Lake more popular than ever

Public bathing area has no parking lot

Only a few car parking spaces remain on the southern shore of Lake Höllerersee.(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

The Höllerersee lake in the border area between the municipalities of St. Pantaleon and Haigermoos is busier than ever. However, the many visitors looking to cool off are in for a nasty surprise. Cars are no longer allowed to be parked on the meadow that has been used as a parking lot for many years.

Lake Höllerersee in the border area between the municipalities of St. Pantaleon and Haigermoos is considered one of the warmest lakes in Austria. However, it is currently particularly hot on the southern shore of the approximately 780-metre-long and maximum 27-metre-deep moorland lake. It's not just the temperatures that are causing a huge rush of bathers. In neighboring Salzburg, the already small number of public bathing areas has shrunk even further. After more than 35 years, the Thalgauerspitz on the north-western shore of Lake Fuschl has been closed.

There are only a few parking spaces left for cars at Höllerersee.(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

As a result, even more people are now looking to cool off in the Höllerersee. There they get a nasty surprise. On the southern shore (municipality of St. Pantelon), parking is no longer permitted on a grassy area. Anyone who parks their car anyway runs the risk of being towed away.

The new parking situation annoys many bathers.(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

Mayor David Valentin and landowner Herbert Huemer are passing the buck to each other. Huemer: "I have made my meadow available to bathers free of charge for ten years. I have been put off again and again by the municipality in my longstanding demand for a joint solution. Most recently, I was prohibited from building a small kiosk four meters long and wide."

Concerns about public access to the lake
Valentin counters: "For us, only a long-term solution with a few adaptations is an option." Valentin does not believe that the public bathing area could be lost after the disagreements. "I assume that it will stay."