Snapshot

Henndorf am Wallersee is a quiet lakeside village on the eastern shore of the Wallersee, about 20 km north of Salzburg. It is known primarily to literary history as the place where playwright Carl Zuckmayer farmed in the 1930s before the Anschluss forced him out.

The Story

Henndorf sits in the flat lake belt of the Flachgau, where the Wallersee provides the kind of gentle, suburban-feeling countryside that Salzburg City residents have long used for weekends away. The landscape is open and easy: flat roads, a broad shallow lake, and small communities spaced around its shores.

Carl Zuckmayer came here in the early 1930s as one of the most celebrated German-language playwrights of his era. He bought a farmhouse in Henndorf, intending to create a working retreat from the literary world. The years he spent here were productive, but they ended abruptly in 1938 when the Nazis annexed Austria. Zuckmayer fled with his family, eventually making his way to the United States. He wrote about the Henndorf farm at length in his memoir Als wär’s ein Stück von mir (A Part of Myself), and the village became fixed in German literary memory as a place of creative exile cut short.

The village today carries that association lightly. There is no large memorial; the connection exists primarily for visitors who know Zuckmayer’s work. The lake itself is the practical draw: good swimming in summer, a flat cycling loop around the shoreline, and the accessibility that the Salzburg Lokalbahn provides.

The Salzburg Lokalbahn reaches Henndorf in roughly 30 minutes from Salzburg, placing it firmly within day-trip range without needing a car.

Planning

The Salzburg Lokalbahn is the easiest way to reach Henndorf, with regular services from Salzburg throughout the day. By car, the B156 north from the city takes about 25 minutes. Henndorf pairs well with Neumarkt am Wallersee and Obertrum am See on a Wallersee lake circuit by bike. Summer is the strongest season; the lake swimming is the primary activity. Visitors interested in Zuckmayer should read Als wär’s ein Stück von mir before visiting to get the most from the literary connection.