Traunsee ( , ) is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in the

Salzkammergut The Salzkammergut (, ; ) is a resort area in Austria, stretching from the city of Salzburg eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains. The main river of the region is the Traun (r ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Its surface is approximately 24.5 km² and its maximum depth of 191 metres makes it the deepest and by volume largest lake located entirely within Austrian territory; only

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

on the border is deeper and bigger. It is a popular tourist destination, and its attractions include

Schloss Ort Schloss Ort (or ''Schloss Orth'') is an Austrian castle situated in the Traunsee lake, in Gmunden, from Vöcklabruck, the gate to Salzkammergut. Early history The castle was founded around 1080 by Hartnidus of Ort, and improvements continued to ...

, a medieval castle. At the North end of the lake is

Gmunden Gmunden () is a town in Upper Austria, in the district of Gmunden (district), Gmunden. It has 13,204 inhabitants (estimates 2016 ). Geography Gmunden covers an area of and has a median elevation of . It is situated next to the lake Traunsee on t ...

, at the south end is

Ebensee Ebensee am Traunsee (; ) is a market town in the Traunviertel region of the Austrian state of Upper Austria, located within the Salzkammergut Mountains at the southern end of the Traunsee. The regional capital Linz lies approximately to the nort ...

. The lake is surrounded by mountains, including the

Traunstein Traunstein (; ) is a Town#Germany, town in the south-eastern part of Bavaria, Germany, and is the administrative center of a much larger Traunstein (district), district of the same name. The town serves as a local government, retail, health se ...

, and a number of other towns and villages surround the lake, including

Altmünster Altmünster (; In the local dialect: ''Oidmünsta''), also known as Altmünster am Traunsee, is a market town located about 3 kilometres south of Gmunden in the Austrian state of Upper Austria, on the west shore of the Traunsee. Its economic base ...

and

Traunkirchen Traunkirchen () is a municipality on the Traunsee in the Austrian state of Upper Austria, Austria. Tourism The lake and the mountains provide opportunities for outdoor activities like hiking, sailing, diving, skiing, swimming, and surfing. The vi ...

. There is a local legend that speaks of a waterhorse that lives in the lake. Records mention a mermaid riding on the back of a creature who lives in the waters. Locals refer to it as "Lungy" and photographs have been taken of the creature.

References

External links

* Lakes of Upper Austria Upper Austrian Prealps {{UpperAustria-geo-stub