Pilgrim walks in City of Salzburg

Start: City of Salzburg, Cathedral                                Destination: St. Leonhard near Tamsweg 142 km, 5 or 6 days recommended total ascent 3,963 meters, total descent 3,281 meters

Shady hiking path on Freisalweg with a view of Untersberg, past Schloss Hellbrunn to Grödig

On this first Alpine stage, the lovely/beautiful landscape and the culturally rich towns with their proud past amaze us. We pass the scenic pilgrimage basilica Maria Plain, the magnificent buildings of the monastery town Salzburg, and spend the night in the pilgrimage site Großgmain. A variant is the route from Marzoll to the salt town Bad Reichenhall, with its numerous churches.

A relatively well-signed tour (Way of St. James) away from the main traffic routes, lined with well-maintained farmhouses and agricultural structures. The route runs almost exclusively on paved and little-used side roads.

The Salzburg Way of St. James leads through the Salzburg Lake District to the festival city of Salzburg. It continues via Großgmain, Bad Reichenhall (small German corner), Unken, and Lofer to the Tyrolean border, where it connects to the Tyrolean Way of St. James. Highlights along the way include the pilgrimage basilica in Maria Plain above the city of Salzburg (Bergheim), Großgmain with the oldest Marian pilgrimage church in Salzburg, and the detour to the pilgrimage church Maria Kirchental near St. Martin near Lofer. Additionally, the Hager Jacob's Chapel and the St. James churches in Obertrum am See, Gois, and Unken are fixed points for pilgrims on the Way of St. James. Furthermore, the enchanting landscape and cultural diversity invite you to marvel, pause, and enjoy. The starting point of the approximately 100-kilometer-long route of the Salzburg Way of St. James is Oberhofen am Irrsee, a border town between Upper Austria and Salzburg, which is also easily accessible by train. The section between Großgmain, Bad Reichenhall, Unken, and Lofer is considered one of the most beautiful stages of the Austrian Way of St. James.

Start: City of Salzburg, Cathedral                                Destination: St. Leonhard near Tamsweg 140 km,  5 or 6 days recommended        Total ascent 3,956 meters, total descent 3,276 meters Starting from Salzburg Cathedral to the Leonhard Church in Tamsweg, this route combines cultural studies with tradition: not only does the changing landscape inspire the pilgrims, but also the variety and history of the art monuments visited along the way, which were at the same time monuments of faith in their respective times of origin.