St Wolfgang

A carved wooden altar finished in 1481 opens and shuts to show three different faces. Which one is open depends on the church season, so the picture changes with the date of a visit.

A cogwheel train climbs to a 1783 metre summit over 35 minutes. The grade reaches 26 percent, so the carriage floor is stepped to stay level.

The lakeside inn that an operetta made famous still takes guests. A white horse painted on its front wall serves as the backdrop for photographs.

A paddle steamer built in 1873 works the lake through each summer. The engine room is left unglazed, so the pistons can be watched as they move.

A small chapel was fitted into a cave partway up the cliff on the west side. The climb from the shore path takes 40 minutes and fourteen crosses stand along it.

The green and white patterned ware of this district is thrown and painted by hand. On firing days the process is shown in front of the kiln.

A shoreline path links the two ends of the village and no cars enter it. Timber decks jut over the lake here and there, so feet can go in.

In December the pier fills with stalls and more of them stand on rafts moored beside it. One ticket links the boat ride to the markets of the neighbouring villages.

A summer pasture on the ridge below the summit holds grazing cattle. The hut sells what was made that day and takes cash only.

Behind the church several passages run no wider than a shoulder. Saints painted on the walls are what tells one passage from another.

A bronze fountain cast in 1515, standing on the square before the pilgrimage church. St Wolfgang stands above an eight-sided basin where pilgrims drew water to drink. It is right outside the church door, so a ring of photographers usually stands round it.

In St Gilgen, at the lake's west end, stands the house where Mozart's mother was born. His sister Nannerl later lived here after marrying, so it tells the family story. A lake boat from St Wolfgang crosses to it.

Eight-seat gondolas, new in 2020, carry you up from St Gilgen to just below the Zwolferhorn summit. From there Lake Wolfgang stretches below, and on clear days Mondsee and Attersee come into view too. Many walk back down through the forest to the village.

The yellow twin-towered church of Mondsee, the next lake to the north, where The Sound of Music filmed its wedding scene. Inside, a row of Baroque altars lines the nave. Cafes ring the square outside, so film fans linger.