Embach - an introduction

I started this blog to air impressions about life in an Austrian mountain village as seen through the eyes of an outsider; not only from abroad, but from a city. In some respects it was to record my feelings but also for friends and family to share something of my enjoyment of my “new” life – even though I have now been here for nine years.

However, it has been interesting to see where the blog is read: in Russia, India, Hungary, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Iceland, England and Ireland, Romania the USA, Australia and many more countries. Quite why and how, I know not.

So I thought it is time to properly introduce Embach to those not in the know.

Embach: early morning

The village lies in the Alps1000m above sea level on a sunny shelf 500m above the River Salzach about an hour’s drive south from the city of Salzburg. Immediately to the south are mountains rising to just under 2000m and to the north is the river valley and beyond the majestic Hochkönig mountain group almost 3000m high.

Embach is a farming village with many small family farms raising cattle by traditional methods. The village is surrounded by fields which in summer are cut for hay and fed to the cattle in the stalls in the winter. In the summer, the cattle are moved to the high alpine pastures.

There are a number of small family-run hotels and guest houses catering for winter and summer visitors who cherish the undeveloped and unspoilt rural atmosphere, enjoy great hiking and walking in the summer and the modest ski facilities in the winter.

Family ties are strong and the village has very few residents who come from outside and, according to some who have been in the village for many years, you have to be born here to be a true Embacher.

The village is set in the most beautiful countryside and even after nine years, I still gasp at the stunning scenery which surrounds us. It has become a joke among family and friends that I so often say “I can’t believe I live here” – it is as if I fear the dream will end and I will wake up back in the clamour of south-east England.

I hope you enjoy these reports and pictures – your comments would be welcomed.



Embach's Salaterhof, one of the family farms with the Bau Kogerl in the distance