Upper Austria

Upper Austria is one of the country’s two Danubian provinces; it is the land ‘ob der Enns’, above the River Enns, which divides it from Lower Austria.

This tour gives an overview of artistic and cultural developments in a part of central Europe that reveals a fascinating interaction between Austrian, Bavarian, Bohemian and Alpine influences.

For its size, the province contains an extraordinary variety of landscapes, from the Bohemian Forest in the north, to the central Danube Valley and on to the High Alpine mountains of the Dachstein range in the south. Of particular natural beauty and fame is the area of the Salzkammergut Lakes. Its rich supply of precious salt dominated the pre-history of this part of the Alps, of which the ‘Hallstatt culture’ is the most eloquent testimony.

 Upper Austria also houses a large collection of extremely valuable medieval treasures such as the Romanesque frescoes at Lambach and the winged altarpiece at St Wolfgang. Some of Austria’s most spectacular Baroque and Rococo works can be studied at the churches of Wilhering, just outside Linz, and the town of Stadl-Paura. The large monasteries of St Florian and Kremsmünster showcase highlights of monastic architecture from across several centuries and house significant art collections and libraries.

Our first base of Steyr, from which we visit Linz and Enns, is an ancient town founded in 980. With the spectacular Gothic Bummerlhaus at its centre, It boasts one of the best-preserved old towns in Austria. Our second base is on the shores of the Salzkammergut Lakes from which we enjoy the market town of St Wolfgang, and Mondsee to admire the spectacular Gothic interior of St Michael’s church. Nearby Attersee is where Gustav Klimt famously drew inspiration from the landscape and Gustav Mahler composed symphonies between 1893 and 1896.