Mondsee is a small, pretty town of just over 3,000 residents which is centered around the 18th century Marketplace and reflects the traditional heritage of the Salzkammergut region. The town lies in the far south-west of the Federal State of Upper Austria close to the border with Salzburgerland, and only 27 kilometres from Salzburg. It stands on the northern shore of Lake Mondsee, which, at approximately 12 kilometres long and 2.5 kilometres wide is the third largest and one of the warmest lakes in the Salzkammergut Lakes District. This region is a very popular summer holiday destination and is particularly noted for its water sports.
The town is dominated by the ancient Mondsee Abbey which dates from 748 A.D. making it the third oldest in the country and was at one time a major cultural centre of Bavaria. Today the 15th century Basilica of St. Michael with its two 52 metre Baroque towers is the biggest Gothic church in Upper Austria and adjoins the former Benedictine Abbey. The church contains exceptional wooden sculptures and attained notoriety when it was used during the making of ‘The Sound of Music’!! The former main court of the monastery is today known as Mondsee Castle and is home to a variety of contemporary outlets including a hotel, gallery, shopping outlets and the State School of Music.
First settled over 5,000 years ago, as can be seen through the pre-historic evidence of local pole dwellings in the lake, Mondsee has inherited a rich and diverse history which can be traced through the Mondseeland Local Heritage Museum which includes the Austrian Pile Dwelling Museum. These museums cover the history of the Monastery including its renowned writing school and displays relics from an outstanding cultural period 3000 B.C. ago, when pile-dwellings were erected in the area. These museums are housed in the former cloisters of the Abbey, adjacent to the Basilica. There is also Mondsee Smokehouse Open Air Museum where you can see a traditional Mondsee logboat, and the Salzammergut Local Trains Museum which preserves the narrow gauge steam train which connected Bad Ischl and Salzburg.
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