St. Gilgen

Sankt Gilgen (Central Bavarian: St. Gieng) is a village by the Wolfgangsee in the Austrian state of Salzburg, in the "Salzkammergut" region.

Sankt Gilgen

St. Gieng
Coat of arms
Sankt Gilgen
Location within Salzburg State
Sankt Gilgen
Location within Austria
Coordinates: 47°46′00″N 13°22′00″E
Country Austria
StateSalzburg
DistrictSalzburg-Umgebung
Government
  MayorOtto Kloiber (ÖVP)
Area
  Total98.72 km2 (38.12 sq mi)
Elevation
545 m (1,788 ft)
Population
 (2018-01-01)[2]
  Total3,915
  Density40/km2 (100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
5340
Area code06227
Vehicle registrationSL
Websitewww.gemgilgen.at
Town hall
Quay

History

St. Gilgen was first mentioned in documents in 1376. In 1863, shipping on Lake Wolfgang started and brought attention to the little village. The construction of the Salzkammergut-Lokalbahn in 1893 led to another increase in tourism. Rich Viennese, such as the surgeon Theodor Billroth, started to build summer residences there.

Geography

Sankt Gilgen is situated in the north-western shore of the lake Wolfgangsee, close to Strobl and to the Upper Austrian municipality of St. Wolfgang. It has 3,784 inhabitants, lies 545 metres above sea level and covers an area of 98.67 square kilometres.

Overview

The parish church is dedicated to Saint Aegidius (Latin), in English Saint Giles, which is reflected in the name of the town, Sankt Gilgen.

St. Gilgen is a well-known travel destination. Boats from St. Gilgen sail around the Wolfgangsee, providing transport and views of the surrounding mountains. The hermitage of the original St. Gilgen may be seen, behind a chapel, in the Falkenstein cliffs west of St. Wolfgang and east of Fürberg.

In 2005 St. Gilgen was promoted as the "Mozart Village" by the Wolfgangsee Tourist Board. Although Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart never visited St. Gilgen (as he had intended to), his grandfather worked in the town, his mother was born in St. Gilgen, and his sister Nannerl moved there after her marriage. The village now boasts a first-class international school, the St. Gilgen International School.

Notable people

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.