Laudachsee

Lake Laudachsee lies in the Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria, cradled between the Grünberg and Traunstein peaks. It sits at the bottom of a hollow carved by an old glacier, dammed by ridges of rock left by the ice. The lake is small—about 400 metres across—and fed by a stream from the Katzenstein and underground channels from the moor to the south. Water leaves by the River Laudach on the north-east shore. The lake freezes quickly in winter because it is shaded by the mountains and lies in a fog-free zone. When the ice breaks up late in spring, the water warms fast enough for swimming in summer. A path from the Grünberg cable car’s mountain station reaches the lake in about an hour. From there walkers can climb to the Traunstein or Katzenstein, or follow a longer loop around the Traunstein past the Ramsauer Alm inn. Local legend tells of the giant Erla and the mermaid of Lake Laudachsee. Erla met the mermaid behind the Traunstein and promised to return each day. To keep her close, he built Ort Castle on an island in the Traunsee by hurling stones from the mountain. After they were changed into human form, the mermaid pined for her old life and faded away, leaving Erla to vanish up the Traunstein.