Bad Hofgastein ( bar, Hofgoschdei) is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in the district of St. Johann im Pongau, in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n state of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

. The

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...

is located in the

Gastein Bad Gastein (; formerly ''Badgastein''; Southern Bavarian: ''Bod Goschdei'') is a spa town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Picturesquely situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range, it i ...

Valley, a large

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

belonging to the

Ski Amadé The Ski Amadé region of Austria is a network of 28 ski areas and towns that combined, make up the second largest ski area in Europe.largest ski domain is Dolomiti Superski It is named after the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who was born in the ...

network.

Geography

The Gastein valley is part of the

High Tauern The High Tauern ( pl.; german: Hohe Tauern, it, Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of ...

range of the

Central Eastern Alps The Central Eastern Alps (german: Zentralalpen or Zentrale Ostalpen), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (german: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacen ...

, it stretches from the broad

Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: �saltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limestone and Central ...

valley at Lend southwards up to the Alpine divide and the border with Carinthia. Bad Hofgastein is located about halfway between Dorfgastein in the north and

Bad Gastein Bad Gastein (; formerly ''Badgastein''; Southern Bavarian: ''Bod Goschdei'') is a spa town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Picturesquely situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range, it ...

in the south. It has access to the

Tauern Railway The Tauern Railway (german: Tauernbahn) is an Austrian railway line between Schwarzach- Sankt Veit in the state of Salzburg and Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia. It is part of one of the most important north-south trunk routes (''Magistrale'') in ...

line, running through the valley up to the

Tauern Railway Tunnel The Tauern Railway Tunnel (german: Tauerntunnel) in Austria is the longest tunnel of the Tauern Railway crossing the main chain of the Alps. Currently, it has a length of . The highest point of the tunnel, which is also the highest point in all of ...

. The municipal area comprises the cadastral communities of Bad Hofgastein proper, Harbach, Heißingfelding, Vorderschneeberg, and Wieden. 001 Austria ski resort - Bad Hofgastein Schlossalm Weitmoser chairlift - Gastein Skigebiet

001 Austria ski resort - Bad Hofgastein Schlossalm Weitmoser chairlift - Gastein Skigebiet

Tourism

Bad Hofgastein, together with

and Dorfgastein forms a Ski-region Gastein valley which is a part of a larger network

. The whole Gastein valley consists of 4 ski areas with a total over 200 kilometers of downhill slopes. Bad Hofgastein is located directly under the Schlossalm–Angertal–Stubnerkogel ski area. Significant investments have been made in the Gastein valley's ski-system over the past few years. In the last three years alone €45 million have been spent on new lifts and piste improvements. The 2008 / 09 saw the opening of the Senderbahn lift (new 8-seater cabin lift from Angertal to Stubnerkogel). The 2009 / 10 season witnessed the opening of the new Stubnerkogelbahn (8-seater cabin lift in two sections from Bad Gastein to the Stubnerkogel summit) as well as the GipfelXpress (new 6-seater lift) in Dorfgastein. In addition to the ongoing investments a new Schlossalmbahn lift has been in operation since 2018. The new lift connects downtown Bad Hofgastein (in direct vicinity of the Alpentherme) to the Schlossalm summit. Bad Hofgastein has a large number of luxury hotels, the largest of which is the five star Grand Park Hotel. Additionally the 4 plus star Hotel Österreichischer Hof and Hotel Bismarck have recently undergone renovations / refurbishments. The town’s main square is the focal point of the town, often the site of live music bands. Bad Hofgastein is generally more frequented by Austrians, as well as a large number of Russian and Italian visitors, and has successfully maintained its image / standing next to the ups and downs of its neighbor Bad Gastein (which now once again is receiving vast investments aimed at restoring the former glory days of Archduke Ferdinand).

Politics

As of 2014 local elections, the political parties represented in the Bad Hofgastein municipal council (''Gemeinderat'') are: * Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 10 seats * Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 9 seats *

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Aus ...

(FPÖ): 3 seats * Gemeinsam für Bad Hofgastein (GfBH): 3 seats

Notable people

Franz Hofer Franz Hofer (November 27, 1902 – February 18, 1975) was, in the time of the Third Reich, the Nazi Gauleiter of the Tyrol and Vorarlberg. As the Nazi party chief for the Tirol/Vorarlberg province he was the most powerful figure in the regi ...

(1902–1975), Nazi Gauleiter * Johann Grugger (born 1981), alpine skier

Notes and references

External links

Municipal website
{{authority control Cities and towns in St. Johann im Pongau District Ankogel Group Goldberg Group Spa towns in Austria