MY HOMETOWN

 

Time to talk about my hometown. I originally come from a little market town in Salzburg, Austria. After finishing school in June 2014, I moved to Graz in order to study Transcultural Communication at the University.

Tamsweg is the largest town of the Salzburg Lungau region and located near the border with Styria. As all Austrians know (or should know), the state Salzburg is devided into five different regions. These regions are called Flachgau, Tennengau, Pinzgau, Pongau and last but not least, Lungau. Tamsweg is situated on the southern slope of the Schladminger Tauern, a mountain range within the Central Eastern Alps. Around my hometown, there are many ski resorts that attract tourists from the Netherlands and other countries near Austria. Not only tourists come there in winter to spend some time in the mountains, also the inhabitants enjoy the fresh mountain air and do some winter sports.

Like most of the kids who are brought up on the countryside, I learned how to ski when I was about three years. Over the years I improved my technique and got better and better. I enjoyed going skiing with my family and later on with friends, but it was never kind of a passion. The reason why I learned how to ski was because it´s like a tradition on the countryside. Nearly everybody does it and most people spend the whole winter with skiing. About two years ago I stopped practising it. I don´t know if I go on the piste once again, but if, I hope that I am still able to ski! ;)

I lived in Tamsweg since I was born there. My father was also born there, went to school and now works there (for some time, he lived in Graz but then went back.). My mother is Dutch and moved to Tamsweg about 20 years ago. She grew up in Vienna. Since she was very little, she always spent her holidays in the Netherlands where she originally comes from. Her relatives are from Groningen, a province in the north of the Netherlands. My family and I often spend our holidays there as my mother did it when she was young.

Now, something about special places and sights worthwhile visiting in my hometown. One reason, apart from the ski resorts, tourists come to Tamsweg in order to see the Wallfahrtskirche St. Leonhard, a Roman Catholic church. This historic building is located on the foot of a mountain, called ”Schwarzenberg”. When you are standing in front of or near the church, you can enjoy a fantastic view over Tamsweg.

 

Another attraction is the “Prebersee”, a beautiful lake on the foot of the mountain “Preber”, which is the highest mountain in the region. The water is extremely cold, about 17 degrees Celsius in summer. It´s that cold because of its location in 1500 meter height. My friends and I though love spending hot summer days there and taking a dip in the icy water. We also use to swim from one side of the lake to the other, since it is not very large (about 350 meters long). Large parts of the area around the lake are under nature protection. Specific types of plants and animals are living there.

Ever heard about the “Vereinigten zu Tamsweg”? That’s a World Heritage Site and nowhere existing apart from Tamsweg. The “Vereinigten zu Tamsweg” are a brotherhood that brings together all members in order to strengthen the community and honour God. Every three years a huge procession takes place with many people taking part. Within this procession a new leader of the brotherhood gets elected. All members wear special costumes and then celebrate the new leader. People from everywhere are coming (not only the inhabitants of Tamsweg) in order to watch this spectacle. There is also a television broadcast. The next procession takes place in 2017. Watch it if you like! ;)

Of course there are countless other things you can do and visit in my hometown. I picked out the most specific ones to give you an insight. Hope you enjoyed reading this blog entry!