Salzburger Land

Kum gach uma to the Harvest Festival

Preparations for the Salzburg Harvest Festival are in full swing. Even the Schnalzer with their whips are ready - like here in Maria Alm.

(Bild: © SalzburgerLand Tourismus)

The fifth season of the year is a busy one in Salzburger Land. When the farmers open their gates, the time of festivities and coziness begins. 

The smell of freshly baked bread fills the air. Heidi Huber, one of around 30 seminar farmers in Salzburger Land, invites you to the table. "I made this quickly in the morning," smiles the 47-year-old, who runs the Mühlhof herb and gourmet farm in Bad Hofgastein in Pongau with her husband and three children. The breakfast table is set, and really everything on it is home-made, with Heidi sourcing the ingredients from the farm and the surrounding meadows.

Regional delicacies at Heidi Huber's Mühlhof farm in Bad Hofgastein.

(Bild: KTVB Hofgastein; Manuel Marktl/Marktl Photography)

The milk for the cream cheese balls, curd cheese spreads, butter and tangy cheese comes from the cows that are still grazing on the lush Alpine pastures, while the fruit for the jam comes from the garden. Just like the herbs that colorfully adorn the heavenly cheese balls or can be found in the salt. The trained herbalist collects the lavender or golden balm for her juices in her beds or in the surrounding area. She also enjoys taking guests on one of her herb walks or culinary farm hikes during the Bauernherbst.

The farmers' autumn arrives
When the heat of summer slowly draws to a close, autumn announces itself and the harvest is in, then it's time for the farmers of Salzburger Land to swap work for a bit of coziness. The farmers' autumn, the 5th season, is just around the corner and the farmers celebrate and open their gates. Anyone who wants to is cordially invited: It's a time of festivals, encounters and enjoyment, and an opportunity to get to know traditional farming life at Alpine cattle drives, folklore evenings, village and farm festivals, craft demonstrations, cookery courses and harvest festivals.

INFO

Under the motto "Tracht & Gwand", 76 villages celebrate the 29th Salzburg Harvest Festival with 2000 events from 24. 8. to 31. 10. 2024. All information on festivals, demonstrations, courses and much more at

• www.bauernherbst.com
• www.salzburgerland.com

Gastein Valley Tourism:

• www.gastein.com

TIP

• Herb & pleasure farm Mühlhof family Huber:
  www.muehlhof.at
• Bake Blattlkrapfen at the Steiner Hochalm in Dorfgastein: [phone]
• Overnight stay: Berghotel Hauserbauer, Dorfgastein:
  www.haus erbauer.com

From the opening in Rauris on August 24 to October 31, the focus is on the region's traditions and customs. "Around 2000 events in 76 locations are on the program this year at the 29th Salzburg Harvest Festival," says Eveline Bimminger, project manager of the Salzburg Harvest Festival.

Stroll from farm to farm
Getting to know the different farms and their regional specialties is the motto: that's why we set off with Heidi to the Durzbauer distillery. "You can also learn how to bake bread with me," she chats. Even at an altitude of less than 1,000 meters, it's easy to get to know each other in Salzburger Land. And this is not only due to the finest brandies that can be tasted at the Durzbauer distillery on the Wallner family farm.

Numerous events and festivals celebrate farming traditions.

(Bild: Atelier Gerhard Wolkersdorfer Bad Hofgastein Fotografenmeisterbetrieb www.traumbild.at)

Schnapps has been distilled here on the farm since 1850, and Hans Wallner has been at work with high-proof success since 1993. The awards on the walls of the show distillery bear witness to this. His daughter and brandy sommelier Vroni is now also allowed to work at the copper kettle. Rum meets caramel with a hint of orange.

In the Gastein Valley, too, the farm doors are open and the tables are set for the Salzburger Bauernherbst.

(Bild: KTVB Hofgastein; Manuel Marktl/Marktl Photography)

In the Gastein Valley, too, the Harvest Festival pays homage to the region's roots. Alpine cattle drives naturally attract guests. In Nassfeldertal, known as Sportgastein, more than 1000 sheep are driven off their summer pastures during the sheep drive. A special highlight is the miners' sword dance in honor of the Gastein miners in the Altböckstein mining settlement in September.

From gold mining to health
"In the 16th century, Gastein was the gold mining center of Europe. The whole valley - and of course the Salzburg archbishops - lived from mining in the Middle Ages, with up to 3,000 miners coming to us," explains archivist and guide Elisabeth Pohl at the Altböckstein Mining Museum. She also meticulously looks after the preservation of the Ullmannlehen farm, one of the oldest farms in the Eastern Alps.

One of the oldest farms in the Eastern Alps: Ullmannlehen.

(Bild: Gasteinertal Tourismus GmbH)

A cast iron fountain stands in the middle of the square in the center of Böckstein - probably the oldest in Europe. Emperor Franz Joseph I had it delivered here from the Paris World Exhibition in 1878. The emperor once officially allowed the squires to carry swords. An honor that no other professional group was granted, and a long-forgotten tradition that was revived in the late 1970s.

The attempt to reactivate mining at the beginning of the Second World War failed - but the healing effect of the tunnel was discovered. Today, the Gastein Healing Gallery is located in the heart of the Radhausberg and offers a modern treatment concept for patients. The spa activities in the Gastein Valley also include the waterfall, which has a deafening and soothing effect in the middle of Bad Gastein, and numerous springs of thermal water, which are fed into the spa hotels and bathing establishments. The waterfall also shaped the historic townscape: it was built into the rocks around it.

But we are drawn up into the mountains. The Stubnerkogel is calling, the weather has changed, the fog is lifting and nothing stands in the way of the view of the Hohe Tauern.