It seems like they have Gössl and Astrid Eder booked this clear summer morning for their performance. The brightly polished wood of the open motorboat and its metal oar forks flash in the morning light. Mountain peaks, boathouses and villas are reflected on the smooth surface of the Grundlsee. Astrid Eder, responsible for marketing at Schifffahrt Grundlsee, sits at the helm of the boat, wearing a uniform that can only be found here in the Styrian Salzkammergut: tailored from the fine dark blue fabric with a herringbone pattern that is typical for traditional costumes, on the sleeves and shoulders golden stripes shine. An alpine nautical uniform.
The three ships of the Grundlsee fleet in the Salzkammergut are in constant operation in summery weather.
Image: Andreas Syen
Not only the captain is beaming: Astrid Eder steers the old, perfectly restored passenger boats, of which the “Rudolf” is the largest and at the same time the oldest.
Image: Johanna Pfund
Three stops, a steamboat: that’s how it all started
Much like uniform has been revamped at Schifffahrt Grundlsee since Tauroa GmbH acquired the company in 2015. Behind the Tauroa is Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz, who has already invested in several traditional inns and hotels in the Salzkammergut. Shipping on the Grundlsee has a long tradition. It was founded in 1879 by Albin Schraml; Back then, a steamship carried passengers between the three stops Seeklause, Post and Gössl. The Schraml family was followed by the Zimmermann family, who only passed the company on to the Tauroa after almost 100 years.
The purpose of shipping is just as constant as the ownership structure: “We mainly transport tourists,” says Eder. No wonder, because the only 4.2 square kilometer lake, which is the largest in Styria and is therefore affectionately known as the “Styrian Sea”, is idyllically situated in a cul-de-sac. An ideal destination. In the north, the steep rock face of the Dead Mountains delimits the water, in the south there are gentler, wooded mountain tops. To the east are the Toplitz and the much smaller Kammersee, which can only be reached by visitors on foot and by boat. “There was a naval research station at Lake Toplitz, and treasure is said to have been sunk in it at the end of the war,” says Astrid Eder. “But so far only fake pound notes have been found.”
The well-kept oldtimer is a symbol for shipping here on the Grundlsee
But the treasure they shipping lifted with the new owner Tauroa, which is stored in the boathouse. The fleet, as Astrid Eder proudly calls it, with a handful of flats, the traditional barges, which you can even book with breakfast for a trip across the lakes, with pedal boats, sea kayaks and three larger passenger boats. They are Rudolf, Built in 1903, which can carry around 60 passengers, and the slightly smaller one Traun – with year of construction 1972 at a young age, so to speak. And then just that Gössl, Built in 1931.
When you get the Rudolf and the Traun Transported to Switzerland for overhaul in 2017, they were still found in the boathouse Gössl. “It has been out of service since 1968,” reports Eder, who has worked for the shipping industry for five years. “It’s lucky that we have a big boathouse.” One that doesn’t force you to throw things away due to lack of space. And so it was agreed with the Swiss that the shipyard’s apprentice would prepare the old wooden boat, which offers space for twelve people, and that the shipping would only cover the cost of materials. “But then the Swiss would have preferred to keep it,” says Eder. No way. the Gössl traveled back to the Grundlsee. With its neat old-timer flair, it is in a way a symbol for shipping – small, fine, historic.
A summer dream: Villa Castiglioni. It once housed Europe’s largest orchid collection and, at the end of the Second World War, briefly housed Hitler’s private library.
(Photo: Johanna Pfund)
If you are looking for something historical, you are not only well served by the Grundlsee shipping company, but also when you take a look at the surrounding area. It already attracted the upper class 150 years ago, who had enough money for a summer residence. Villa Castiglioni is located on the south bank, opposite the Seehotel stop. “It has a colonnade right on the bank,” explains Eder and controls it Gössl closer to the villa. The namesake Camillo Castiglioni was a classic investor of the early 20th century. He is said to have ridden over Vienna in a balloon; he invested in railways, aviation and automobility. Six years later he gave the villa, built in the 1880s and bought in 1920, to his young wife Iphigenie, a Viennese actress. Despite this gift, which included Europe’s largest orchid cultivation and an Egyptian obelisk, the marriage did not last. Iphigenie did not return from a tour to the USA – and later played in Hollywood films such as Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Window to the Courtyard”. She sold the villa, and by the end of World War II, this brief period is said to have housed Hitler’s private library.
A mechanic from the “Flying Bulls” is now taking care of the ships
But there are not only villas, a little further on the south bank are small fishermen’s huts by the green shimmering water. On the sunnier and open north bank, there are the typical Aussee houses with their verandas. And at the main town of Grundlsee, right next to the boathouse, there is a wooden pavilion in the water for the band and other events. By the way, the boathouse is newly renovated. Just last year. But nothing is exaggerated here, as Astrid Eder also emphasizes. But simply renewed with respect to tradition. And because tradition also needs care, the Grundlsee shipping company has had an experienced operations manager and mechanic since it was taken over by Tauroa. Thomas Hönegger from Hangar 8 of the “Flying Bulls” in Salzburg. There they also take care of historical beauties, but also those that can fly. Those at Grundlsee slide through the water.
Additional Information: schifffahrt-grundlsee.at
The research trip for this article was partly supported by tour operators, hotels, airlines and / or tourism agencies.