Altaussee

Altaussee is a beautiful lake and a small village on its shore, a popular summer resort since the 19th century. The lake is surrounded by limestone mountains of the Jurassic period.

The area is rich in salt deposits and there is an active salt mine in a few kilometers from the lake, which can be visited (https://www.salzwelten.at/en/altaussee/). The mine is known as the largest Nazi repository with stolen works of art during World War II, including the famous Mona Lisa.

When the Americans approached the lake, the Gauleiter of the region August Eigruber gave the order to blow up the mine along with works of art. Hitler canceled his order, but after the death of the Fuhrer, Eigruber did not care and decided to finish the job by planting 500 kg bombs. Fortunately, the mine workers managed to carry out the planted bombs at night and save the mine. These events are partially featured in the movie The Monuments Men (2014) with George Clooney and Matt Damon.

Though we came to the lake because of the movie Spectre (2015).




James Bond on the lake


The main activity for tourists is walking around the lake. The house where Mr. White was hiding in the movie is actually a restaurant, and we went there. Though we we hungry and stopped for a snack in another restaurant Kahlseneck (N 47 38.585 E 13 46.730).

In the village you can find a lot of beautiful wooden architecture.


There is an excellent pedestrian path around the lake.




You will be accompanied by picturesque landscapes along the entire route.


And here’s the movie house itself.


Getting there: two small paid parking lots (N 47 38.439 E 13 45.979 and N 47 38.188 E 13 46.101). Bus stop Altaussee Kurhaus, use oebb.at for route planning.