Bad Gastein ( is a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

in the St. Johann im Pongau District. Picturesquely situated in a

high valley High Valley is a Canadian country and bluegrass band originally from Blumenort, Alberta, a small community near the hamlet of La Crete. The group is composed of Brad Rempel (lead vocals) and his supporting band, Dave Myers (bass guitar), Raymon ...

of the

Hohe Tauern The High Tauern ( pl.; , ) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of Salzburg, Carinthia and East Tyr ...

mountain range, it is known for the Gastein waterfall and a variety of grand hotel buildings.

Geography

Bad Gastein is located in the historic Pongau District. It stretches along the upper Gastein Valley following the course of the Gastein Ache creek. The valley separates the Hohe Tauern Ankogel Group in the east from the

Goldberg Group The Goldberg Group is a sub-group of the Hohe Tauern mountain range within the Central Eastern Alps. It is located in Austria, in the States of Austria, states of Salzburg (state), Salzburg and Carinthia (state), Carinthia. Its highest peak is the ...

in the west. The town centre is located at the Gastein waterfall, about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level.

Transportation

The Gastein valley is accessible by the Tauern Railway, a major railroad running from

Schwarzach im Pongau Schwarzach im Pongau is a market town in the St. Johann im Pongau District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography It is located in the valley of the Salzach river, between the Hohe Tauern mountain range (Goldberg and Ankogel groups) in th ...

in the north across the Tauern Railway Tunnel to

Spittal an der Drau Spittal an der Drau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district (''Districts of Austria, Bezirk'') b ...

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

in the south. Frequent

EuroCity EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...

and

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

trains going along this route connect Bad Gastein with many Austrian cities like

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

and

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Spa and therapy

The German word "Bad" means "spa", reflecting the town's history as a health resort. The local ''Heilstollen'' (literally 'healing tunnel') thermal spring water earned the town its early fame. Theophrastus Parcelsus (1493–1541) had studied the

spring water A spring is a natural exit point at which groundwater emerges from an aquifer and flows across the ground surface as surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere, as well as a part of the water cycle. Springs have long been important f ...

to discover its secrets. In the 16th century the Gastein Hot Springs, known as the ''Wildbad'', started to become a popular spa destination. In the 18th century the Salzburg archbishop Hieronymus von Colloredo reignited the fashion for visiting the Gastein Hot Springs. He had a classicist palace built in Bad Gastein at which he resided during his summer spa stays. In 1807 the palace was restored as public health resort. This exclusive resort was promoted by

Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand III(; ; English: ''Ferdinand Joseph John Baptist''. (6 May 1769 – 18 June 1824) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1790 to 1801 and, after a period of disenfranchisement, again from 1814 to 1824. He was also the Prince-elector and Grand D ...

. He had a coach service built between Salzburg and Bad Gastein. In 1807 Bad Gastein was visited by

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and I (; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor as Francis II from 1792 to 1806, and the first Emperor of Austria as Francis I from 1804 to 1835. He was also King of Hungary, List of rulers of Croatia, Croa ...

, he was looking for ideas on how to improve his health in the imperial and royal bath. Ultimately the emperor joined a spa project in Bad Hofgastein that was financed by

Ladislaus Pyrker Johann Ladislaus Pyrker (von Oberwart) ''(von Felsö-Eör)'' (; 2 November 1772 in Nagyláng, Soponya, near Székesfehérvár, Hungary – 2 December 1847 at Vienna) was a Hungarian Cistercian abbot, archbishop and poet. Life He was descend ...

. An English coffeehouses was built in 1850 in Bad Gastein. Radon therapy began to be administered in Bad Gastein.

Radon Radon is a chemical element; it has symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive noble gas and is colorless and odorless. Of the three naturally occurring radon isotopes, only Rn has a sufficiently long half-life (3.825 days) for it to b ...

inhalation therapy at the ''Gasteiner Heilstollen'' began as a result of further investigation into the experiences of humans who worked in

silver mining Silver mining is the extraction of silver by mining. Silver is a precious metal and holds high economic value. Because silver is often found in intimate combination with other metals, its extraction requires the use of complex technologies. In ...

who noticed improvements in symptoms from various ailments. The Grandhotel Gasteinerhof has residential outbuildings and modern

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

integrates the historic ensemble, which includes a spa with a glass corridor over a creek with pristine alpine water. The Austrian spa of Bad Gastein has special trains for spa guests, who are driven deep into the cave of the Böckstein mountain. There guests can lie for several hours to breathe in radon gas. To accommodate spa guests, the tunnels originally dug for

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...

have been converted.

History

The remote valley was settled by Bavarian peasants in the 9th century; field names in the highest-lying southern parts also denote a Carantanian ( Slavic) colonization. Gastein is first mentioned as ''Gastuna'' in a 963 deed, when the area belonged to the German

stem duchy A stem duchy (, from '':wikt:Stamm, Stamm'', meaning "tribe", in reference to the Franks, Saxons, Baiuvarii, Bavarians and Alemanni, Swabians) was a constituent duchy of the Kingdom of Germany at the time of the extinction of the Carolingian dyna ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. It was originally an alpine farming and

area and the site of an ancient trade route crossing the main ridge of the

Central Eastern Alps The Central Eastern Alps (), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps () or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent regions of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and Slovenia. South of them is ...

. In 1297

Otto III, Duke of Bavaria Otto III (11 February 1261 – 9 November 1312), a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was the Duke of Lower Bavaria from 1290 to 1312 and the King of Hungary and Croatia between 1305 and 1307. His reign in Hungary was disputed by Charles Robe ...

and his brother

Stephen I, Duke of Bavaria Stephen I. (March 14, 1271 – December 10, 1310) was the duke of Lower Bavaria from 1290 until 1310 as co-regnant of his older brothers Otto III († 1312) and Louis III († 1296). Biography Stephen was born in Landshut, the son of Henry XII ...

, both highly indebted, sold it to the

Archbishopric of Salzburg The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (; ) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of Salzburg, as distinguished from the much larger Catholic diocese f ...

. Already about 1230, the minnesinger Neidhart von Reuental had referred to the

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

in his

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

poem ''Die Graserin in der Gastein''. The spas in Bad Gastein were visited by the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

emperor

Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III (German language, German: ''Friedrich III,'' 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death in 1493. He was the penultimate emperor to be Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor, crowned by the p ...

. The Renaissance physician

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...

also visited Bad Gastein.

High society

The waters of Bad Gastein were fashionable. Notable guests of the past included

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna. He ...

Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( ; ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the Phenomenon, phenomenal world as ...

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

Wilhelm von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a German philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1949, the university was named aft ...

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

Wilhelm I, German Emperor Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united German ...

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and List of Hungarian consorts, Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austri ...

, and other members of the high society.

Mass tourism

At the end of the 19th century

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

was developed as tourism activity in the alps. Resorts such as

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

and

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

catered to the wealthy health tourist, while popular mass tourism could only be sustained with the expansion of the railroads. Bad Gastein,

Saint-Gervais-les-Bains Saint-Gervais-les-Bains () is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region, southeastern France. The village is best known for tourism and has been a po ...

, and

Bad Ischl Bad Ischl (Austrian German ) is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the river Traun in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden ''Ahorn'', ''Bad Ischl'', ''Haiden ...

were established as health spas. In the 1960s Bad Gastein was frequented by Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. Those who could afford to visit their ''old home'' (''alte Heimat'') met in Bad Gastein. Returning from their travels they shared their experiences with other refugees in newsletters and presentations. From the 1960s on the Bad Gastein lost some of its former reputation and many older hotels sat empty. Recently, Bad Gastein renovated its ''Felsentherme'' in 2014.

Places of interest

* Gletschermühlen * Felsentherme * Gasteiner Heilstollen * Gasteiner Museum

Climate

Bad Gastein has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

( Dfb) bordering on a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(Dfc) due to the town's high elevation. Summers are mild, sometimes warm with cool, refreshing nights. Winters are moderately cold and snowy, with annual snowfall averaging 345 cm (136 inches).

Sports

Bad Gastein is popular for winter sports. Bad Gastein hosted the 1958 World Championships in

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

and regularly is a scene of the

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

and boardercross world cup. The Bad Gastein and Bad Hofgastein ski resort is part of the larger Ski Amadé network, with Gastein valley having 4 ski areas with over 200 kilometers of downhill slopes. Many establishments on the slopes offer warmth, food and strong drinks. Since 2007, the town also annually hosts the Gastein Ladies tennis tournament, an

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

event on the

WTA Tour The WTA Tour (also known as the Hologic WTA Tour for sponsorship reasons) is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women and organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125 series, and third-tier is the ITF Wome ...

, attracting top players like

Julia Görges Julia Görges (born 2 November 1988) is a German former professional tennis player. A former top-ten singles player, she was ranked as high as No. 9 in the world on 20 August 2018, and was ranked inside the top 15 in doubles, peaking at world No ...

Notable people

Franz Schubert by Wilhelm August Rieder 1875

* Thea Hochleitner (1925–2012), alpine skier * Hans Eder (1927–2008), Nordic skier *Franz Xaver Franzmair (1901–1988) hotelier and builder, Freeman of Bad Gastein *Hermann Greinwald (1927–1990) doctor and mountain rescue doctor *Fritz Gruber (born 1940) local historian of Gastein alley and botanist *

(1797–1828) composed after a holiday in Bad Gastein the Piano Sonata in D major, nicknamed "Gasteiner" *Karl Straubinger (1855–1924) mayor (1882–1917), freeman of Bad Gasteins *

Georg Thomalla Georg Thomalla (14 February 1915 – 25 August 1999) was a German actor. He appeared in about one hundred fifty film and television productions between 1939 and 2000 and was widely known in Germany for his comedic roles. Thomalla was well known ...

(1915–1999) German actor *Erwin Wexberg (1889–1957) individual psychologian, doctor, student of Alfred Adler *

Eckart Witzigmann Eckart Witzigmann is an Austrian chef. Training After his chef-apprenticeship in the Hotel Straubinger in Bad Gastein (1957–1960), Witzigmann moved on to numerous positions in prestigious restaurants around the world, among others as a stu ...

(born 1941) Austrian master cook, freeman of Bad Gastein *Maria Zittrauer (1913–1997) lyrician, Trakl-Prize-winner 1952 *Fedor Ivanovich Shalyapin, singer,

Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɨˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; 12 April 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass voic ...

References

External links

official homepage of Bad Gastein

Gasteiner Museum
{{authority control Spa towns in Austria Cities and towns in St. Johann im Pongau District Ski areas and resorts in Austria Ankogel Group Goldberg Group Belle Époque