Festival

A hotel in Bad Aussee as an oasis for literature

Romantic view of the hotel "Die Wasnerin"(Bild: Tina Reiter)

Twelve years ago, the hotel "Die Wasnerin" in Bad Aussee reinvented itself as a literary hotel and has been a place of longing for book fans and authors ever since. From 26 to 28 April, the annual Literasee Festival is a highlight of the season that can also be enjoyed by non-hotel guests.

"We have a long literary tradition in Ausseerland - many writers from Hugo von Hofmannsthal to Adalbert Stifter and Friedrich Torberg have found a source of inspiration here," says hotel manager Petra Barta. Barta and her team have been actively tapping into this source since 2012: "We have decided to actively bring literature into our hotel with monthly events and the annual festival," she says. There are also reading samples of current titles in all rooms and a well-stocked hotel library.

Star authors and Nobel Prize winners in literature
180 readings and events have been held since then, providing not only guests but also the region with many literary highlights. In 2020, for example, Polish Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarcuk came to Ausseerland, the year before US star author Nell Zink came to Ausseerland, and John Burnside made a legendary appearance here in 2015.

Petra Barta, manager of the literary hotel "Die Wasnerin"(Bild: Tina Reiter)

Local literary stars such as Arno Geiger, Clemens J. Setz and Valerie Fritsch also like to make the journey to Ausseerland. Not only for readings, but also for writing retreats to which the hotel owners invite authors: "For our guests, this means that they can not only retreat to an inspiring place with a good book, but can also actively interact with the writers," explains Barta.

Literary sound experience in the Salzwelten
The annual highlight of this exchange is the Literasee Festival, which opens this year on April 26 with a reading by Valerie Fritsch and a live performance by Nicola Gold.

Star baritone Rafael Fingerlos sings at the Salzwelten Altaussee(Bild: Theresa Pewal)

The following day, a special event will take place in the afternoon at Salzwelten Altaussee: star baritone Rafael Fingerlos and accordion virtuoso Nikola Djoric will explore the relationship between words and music at the "underground literary lake". On Saturday evening, Kat Menschik, one of today's most successful and influential illustrators, who recently turned a novella by Viennese author Jaqueline Kornmüller into a Gesamtkunstwerk called "Das Haus verlassen", will be a guest.

Katrin Schumacher(Bild: Minitta Kandlbauer)

And for the finale on April 28, there will be a matinee with Katrin Schumacher, who has so far mainly attracted attention as a literary critic, but is now also appearing as an author and presenting her first novel "Liste der gebliebenen Dinge" at the "Wasnerin".

All events are not only open to hotel guests, but individual tickets are also available for 15-25 euros. You can find all information here.