Radstadt

Radstadt stands on a terrace above the Enns river in the Ennspongau, where the broad valley of the Enns meets the road that climbs south over the Radstädter Tauern pass toward Carinthia. To the north rises the limestone wall of the Dachstein, and to the south the rounded, grassy summits of the Radstädter Tauern. The town has around 5,000 inhabitants and a population of visitors that peaks in winter.

The history of the town is tied to its position. A Roman road crossed the Tauern pass here, and in the Middle Ages the Archbishops of Salzburg founded Radstadt, around 1289, as a fortified market town at the gateway to the Pongau. It was walled, with towers and a moat, and these defences were tested in 1525, when peasants and miners, in the Peasants' War, laid siege to the town for weeks. The townspeople held out, and the defence is a point of local pride.

Most of the town walls survive, which makes Radstadt unusual in Austria. The rectangular layout of the old town, with its main street, the Stadtplatz, a long and well-proportioned square, and its gates and corner towers, is easy to read. A walk along the old wall, on a path that follows its inner or outer side, gives views of the roofs and the mountains, and it is the best way to see the fortifications. The Rathaus, the Town Hall, with a stepped gable, and the Stadtpfarrkirche, the large parish church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, with a Gothic structure and later changes, are the main buildings on the square.

The town museum, in a former granary, presents the history of the region, including the Peasants' War, the Tauern road and crafts. Museum opening dates vary, so ask the tourist office.

Winter sports are a major draw. Radstadt belongs to the Ski amadé network, one of the largest in Austria, with more than 760 kilometres of pistes in several linked areas, and local slopes at Radstadt-Altenmarkt are suited to families and intermediates. Snowshoe walks, cross-country trails and toboggan runs are also popular. A shop-lined market district in the old town sells ski equipment and local goods, as the name of the winter market suggests.

In summer, the landscape changes. The Radstädter Tauern offer hiking through alpine meadows, to lakes and huts, and the Tauern cycling route and mountain bike routes pass through the valley. The Dachstein side offers more dramatic walking and climbing. The Enns itself is used for walking and cycling. A few kilometres away at Altenmarkt, the Erlebnis-Therme Amadé has indoor and outdoor pools and saunas, a relaxing counterpoint to an active day.

The local table features hearty regional dishes such as Wiener Schnitzel, Kasnocken, cheese dumplings with fried onions, game and trout, along with Apfelstrudel and cakes. Farms in the valley sell cheese and bacon.

The best time to visit is from December to March for skiing and from June to September for hiking, with October clear and quiet. Spring is the quiet season.

Getting there is easy. Radstadt lies on the A10 Tauern motorway and has a railway station on the Ennstal line, with trains from Salzburg in about an hour and a half and from Graz in about two and a half hours. Salzburg is about an hour by car, Vienna about three and a half, and the Carinthian border is a short drive south through the Tauern tunnel. Local buses and ski buses serve the valley.