MUSIC, CULTURE AND CUSTOMS IN SAALFELDEN LEOGANG IN SUMMER

It's all about the right mix: the Saalfelden Leogang region stands for a wonderful variety of nature, music, culture and adventure. This summer is no exception! The most diverse environment in the Alps offers a music and cultural programme rich in variety: the Jazzfestival Saalfelden, ALM:KULTUR, and the TONspur concerts are the epitome of fabulous listening pleasure. There are also numerous theatre and concert performances at the Kunsthaus Nexus. Annual traditional events such as the summer solstice and the Bauernherbst harvest festival are also not to be missed! 

 

Music Summer: The Jazzfestival Saalfelden, "TONspuren at the Asitz" and ALM:KULTUR
In Saalfelden Leogang, the hills will be alive with the sound of music in summer: The 44th Jazzfestival Saalfelden will take place this year from 22-25 August 2024. During this time, international and national jazz musicians will perform at over 60 concerts in the city and in the mountains. Best of all, half of them free of charge! There are also musical hikes, as well as concerts on the mountain, in the forest and around the lake. 
Every Friday between 12 July and 6 September 2024, hikers get to meet artists and other creatives at the mountain huts, where tradition meets modern life. This extraordinary event series called "ALM:KULTUR" includes free concerts and workshops of all kinds to join in. Registration is not necessary.
On five Thursdays between 27 June and 8 August 2024, bands and solo artists from various genres will be performing for the “TONspuren at the Asitz” series. When the weather is good, you can enjoy the concerts with a picturesque sunset on the outdoor stage. When the weather is sub-optimal, you are invited to the AsitzBräu. If you miss out on these concerts, you can also listen to the music later and in other places: As of 2020, there is a hiking trail on the Asitz with five TONspur islands (listening stations) where you can listen to live recordings of the TONspur concerts from the previous year and relax.

 

Kunsthaus Nexus: concerts, cinema and theatre 
Once again, the Kunsthaus Nexus will put on a colourful cultural programme this year, making it a key component of the Pinzgau arts and cultural scene. The programme is featuring plenty of concerts, a “Gschnagga” theatre for kids, an art-house cinema and numerous literary lectures and cabarets. 

 

Theater for young and old
This year, Theater ecce – an independent group of theatre professionals from Salzburg – is putting on three fantastic productions in Saalfelden Leogang. From 14 May to 11 June 2024, the "Volxtheaterwerkstatt Saalfelden" will take place on five Tuesdays. "Mio mein Mio," based on Astrid Lindgren, will be performed at the circus tent from 17-31 October 2024.

 

The FREIRAUM cultural association: an art hiking trail with heavenly views and chamber music in the valley
The FREIRAUM cultural association and the Leoganger Bergbahnen cable car company support traditional and new culture in the area and give artists an opportunity to practise their art. One such project is the Hiking Trail of Arts on the Asitz, which is redesigned every year. The start of this beautiful forest trail to the ‘senses park’ at the Asitzbahn middle station begins below the Asitzbahn mountain station. Works by the artist and photographer Toni Niederwieser are positioned every 30 to 40 metres. Artworks under the title "BERG.SPIEL" will be on display from 16 June 2024 until mid-October. Additional highlights presented by the FREIRAUM cultural association include the "Conny und die Sonntagsfahrer" concert on 03 August 2024 at the leisure complex at Sonnrain, a reading with Charly Rabanser on 20 Sept. 2024 and Kammermusik in Hütten (chamber music in huts) at the Mining and Gothic Museum in Leogang from 8-10 Nov. 2024. 

 

Travel through time in museums: The Mining and Gothic Museum, Leogang show mine and Schloss Ritzen castle 
The Mining and Gothic Museum in Leogang is a special destination worth a visit. The exhibition provides an insight into the heyday of mining in Leogang. The museum also exhibits sacred art, such as the "Beautiful Madonna," a Gothic statue of a saint from 1410. This year's special exhibition "Rotes Gold - Das Wunder von Herrengrund (Red Gold - The Miracle of Herrengrund)" was organised in collaboration with the Green Vault Museum in Dresden and the Slovakian National Gallery in Bratislava and is dedicated to historical mining treasures from the Slovakian Ore Mountains.
If you want to delve even deeper into the footsteps of the ancient miners, you should visit the Leogang show mine. A guide will lead you through the narrow tunnels of an extensive mine. A mine railway that once carried both miners and mined treasures now offers younger visitors the opportunity to better get to know the mine by means of an artificial gallery. Guided tours of the showmine are offered from May to October. Sturdy footwear and warm clothing are required.
The Schloss Ritzen castle in Saalfelden is another must-see museum, which houses Austria's largest and most important collection of nativity scenes and sacred treasures. In addition to the baroque church nativity scene, there is also a large oriental nativity scene and the Saalfelden nativity scene by the famous nativity scene builder Alexander "Xandi" Schläffer.

 

Summer solstice: A mystical Alpine spectacle featuring mountain fires
Mountain bonfires at the summer solstice in June are an ancient tradition dating back to the 12th century. The fires on the Pinzgau mountains on 22 June 2024 are believed to ward away evil spirits and bring growth and fertility to both fields and meadows. In the evening the contours of the Leoganger Steinberge mountain range and the Steinernes Meer plateau will be ignited to reveal impressive symbols and shapes on the mountains. 

 

Delicious Bauernherbst harvest festival: ranging from traditional craftsmanship to stretch dirndls
This is the golden time of the year when Saalfelden Leogang celebrates its Bauernherbst harvest festival with various events. During this time, the focus is on tradition, customs, ancient crafts and delicious food. Guests have the opportunity to better get to know traditional rural life with handicraft demonstrations, hikes, cooking courses, harvest festivals, traditional cattle parades and traditional events. 
Keen to wear the right outfit for every traditional occasion? Then you should visit the small traditional costume workshop in Saalfelden. Dirndls are handmade here by Regina Wienerroither, a seamstress who has been working at the workshop for more than 30 years. She is also the inventor of the Stretch Dirndl, a unique dirndl made from fabrics with a stretchable component made from Loden felt, linen and printed cotton.

 

Saalfeldener Holzmusi: traditional music from wooden instruments shaped like animals and mythical creatures
The “Saalfeldener Holzmusi," which perform at traditional festivals and weddings, are a special musical experience. Here musical instruments exclusively made from wood are played, which represent mythical creatures and animals. The musicians perform, for example, with wooden instruments shaped like snakes or dragons. The performers are dressed in leather knee breeches with light blue socks, a red waistcoat and a black hat complete with red and white feathers. The artists play traditional folk music and do not need sheet music. 
 

 

Event highlights in summer 2024: 
22 June Mountain Solstice and Midsummer Festival 
16 June Opening of the Hiking Trail of Arts at Asitz           
27 June to 8 August “TONspuren” at Asitz  
12 July to 6 September ALM:KULTUR in Saalfelden Leogang
22 to 25 August 44th Jazzfestival Saalfelden