Badgastein Local Customs

These valleys have been inhabited since ancient times. The latin name of this valley, as mentioned in medieval documents, was Gastuna. By the 16th century the reputation of its warm waters and their therapeutic power was widespread, and many people travelled here for this reason in the summer. At that time the name of Bad Gastein was Wildbad Gastein.
In 1807 the emperor Franz I inspected the place personally, in order to decide about projects to build infrastructures to take advantage of the spas as an economic resource. The thermal springs were at an altitude of 1000 metres above sea level, on the slopes of a steep mountain, so it seemed convenient to convey the water to the village of Hofgastein, which lies in the valley. That village, whose name became Badhofgastein, is still nowadays a thermal resort.

Visitors from other countries may find the opening times of Austrian shops to be very short. This can cause inconvenience especially when one wants to buy foods and drinks, so I am posting some information to help you plan your shopping.
There are two supermarkets in Bad Gastein, Billa and Eurospar, both open from 9 am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and 9 am to 5 pm on Saturdays. Both are closed on Sundays.
There is also a grocery shop with totally different opening hours, because it is meant to meet the needs of those who want to go to pic-nics or excursions. In fact it opens from 7 to 11 in the mornings, and then from 4 pm to 7 pm, seven days a week. It is not a big shop, but you can find the essentials there. The address is Kaiserhofstrasse 6. There are signs directing to it, but when you get there it is hard to find, because you cannot see it from the street. In fact it is inside the Kaiserhof. You need to go in through the main entrance, turn right and walk through the lobby. The Hapishop is past the reception.