The lakefront and the pilgrimage church

St. Wolfgang grew around a pilgrimage church, and the church still sets the picture. Its white tower and steep grey roof stand directly above the shoreline houses, and the terrace beside it looks straight out over the water — the best free viewpoint in the village and the place a session usually starts.

The classic frame is from the water or from the pier below: church, painted hotels and the green Falkenstein ridge stacked in three bands. The village faces south, so the whole front is lit from mid-morning and glows in the last two hours of the day; at dawn the lake is glass and the buildings are still in shade, which is its own picture.

The arcaded lane that runs beside the church is narrow, cobbled and shaded all day, and works when the open lakefront is too bright. Inside the church is Michael Pacher's carved winged altar from the 1480s; the interior has its own photography rules and service times, so check them rather than assuming.

In summer the promenade is busy from ten until evening and the boats come and go every half hour. In winter the boats stop, the village empties, and the same frame comes back with mist on the water and, in December, an Advent market along the shore.