This old market town lies in the Traun valley between the Totes Gebirge and the Dachstein. Bad Aussee is the economic and cultural center of the Styrian rich salt-producing region. Noted for its modern health resort and salt-water spa (Kneipp treatment), it is also popular as a winter sports area. The surrounding area is famous for the myriads of narcissi which flower there from mid-May to mid-June (Narcissi Festival).
Opposite the Spitalskirche (church) in Bad Aussee is the birthplace of Anna Plochl (1804-85), the postmaster's daughter who became the wife of Archduke Johann.
The old Kammerhof, the oldest secular building in Styria, now houses the Bad Aussee Heimatmuseum. From here it is only a few steps to the Kurzentrum (treatment center).
This church (13th C.) in Bad Aussee, originally Romanesque, was later extended in the Gothic style. Of particular interest is the little sacrament-house (1523) and two statues above the south portal.
In the Bad Aussee Spitalskirche, a Gothic building with an octagonal tower, the two 15th C. winged altars are well worth seeing. On the central tablet of one of the shrines the Holy Trinity is portrayed.
One of the most beautiful works of art to be seen in this region is the statue of the Virgin Mary (C. 1420) in the Chapel of the Virgin Mary (in the Parish Church of St Paul in Bad Aussee), of the type known as the "beautiful Madonna".