Stories
There is always something going on here
Holidays write the loveliest stories
To Tamsweg and back.
Lungau lifestyle at its finest.
It is so close. Just a 15-minute walk from Lerchpeuntgut to Tamsweg. We simply want to drift along. Soon we reach the central market square with the town hall and its colourful houses. Every year during the alpine summer, one of the traditional Lungau Samson processions takes place here. Wooden figures up to 6.5 metres tall are carried through the streets, symbolising the Old Testament figure of Samson with his superhuman strength.
But first we stop for a bite, right on the market square at the Gambswirt. The hotel-restaurant offers fine cuisine for discerning palates – regional and international. We let ourselves be spoilt and then, well fortified, stroll on. After all, we still want to do some shopping. At the Coop shopping centre we find everything: fashion, sports and culinary delights.
And then? The pilgrimage church of St Leonhard above Tamsweg is said to be well worth a visit. We climb up along the pilgrims’ path on the slopes of the Schwarzenberg. There it lies, idyllic – a Gothic gem with a splendid view. The high altar, the votive tablets and the light-flooded stained-glass windows genuinely impress us.
Coming here was a good idea. But now we are drawn back home to our Lerchpeuntgut. A swim in the pond, a glass of wine on the sun loungers – an all-round perfect day.
Culinary delights
The Gambswirt in Tamsweg
A house full of tradition, hospitality and warmth – that is the Gambswirt in the Salzburger Lungau. Carefully nurtured tradition since 1949, a family atmosphere, alpine elegance and Austrian cosiness. Now in its third generation, Hermann Maier jun. runs the business with heart and soul. He and his team strive to spoil every guest most warmly, day after day. The refined restaurant kitchen invites you on a culinary journey. Discover the menu, offering everything from regional home cooking and seasonal specialities to international epicurean delights.
More at gambswirt.at
The Prangstangen
Living tradition.
The Prangstangen processions are surely among the most beautiful and colourful experiences in the Lungau’s calendar of customs. The tradition of carrying the Prangstangen is celebrated in two Lungau villages – in Zederhaus (on 24 June, St John’s Day) and in Muhr (on 29 June, Saints Peter & Paul). In painstaking handwork, blossoms previously picked on summer and alpine meadows are bound into long garlands. Up to 60,000 different summer flowers are wound around the imposing poles, 6 to 8 metres tall and weighing up to 85 kg. On the feast day, the magnificent poles are carried by unmarried young men in a ceremonial procession through the village and then into the church, where they remain until Assumption Day (15 August) as a symbol of life. After 15 August (the blessing of the herbs), the flowers are removed and used for smoking rituals in winter. According to tradition, this custom goes back to a plague of locusts that destroyed all vegetation except the oxeye daisy. In their distress, the farmers of the region vowed to God to bind such flower poles every year in order to be spared such natural disasters in the future.
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Nature to dive into
Enjoying the Prebersee.
Today we want to hike – nice and leisurely. At 1,514 metres above sea level it awaits us – the Prebersee. Beautifully bathed in sunshine, surrounded by moorland and forest. We walk the short loop and find blueberries and mushrooms. The children are thrilled –
Medieval flair, then and now.
Moosham Castle
Lerchpeuntgut with a difference: clouds and a little rain. Somehow that is fine too. Back to bed? Into the cosy beds, onto the comfortable sofa? A rest day with a good book. That has its charms. Especially within your own four walls. Or an outing after all? Visit a castle, a museum.
Just like in the Emperor’s day
The Murtalbahn
Today we are going nostalgic. Properly! We are riding the Murtalbahn. And this is no ordinary regional express. No, this is a narrow-gauge railway from 1894. Wow – the children think it is super cool. At Tamsweg station we board the ancient carriages with their imperial flair.
The mill goes clickety-clack…
Zederhaus mill trail
Today we are making things clatter! On the Zederhaus mill trail. We are more than curious as we begin our roughly 1.5-hour circular walk in the centre of Zederhaus. Along the village stream we come to several historic mills, old farmsteads and grain stores.