Traunstein

Everything Traun: the lake Traunsee, the towns Traunkirchen and Traun, the mighty rocky mount Traunstein. This fast-running river Traun, which’s name literally means “running”, in Celtic, “Druna” is the core axis of life all the way from the high peaks of “dead mountains” or Totes Gebirge down to the Danube. Not only as the waterway, the water-source and the fish-breeding place, but also as a name giver it served. The lake, the towns, the river itself… all places enjoy the well-deserved love of tourists and locals. None of them can be ranked as a better or a worse one, as they all are of a pure beauty of natural processes and human creativity. However, if ranked by height above sea level, however, Traunstein will be the undisputed winner.

The mighty huge stone monolith, or “stein”, stands nobly and proudly on the Traunsee lake, like the ruler and the guardian of all lands within the circle of 40 kilometres around. When approaching the area of Salzkammergut, on a clear day, it is easy to note the domination of this mighty and legendary mountain. And to no surprise, it has been wrapped around by countless legends and beliefs, of which I like the most the one about the household to be lucky when “Stone of Traun” is visible from at least one of the windows. Perhaps this explains some variations in the real estate prices in the area. But the question remains: what comes first, the luck to afford the Traunstein view or the view itself, which is said to bring that luck?