Program
Gustav Mahler Festival & Sights
Worth hearing & worth seeing
Steinbach am Attersee
under the sign of culture
Here we have compiled tips for events related to Gustav Mahler, Gustav Klimt and Friedrich Gulda, as well as for cultural attractions.
10th GUSTAV MAHLER FESTIVAL
June 21 to 28, 2025
Mahler's Universe: The 3rd Symphony
Gustav Mahler understood his role as a composer in an extraordinary way.
For him, composing was nothing less than a profound creative act. Convinced that creative genius grants the artist a privileged perspective on existence, Mahler felt obligated to grapple with the great questions of life and death, as well as the human struggle for meaning.
"A symphony must be like the world; it must contain everything." (Gustav Mahler)
The Third Symphony, composed almost entirely in the summers of 1895 and 1886 in Steinbach am Attersee, undoubtedly fulfills this task, presenting the entirety of existence in a stepwise hierarchy of being – from the awakening of life through plants, animals, and humans to the pinnacle of the universe in the love of God. As such, the work bears witness to how Mahler viewed the physical and spiritual world and thus offers the opportunity to explore the composer's worldview and philosophy of life.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Gustav Mahler Festival Steinbach and 130 years after the completion of Mahler's Third Symphony, the festival in 2026 will dedicate an extended festival week entirely to the composer's sound cosmos – in diverse perspectives on nature, man and music.
Our tip:
MAHLER FESTIVAL PASS
All events of the Gustav Mahler Festival Steinbach
Book with a price advantage
More information about the Gustav Mahler Festival can be found at [website address]. www.mahler-steinbach.at
Philharmonic Concerts Steinbach am Attersee
Exquisite music in a sacred space.
Great composers and artists such as Gustav Mahler, Friedrich Gulda or Gustav Klimt found a source of inspiration here at Lake Attersee in the summer.
ThePhilharmonic concerts in Steinbach am Atterseeare arenowned concert series, which has been taking place in the picturesque surroundings of Steinbach am Attersee in Upper Austria for over 25 years.
Every year, under the artistic direction of Professor Peter Wächter, the following artists are guests: Members of the Vienna Philharmonic, who offer a four-part concert program of the highest standard here in the parish church of St. Andrew during the summer months of July and August.
More information and tickets here
Things to see
Gustav Mahler
Composing cottage
SEEFELD I Free of charge
Gustav Mahler lived at the Gasthof zum Höllengebirge in Steinbach am Attersee from 1893 to 1896 and composed his 2nd and 3rd symphonies there. To be able to work completely undisturbed, he had a composing hut built on the lakeshore, which can still be visited today.
MAHLER MOSAIC
VILLAGE CENTER I Free
Visit the Mahler mosaic, designed by Christian Ludwig Attersee, in the foyer of the Steinbach village center.
Gustav Mahler at the landing place
SHIPPING PLACE I Free of charge
Like many of the "summer vacationers", Gustav Mahler also travelled by train and then by boat to his holiday destination Steinbach am Attersee.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Third Symphony, an exhibition and a memorial stone were erected at the landing stage.
Gustav Klimt at Lake Attersee
Gustav Klimt, one of the most important artists of the Vienna Secession and Art Nouveau, spent several summers at Lake Attersee in the Salzkammergut region. This period between 1900 and 1916 had a significant influence on his artistic work. During his stays at Lake Attersee, Klimt created a series of landscape paintings that are among his most famous works.
We recommend that you:
Events of the Klimt am Attersee Association
Attersee Shipping Company "Gustav Klimt's Attersee"
Experience music at the place where it is created.
Immerse yourself in the artistic world of Gustav Mahler and experience his Third Symphony for the first time in the place that ignited his creativity. The concert in Steinbach am Attersee will not only be a musical highlight, but also a timeless connection between Mahler's work and the inspiring nature of the Salzkammergut region.
