Diving Attersee

Site Overview

Attersee is a alpine lake dive site in Upper Austria – Salzkammergut, Austria, set among the country’s varied freshwater landscapes. Attersee is Austria’s largest lake, a long, luminous fjord-like body of water in the Salzkammergut with visibility that can reach twenty-five metres. Its sites range from the vertical Schwarze Brücke wall and the steep Nußdorfer Wand slope to the shallow beginner bays at Weißenbach. Wrecks add history: the wooden Alexandrine rests at about twelve metres and the sunken Spreitzer yacht lies near eighteen metres. The deep Mühlleitner wall plunges toward seventy metres, and Aufham is a recognised ice-diving centre in winter. Fish such as perch and pike use the different depth bands, and the clear water makes Attersee a photography favourite. A drysuit is recommended below the thermocline, and the Arge Tauchen permit is required for diving here. Conditions are typical of Austrian inland water: visibility generally runs from 12 to 25 metres, the current is low and the water temperature ranges between 4 and 22 degrees Celsius depending on season and depth. The marine life is freshwater and centred on northern pike, european perch, lake trout (brown trout), with the full community described below for those planning a dive. Because of its intermediate rating and the need for Advanced Open Water certification, Attersee is best approached with the right thermal protection and, where relevant, altitude or overhead training. It is a representative example of why Austrian lake diving, with its cold clarity, submerged forests and wrecks, attracts divers who want something different from tropical reefs.