Gosau is a municipality in the district of

Gmunden Gmunden () is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden (district), Gmunden. It has 13,204 inhabitants (estimates 2016 ). It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of lake, brine, vegetable and pine-c ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

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 ...

Location

Gosau is situated along the Gosaubach stream in the

Salzkammergut The Salzkammergut (; ; bar, Soizkaumaguad, label=Central Austro-Bavarian) is a resort area in Austria, stretching from the city of Salzburg eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mounta ...

region. The center of the town is at an elevation of 767m (2,516'). 58.9% of the municipality is forested. At the southern end of Gosau there is a road leading to the Vorderer Gosausee, a lake with a view of the

Dachstein Hoher Dachstein () is a strongly karstic mountain in central Austria and the second-highest mountain in the Northern Limestone Alps. It is situated at the border of Upper Austria and Styria, and is the highest point in each of those states. Pa ...

. Gosau is one of the few

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

communities in Austria, with about 71% of the population being Lutheran.

History

The valley around Gosau was settled in the 13th century by monks from St. Peter's Abbey in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

. Timber production for the salt mine in

Hallstatt Hallstatt ( , , ) is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut ...

was a major industry. In 1490 the town became part of the Principality above the Enns River. The area was repeatedly occupied by the French during the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. When the Republic of Austria was formed in 1918, Gosau became part of the federal state of Upper Austria. In 1938 the area was annexed by the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...

along with the rest of Austria, and Gosau became part of the "Gau Oberdonau," returning to Upper Austria when the Republic of Austria was reconstituted in 1945.

Economy

In the past timber production and salt mining in neighboring Hallstatt were the major industries in Gosau. Today, tourism is the main source of income, although raising livestock, mainly cattle, is also an important economic activity.

Politics

Gosau is governed by a 19-member council and Mayor Markus Schmaranzer of the

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is currentl ...

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Notable people

* Gerhard Egger Mostrocker (born 1949), songwriter, composer, author and Alpenrockpioneer

References

Dachstein Mountains Cities and towns in Gmunden District {{UpperAustria-geo-stub