Retracing the past

Cult sites become monasteries

Smoke hangs over the dark green Traunsee. A monastery is on fire. The idyllic setting on Traunsee turns into a place of destruction. In 950 AD, plundering Hungarians devastate the old Benedictine monastery – Traunsee Abbey or Abbacia Trunseo – in Altmünster.

Proof of the early existence of the monastery is the deed of gift of King Louis IV from 909 AD. Trunseo Monastery, with all its estates and rights, is handed over to Bishop Pilgrim of Salzburg and a certain Count Aribo for life.

In 1973, during renovation of the parish church, archaeologists discover the brick foundations of an early Romanesque church, a cemetery and the foundations of monastic cells at Hagenfeld.

But the Benedictines return. Not to Altmünster, but to the neighbouring town of Traunkirchen. Here, in around 1020, the first nunnery in today's Upper Austria is founded. When Traunkirchen Nunnery is established, Traunsee Abbey in Altmünster must still be in the people’s memory, as there are documents that refer to the property. It is assumed, however, that there was already a monastery, Trunseo, at the ancient cult site of Johannesberg in around 900 AD. This is substantiated by two celebrations, a 900th anniversary celebration in the 16th century and a 1000th anniversary celebration in the 17th century. But apart from that, this is where the historical trail ends.

From the Middle Ages, both places flourish and are closely connected. They are located on the transport route for salt, which is mined in Hallstatt and other places. In addition, they are suppliers of the firewood used for salt extraction, for firing up the brine pans in the salt works. Through the construction of transport ships, salt barrels and ther salt trade, Altmünster, but especially the nunnery in Traunkirchen, well equipped with the land and rights of the no longer existing monastery in Altmünster, achieves considerable prosperity.

In the 16th century, Protestantism spreads in Salzkammergut. Until the beginning of the Counter-Reformation under Emperor Rudolf II, the Protestant Church develops undisturbed. It is not only farmers and commoners who switch to the new doctrine. The Benedictine nuns of Traunkirchen Nunnery are also Protestant-minded from early on. This leads to the decline of the nunnery at the end of the 16th century, when the Protestants do away with monasteries in their domain and also take over the salt trade in the region. This is a hard blow to the emperor and to the Catholic Church which cannot be tolerated. The Counter-Reformation, or re-Catholicisation, begins, accompanied by peasant uprisings, which have not only religious but also social causes.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Jesuits play a leading role in re-Catholicisation. Following a fire in the old nunnery, a magnificent Baroque church is built, which has been preserved unaltered to this day. The Jesuits finance the enormous costs of the Baroque buildings with the salt trade, which they have brought back under their control. But the Counter-Reformation shows little success. For two centuries, secret Protestantism prevails. It is only ostensibly that the Protestants comply, in private they continue to read Luther's Bible.

At the end of the 18th century, the Counter-Reformation finally fails with the Edict of Tolerance of Emperor Joseph II. From then on, the free practice of religion by previously discriminated religious minorities is permitted.

In the mid-19th century, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution with new means of transport, such as railway, leads to the end of the local salt trade. During this time, the towns are forgotten. But as early as the mid-19th century, tourism begins to boom, starting with Bad Ischl. The entire Salzkammergut benefits from the imperial spa town. The nobility and wealthy citizens have castles and summer villas built on the Salzkammergut lakes, including the idyllic Traunsee. Hotels, inns and villas spring up like mushrooms. The scenery of the old nunnery, charming Traunkirchen and Altmünster, the jutting peninsula with limestone rock of Johannesberg and the beautiful lakeshore make Traunsee one of the most popular bathing and holiday resorts in Salzkammergut, then and now.

But it is not only in the last thousand years that the area around Traunsee has been in constant flux. The Romans once subjugated the resident Celts. In Altmünster, in addition to a Roman tombstone walled up in the cathedral, there are also the foundations of a Roman villa.

The Celts’ settlement is verified by an extraordinarily beautiful find from the Hallstatt graves of Traunkirchen. It comprises bronze rings with rich decoration. They are proof that the history of Traunsee goes back a long way. A history in which Celts and Romans, Protestants and Catholics as well as modern tourism have left their mark.