafés and there is a souvenir shop at every corner (or so it seemed). You can also admire all the posh and elegant hotels and restaurants and see high society people sipping their champagne!
However, our stroll was only short because there were too many crowds for our taste and it rained. We rather went to the promenade and enjoyed a view on the lake!

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It is wonderful to walk along the Doktor-Promenade at the lake and enjoy the views on beautiful Wolfgangsee and the mountains. You can find cafés and restaurants here and also a boating club.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to walk the whole length of the promenade because there are hotels who block it and interrupt the shore line, but it still is a nice walk and there are many places where you can go directly to the shore.

A short explanation of the name: Until 2006 it was called "Dr. Franz Xaver Rais-Promenade" ("Dr." is the German abbreviation of doctor), after one of the mayors of Sankt Wolfgang who also was a physician. As this man was an early member of the Nazi party (he joined the party in 1933) and denunciated a jewish woman of the town, the promenade was renamed into just the neutral "Doktor-Promenade".

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When you stroll around a town, pay attention to the walls of the buildings - some are painted beautifully in a folkloristic style. All buildings in the town centre are very well maintained and everything is clean. You can also see some iron-wrought signs as the ones typically for the town of Salzburg.

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The Weißes Rössl is what made Sankt Wolfgang especially famous in the 1930s, until today. It is an operetta written by Ralph Benatzky that takes place in the hotel Weißes Rössl and deals with the amorous problems of the staff and the guests. The première was in 1930 and the operetta was very successful and even staged in New York, which made the Salzkammergut a top tourist destination. There even was a direct plane connection from Berlin to Sankt Wolfgang in those times!

You can listen to the main song here:
Im weißen Rössl am Wolfgangsee (At the White Horse at Wolfgangsee)

What most people don't know is that the whole thing is actually a tourist trap because the original Weißes Rössl was not at all located in Sankt Wolfgang... It was located in another small village in the area, but when it burnt down, the authorities decided to rebuild it in a more prominent location to be able to promote it as a major tourist location. Well, it worked!

You can see the hotel directly in the town centre. It was the setting of several movies made from the operetta, for example this one from 1960 with the German singer Peter Alexander (he died in 2010 and got many awards for his life's work).

Im Salzkammergut da kann man gut lustig sein (In the Salzkammergut, there it's easy to be merry)

The operetta and the music continue to be beloved by many and you can see the hotel from the main street of the town and also from the boat if you do a boat trip. The backside looks very different from the façade as they are painted in two different colours. They even have a whirlpool built into the lake and you can see the guests of the hotel relaxing there with a glass of wine.

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We parked our car in the Gschwendt parkplatz and then caught the ferry across the lake to the Schafbergbahn landing stage. You can also pick up the ferry at various locations around the lake. I purchased the tickets on board the ferry and the price was about 69 euros for the pair of us and it did save queuing at the station. The train station is only about 200 metres away once you get off the ferry. We only had to wait a few minutes before boarding the train. If you arrive early you can always try out one of the cafes in the area whilst you wait. The train pushes the carriages up the mountain and being a cog railway it does shake a bit. The first part of the journey is through the outskirts of St Wolfgang but as the train starts to climb then the views improve. The journey takes 35 minutes with one stop on route at Schafbergalm before you reach the top of the Schafberg Mountain. The first thing you must do on leaving the train is to obtain a seat ticket for the return journey. The railway was first opened in 1893 and the normal trains are oil fired but for an additional fee you can ride a steam train or vintage diesel. On a clear day the views from the top of the 1783m mountain are spectacular with views of the lake and surrounding mountains. There is a hotel and restaurant at the top and we indulged in coffee and cake. There are various deals available for the trains, boats and hotel or for hikers you can always hike to the top.

Next to the famous Im Weissen Rossl (White Horse Inn), there is another hotel called Hotel Schwarzes Rossl (The Black Horse). Interesting because "white" and "dark" are next to each other :)

Similar to the White Horse Inn, The Black Horse is conveniently located in the town centre area and the architecture/facade is very classical and beautiful. However, The Black Horse does not have the view of the Wolfgangsee lake as it is not located at the waterfront area. The website of the hotel is below if you are interested.

Schafberg Cog Railway, built over 100 years ago, climbs the 5,300ft Schafberg mountain the easy way. A ride on this nostagic train is a must do - especially for those fans of the Sound of Music tour - I'm sure you'll recognise it from the film. Check the website for up to date fares and timetables.