My boyfriend is the best guide you could ask for. He always discovers these places that no one has ever heard of. And of course, he knows my taste so I never get disappointed.

He recently took me to the Seegrotte, an amazing underground lake near the town of Hinterbruhl, which is actually very close to Vienna.

The Seegrotte shares the title of being the largest underwater lake in Europe with Saint-Léonard in Switzerland.

The lake is situated underneath a former gypsum mine inside a mountain and it was formed when the ceiling above collapsed flooding the cavern with 20 million litres of water.

There are guided tours in German and English and the best part of the tour is a romantic boat ride. The water of the lake is crystal clear, and it is drinkable. I especially liked the reflexions in the water which were absolutely stunning.

This is a natural fountain. Isn’t it beautiful?

The Seegrotte is 60m below ground, which means that you need to dress warmly.

During the guided tour, we also learnt about the mine.

This is Saint Barbara, the Patron Saint of Miners.

And this room was used for special occasions.

At the end of WWII, the water was pumped out of the grotto, and the Nazis used the site to build aircrafts. 2000 workers were employed here to produce one of the first jet-fighters of the world, the “Heinkel HE 162 Salamander“.

After the war, the Seegrotte  was re-opened and it has become a major tourist attraction.

On a side note, the Disney movie “The Three Musketeers” was partially filmed in this location!

And we learnt that you should always say GLÜCK AUF (something like GOOD LUCK) when entering the mine. I guess one really needed it in the past…

Published by natalyadrian

I am a writer, a teacher, a translator and a digital nomad. View all posts by natalyadrian