Bad Ischl

Bad Ischl [baːt ˈɪʃl̩] is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the Traun River in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden Ahorn, Bad Ischl, Haiden, Jainzen, Kaltenbach, Lauffen, Lindau, Pfandl, Perneck, Reiterndorf and Rettenbach. It is connected to the village of Strobl by the river Ischl, which drains from the Wolfgangsee, and to the Traunsee, into which the stream empties. It is home to the Kaiservilla, summer residence of Austro-Hungarian monarchs Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth. In 2024, Bad Ischl will be the European Capital of Culture – the third city in Austria after Graz (2003) and Linz (2009).

Not to be confused with Ischgl.

Bad Ischl
Coat of arms
Bad Ischl
Location within Austria
Coordinates: 47°43′13″N 13°38′0″E
CountryAustria
StateUpper Austria
DistrictGmunden
Government
 • MayorHannes Heide (SPÖ)
Area
 • Total162.8 km2 (62.9 sq mi)
Elevation
468 m (1,535 ft)
Population
 (2018-01-01)[2]
 • Total14,133
 • Density87/km2 (220/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
4820
Area code06132
Vehicle registrationGM
Websitewww.bad-ischl.ooe.gv.at

History
Kaiservilla

Bad Ischl was a settlement area since the Hallstatt culture, first mentioned in a 1262 deed as Iselen. In 1419 Archduke Albert V of Austria established the local seat of the Salt Chamber (Salzkammer) at Wildenstein Castle, and Ischl was granted the privileges of a market town in 1466 by Emperor Frederick III. A first salt mine was opened in 1563, a salt evaporation pond (Saline) followed in 1571.

When in the early 19th century brine came into use for medical purposes, Ischl soon became a fashionable spa resort with notable guests like Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich and Archduke Franz Karl of Austria. The Hotel Post opened in 1828 was the first one in the whole Salzkammergut area. In 1849 Franz Karl's son, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria chose the town for his summer residence.

On 19 August 1853 the engagement between Franz Joseph and Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sisi) took place at the Seeauerhaus, Esplanade No. 10, which since 1989 has been the location of the Museum der Stadt Bad Ischl.

In 1854, the Emperor's mother, Archduchess Sophie, gave him the Kaiservilla (Imperial Villa) as a wedding present. The villa became the imperial family's summer residence; Franz Joseph described it as "Heaven on Earth".[3] He also granted a nearby mansion to mistress Katharina Schratt, that could be easily reached via a hidden footpath. In the Kaiservilla on 28 July 1914 Franz Joseph signed the declaration of war against the Kingdom of Serbia, signalling the start of World War I. He left Bad Ischl on the following day and never returned. The villa is still owned by the Habsburg-Lorraine family, although the grounds and parts of the residence are now open to the public.

Population
Bad Ischl, church in the street
Historical population
YearPop.±%
18696,827—    
18807,678+12.5%
18908,473+10.4%
19009,655+14.0%
191010,188+5.5%
192310,224+0.4%
193410,354+1.3%
193910,396+0.4%
195113,422+29.1%
196112,703−5.4%
197112,812+0.9%
198112,970+1.2%
199113,887+7.1%
200114,081+1.4%
201113,939−1.0%
201513,813−0.9%

Approximately 15% of the cities population was foreign born in 2019.

Sights
Kongress- und Theaterhaus
Lehar-Filmtheater

Besides the Kaiservilla, the city offers several health spas and tourist attractions like the historic Kongresshaus opened in 1875, the new Kurhaus built by Clemens Holzmeister in 1932 as well as the former residence of Franz Lehár, that he acquired in 1912 and today serves as a museum. The Saint Nicholas parish church was first mentioned in a 1344 deed.

Bad Ischl is also known for the Konditorei Zauner pastry shop, former k.u.k. purveyor established in 1832, and the small Lehártheater built in 1827.

A gondola lift runs from the town up to the Katrin alpine pasture at 1415 m (4643 ft), which offers a panoramic view of the Salzkammergut mountains. The ruins of Wildenstein Castle, which burnt down in 1715, are nearby.

The Bad Ischl Cemetery is listed by the State of Upper Austria as a protected historical site. Amongst those buried there are the composers Franz Lehár, Rudi Gfaller, and Oscar Straus.[4][5]

Notable people
English copper engraving Ischl, Sunday Cloathes, buying fruit, dated 1822

Twin towns
gollark: Why did you invent such PHPous software?
gollark: Oh no.
gollark: My friend's debian-running server is somehow still on nginx 1.14.2, when my up-to-date unnecessarily-compiled-from-source one is at 1.19.10 or so.
gollark: The Arch arm-none-eabi-gcc was apparently updated about 2 weeks ago, so presumably they aren't getting it from ARM themselves. So I don't see why Debian would be either. Maybe they're just hilariously outdated for no reason.
gollark: ARM publishes them? Aren't they compiled by debian themselves from something something GCC source repositories?

See also

References
  1. "Dauersiedlungsraum der Gemeinden Politischen Bezirke und Bundesländer - Gebietsstand 1.1.2018". Statistics Austria. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  2. "Einwohnerzahl 1.1.2018 nach Gemeinden mit Status, Gebietsstand 1.1.2018". Statistics Austria. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  3. "Official Kaiservilla Homepage". Archived from the original on 13 June 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2006.
  4. s.n. (2019). "Friedhof Bad Ischl". Friedhofsführer. Ischler Heimatverein. Retrieved 22 July 2019 (in German).
  5. State of Upper Austria (21 June 2016). Unbewegliche und archäologische Denkmale unter Denkmalschutz, pp. 16–17. Retrieved 22 July 2019 (in German).
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