Gmunden

The sun shone through today and present the glamorous Gmunden in its best light. What a great place to take a stroll along the beautiful esplanade, something that has been happening for centuries. 

Starting with the Seeschloss Ort, Lake Castke Ort, a very picturesque castle built in an small island in Lake Traunsee, and connected to the mainland via a 120 metre bridge. There has even a castle on the site for over a thousand years, with this current castle dating from the 17th century after a fire destroyed the earlier one. The castle is currently owned by the city of Gmunden and has been the setting for a popular Austrian TV series. It is the setting for many cultural events, and a popular wedding location - over 300 couples a year. 

Gmunden is part of the Salzkammergut,  a region around Salzburg that managed the very wealthy salt economy that has made the district rich. In fact, many suggest that it was the salt mines of the region that underpinned the economy of the Habsburg dynasty for hundreds of years. Today the salt economy is of lesser importance. One of the buildings in Gmunden, the Kammerhof, was the home and site of the powerful salt-authority-men. 

Typically, it is the casino that occupies the choice location across the waterfront in Gmunden. Pictures around the waterfront presented an historical representation of the waterfront 150 years ago, with the casino being the main focus of the area. 

Adjacent to the Casino was the Market Square - where a market was operating today - and the Rathaus (Town Hall), signalling the centre of the town. We explored further away from the waterfront and found an interesting older town set back on the hillside with the narrow laneways and tall apartments leading to the church a little further up the hill. 

The Rathaus. 

Some Italian ceramics for sake at the market. 

The Parish Church has some interesting works of art within. The gold ornimentation on all the sculptures was eye catching. The high alter piece had some very interesting characters represented - the only Three-Kings altar in Austria. 

It was well into the afternoon at this stage, and the day was warming up, so we headed black to the van for lunch and the rest of the afternoon.