Attersee (lake)
lake in Upper Austria
Attersee (less commonly also Kammersee, English sometimes Lake Atter) is a lake in the Upper Austrian part of the Salzkammergut, in the district of Vöcklabruck, and lies at an elevation of 469 metres above the Adriatic (m.a.A.) (1,539 feet). The outflow from Attersee passes through a weir into the Ager river, which flows via the Traun river into the Danube. This nutrient-poor lake, with its varied shorelines, provides habitats for many animal and plant species and has been designated a Natura 2000 site since 2006. With a water surface area of over 46 square kilometres (18 square miles), it is the largest lake situated entirely within Austria. At 169 m (554 ft), it is the second-deepest lake in Austria after neighbouring Traunsee, and with a water volume of almost 4 billion cubic metres (140 billion cubic feet), it is surpassed only by (the entire) Lake Constance. The Attersee is owned by the Austrian Federal Forests, is a major tourist destination in Upper Austria and a popular swimming lake, as well as a diving and sailing area. On the shores of the Attersee lie the remains of pile-dwelling settlements from the Neolithic, which form part of the UNESCO administered World Heritage Site known as "Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps".
Geography
Attersee is situated in the Upper Austrian Salzkammergut region, in the district of Vöcklabruck. The larger towns on its shores are Seewalchen and Schörfling to the north, Weyregg and Steinbach to the east, and Unterach, Nußdorf and Attersee to the west. In addition to these municipalities, the municipality of Berg im Attergau also shares part of the lake’s surface area.
The public source identifies “Attersee (lake)” as lake in Upper Austria. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Attersee, lake and Upper.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Attersee (lake)”, the useful work is to connect “lake in Upper Austria” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q698516. VIAF identifies the subject as 239425624. The Library of Congress control number is sh2007004072. Authority coordinates are 47.866, 13.545. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2000 and 2006.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Attersee (lake)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Attersee (lake) primary sources, Attersee (lake) archive and Attersee research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Attersee (lake)”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Attersee (lake)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.