Lake Wolfgang
Lake Wolfgang, or Wolfgangsee, is a glacial lake in Austria, mostly in the state of Salzburg with a part in Upper Austria. It covers about 13 square kilometers, lies at an elevation of 538 meters, and is up to 114 meters deep. The lake holds around 667 million cubic meters of water.
The lake stretches roughly 10.5 kilometers from northwest to southeast and is divided in two by a peninsula called the Enge (the Narrow). The western part near St Gilgen is known as the Abersee, while the eastern part lies near St. Wolfgang.
Settlements on the shore include Strobl, St. Gilgen, Abersee, Ried, and the market town of St. Wolfgang. The lake is part of the Salzkammergut resort region and is surrounded by the Alps. To the north rises the Schafberg, where a rack railway, the Schafbergbahn, climbs to the summit at 1,782 meters. To the south lie the Osterhorngruppe peaks, and near St Gilgen you can reach Zwölferhorn (1,522 meters) by cable car.
St. Wolfgang and St. Gilgen are popular summer destinations. The Gasthaus Weißes Rössl in St. Wolfgang is famous from the play The White Horse Inn and a later operetta. The area has been a backdrop for many Heimatfilm movies, adding to its image as a pristine alpine idyll. The lake also drew attention in the late 1990s through Christoph Schlingensief’s Chance 2000 project.
Transport around the lake includes the B158 road along the southern shore and the B154 from St. Gilgen to the A1 motorway. The old Salzkammergut-Lokalbahn railway stopped operating in 1957. Ship service on the lake is provided by six vessels operated by Salzburg AG. St. Gilgen can be reached by bus 150 between Salzburg and Bad Ischl every half hour; tourists can ride for free with a hotel QR code.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:56 (CET).