Wels Attractions
The old town of Wels lies on the left bank of the Traun in the Alpine foreland region southwest of Linz. In Roman times it was the chief town of a district (Ovilala), and is now the industrial and agricultural heart of the fertile Welser Heide area to the north of the town. The long Stadtplatz is one of the finest town squares in Austria.
The town includes a former Imperial Castle, a Parish Church and a local Museum. It also hosts a popular agricultural trade fair.
The town includes a former Imperial Castle, a Parish Church and a local Museum. It also hosts a popular agricultural trade fair.
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Stadtplatz
Located in the center of Wels, this square is lined with many handsome Baroque buildings.
Bad Schallerbach
To the northwest of Wels lies Bad Schallerbach (303m/994ft), a spa with a hot sulfur spring (37.2 deg C/99 deg F; open air and indoor swimming pools), recommended for rheumatic problems. The spa grew up after 1918, when the hot springs were discovered while boring for oil was in progress. 10km/6mi to the southwest is another little spa, Gallspach.
Bad Schallerbach Tourist Office
Rathausplatz 1
A-4701 Bad Schallerbach
Austria
Rathausplatz 1
A-4701 Bad Schallerbach
Austria
Minorite Church
From the Wels Stadtplatz there is a narrow lane southward to the former Minorite Church (1283), one of the first Gothic churches in the country. On the southern side of the church, entered from the street called Am Zwinger, is the Sigmarkapelle (now a memorial chapel to the dead of the two world wars), with fine frescos of 1480-90.
Municipal Museum
Opposite the Schloss Pollheim in Wels, at Pollheimer Strasse No. 17, stands the Municipal Museum (Stadtmuseum), with Roman finds and antiquarian exhibits. The pièce de résistance is the "Wels Venus", a Roman bronze statuette, one of the many archaeological finds from the area. Temporary exhibitions of contemporary art or current themes are also held in the Stadtmuseum.
Parish Church
The parish church of St John at the eastern end of the Wels Stadtplatz is a Late Gothic building with a tall tower surmounted by an onion-dome (1732). Of interest are the two fine stained glass Gothic windows in the choir (14th C.), the beautiful Romanesque inner doorway and the marble tombs of the lords of Pollheim in the porch under the tower.
Salome Alt House
Opposite the Wels Parish Church stands the House of Salome Alt (1568-1633), mistress of Prince-Bishop Wolfdietrich of Salzburg, who retired to Wels after his downfall.
Schloss Pollheim
The Wels old town is bounded on the west by the Ringstrasse. The western end of this street, adjoining No. 2, incorporates a relic of Schloss Pollheim, with a tablet commemorating the shoemaker Hans Sachs, who wrote his first poems at the mastersingers' school here in 1513.
Schmiding Bird Park
Some 7km/4.5mi northwest of the town of Wels, in Schmiding, there is an extensive Bird Park, where thousands of different species of birds from every continent can be seen. Particulary interesting are the Tropical House and the Birds of Prey Reserve.
Zoo and Exhibition Grounds
To the southwest of the old town of Wels, beyond the Mühlbach, lies the Volksgarten, with a zoo. Open all the year round, it is home to mainly indigenous animals. Farther to the southwest, mostly beyond the railroad, lie the Exhibition Grounds (Messegelände), where the Wels International Agricultural Fair is held in even years, together with a popular festival.
