Schiederweiher

The Schiederweiher is an artificial pond, made in the nineteenth century for timber floating and fish, and it is small - a few hundred metres across at most. What made it famous is geometry: it sits at the head of the Stodertal with the twin peaks of the Spitzmauer and the Grosser Priel lined up directly behind it, so on a still day the whole Totes Gebirge front comes back off the water in a composition that looks arranged. An ORF public vote in 2018 named it the most beautiful place in Austria, and the consequence was a surge of visitors to a pond with a small car park in a quiet valley, which the community has been managing since with parking restrictions and a shuttle. It is a twenty-minute walk from Hinterstoder and takes twenty minutes to see.

What you actually see

• Twin peaks reflected - the Spitzmauer and Grosser Priel lined up behind the water.
• A nineteenth-century pond - made for timber floating and fish, not natural.
• A short walk in - twenty minutes from Hinterstoder village.
• The head of the Stodertal - the closed valley under the Totes Gebirge.

When to go

May to October; still mornings for the reflection. Two hours.

Honest expectations

It is very small and takes minutes to see - the fame outruns the place. Parking is restricted and the village asks visitors to walk or use the shuttle. Wind ruins the reflection.

Nearby

Hinterstoder is the village; the Kalkalpen park is north.