The Wolfgangsee in Austria is a popular diving area.

Floating as if weightless, underscored only by the soft bubbling of compressed air when you exhale. Heavy on land, the equipment becomes a pleasant companion in the water. Each moment is experienced with full awareness. So it’s no wonder that most divers become virtually addicted to this unique sensation.

The fascination of diving – it‘s a visit to another, silent world. You learn to respect nature and move around within nature without disturbing it. And you will find absolute silence under water. Added to this is the awareness of your own breathing; the concentration on yourself. When you‘re excited, you automatically breathe faster, have less oxygen available and quickly start thinking about how to get more air calmly.

Diving offers more than just a way to come down. It’s a good opportunity to reflect on interpersonal relationships. Because diving is a sport that you never practice on your own. You must be able to trust your diving partner, or “buddy”, and completely rely on each other. Soon you realize how important it is to have such a reliable partner by your side – especially under water!

When it comes to diving, many people immediately think of colorful coral reefs and exotic South Seas. But diving in a lake is no less fascinating. The Wolfgangsee (Lake Wolfgang), with the Romantik Hotel Im Weissen Rössl, is a very special place for divers. Here there are unique grottoes and caves and the rock walls of Falkenstein mountain, which slope steeply underwater, create one of the most beautiful and demanding diving sites in Austria. Compared to other mountain lakes in the region, excellent visibility prevails here throughout the year. And there is a lot to see in the Wolfgangsee.

An especially fascinating underwater world awaits divers on the western shore of the Wolfgangsee, near the Franzosenschanze. There are many trees lying here on the rocky lake bottom. Diving in this place has something of a fairytale quality, as you float through a sunken forest. With a little luck, you will also meet one of the rare inhabitants of the Wolfgangsee – the perlfisch („pearl fish“, Rutilus meidingerii). During the spawning period, the male is adorned with pearl-like bumps over its entire body – hence the name. Besides these fine specimens, you will primarily meet pike, trout or roach in the Wolfgangsee.
In total, 27 different fish species live here.

Opposite the Franzosenschanze, on the eastern shore of the lake, lies Falkenstein mountain. While hikers enjoy the view from almost 800 meters above the lake and cliff divers plunge into the lake from 23 meters high, divers will find a very special highlight here. The mountain wall also drops steeply beneath the water surface and you can go diving right along it. What makes the Falkensteinwand so popular are the many overhangs and niches beneath the surface. Unique grottoes and caves await underwater visitors, where they can dive several meters into the mountain. This incredible variety of underwater possibilities for discovery makes the Wolfgangsee one of the most beautiful and exciting diving sites in Austria.

 

Dive right on the mountain: the Falkensteinwand with its underwater caves. The Wolfgangsee is up to 114m deep.Dive right on the mountain: the Falkensteinwand with its underwater caves. The Wolfgangsee is up to 114m deep.
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