Description of the attraction
St. Johann im Pongau is an Austrian city in the center of the federal state of Salzburg, the capital of the Pongau region. The city is home to over 10 thousand people and is the most populous city in the region. The city lies in the valley of the Salzach River.
Research shows that the first settlements in this area appeared around the second millennium BC. The first written mention of the land dates back to 1074.
During the Peasant War of 1525-26, the city was destroyed. After the expulsion of the Protestants from the Archbishopric of Salzburg, which reached its climax in 1731, 2,500 people left the city.
In the 19th century, fires raged here and almost nothing remained of the old buildings of the city. The neo-Gothic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was built in 1861 under the direction of architects Georg Schneider and Joseph Weseken. Nearby there is a chapel of St. Anne, where you can see a carved altar from the 16th century and late Gothic wooden sculptures of saints.
From 1941 until the end of World War II, a POW camp was located on the territory of Pongau. The construction of the camp was completed in the winter of 1941, it occupied an area of 8 hectares and was divided into zones (North camp, South camp). The camp housed up to 30,000 people, guarded by about 1,000 workers. Prisoners of the Western powers, for example, the French, were held in the Southern Camp, and Soviet prisoners of war were placed in the Northern Camp. There is still a "Russian cemetery", where about 3,700 people are buried. The cemetery is located on a hillside off the highway north of the B311 motorway and junction.
St. Johann im Pongau is in great demand among tourists due to its proximity to the Alps. In winter, the resort is an important tourist destination with many hotels and restaurants. In the summer, there is an opportunity to take bike rides on special routes, as well as relax on the lake.
Five kilometers south of the city, a mountain stream flows through the picturesque Lichtensteinklamm Gorge.
