Experiencing an Austrian Krampuslauf
For the most part, the Christmas season is associated with pretty, cheerful things: bright lights, festive decor, gift-giving, a jolly and generous figurehead, peace on Earth, and so forth.
But in Central Europe, there’s a major exception: Krampus.
Where St. Nicholas gives children gifts, Krampus hits them with sticks. Where St. Nicholas is kind and jolly, Krampus is scary and mean. (With horns, hooves, and twisted features, he’s not much to look at, either!)
Despite all of this (or perhaps because of it?), Krampus folklore is an integral part of Christmas for many Alpine communities. In fact, in some places in Austria (and beyond), people gather to dress as Krampus and throw a parade — a Krampuslauf — where the participants prowl through the streets, looking for people to punish and scare (but like, in a consensual way).
I visited Austria in December and got to experience a wild Krampuslauf in the small town of Bad Goisern. In this post, learn all about my experience at the Bad Goisern Krampuslauf! Plus, find out just who Krampus is, anyway, and how you can find other Krampus Runs in Austria.
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What is a Krampuslauf?
Krampus is a figure from Alpine folklore. Consider him a sort of inverse St. Nicholas: together, they visit children on December 5 (the night before the Feast of St. Nicholas). While St. Nick gives gifts to the good kids, Krampus punishes the bad ones by striking them with wooden rods or branches.
In addition to this unpleasant behavior, Krampus isn’t too wonderful to look at. With horns, hooves, and way too much hair (in addition to other alarming characteristics), Krampus is usually depicted as a sort of goat-like demon.
In many places in Austria (and other locations in Central Europe, including Bavaria, northern Italy, and Slovenia), people keep the legend of Krampus alive through an annual Krampuslauf.
During a Krampuslauf (that is: Krampus Run or Krampus Parade), people (mostly young men) dress up as Krampus and other disconcerting creatures and parade through the streets, acting as Krampus, which is to say: they perform.
These costumed Krampuses (Krampi? Kramps? Krampusi?), usually wearing incredibly elaborate masks and enormous horns, prowl through the parade route, looking for people to “punish” with the branches or whips they carry. Many wear noisy Alpine bells, and the parade may include loud music, scary red lighting, and smoke effects. Other sinister creatures from folklore might make appearances as well. It’s truly a sight to see (and hear)!
In Austria, most Krampus Runs take place around December 5-6 — the dates typically associated with Krampusnacht (Krampus Night) and the Feast of St. Nicholas. However, depending on the location, you might see a Krampus Run as early as late November.
If you are planning to visit Austria around early December and would like to see a Krampuslauf, be sure to look up the dates for Krampus Runs in the cities you’re visiting so you can time your itinerary accordingly (I’ve listed some options later in this post!).
My Experience at the Bad Goisern Krampuslauf
I got my first taste of Krampus in Bad Goisern, Austria — a tiny town with a famously large Krampus Parade, which draws participants from Krampus Clubs (yes, they exist) far and wide.
A friend and I were visiting neighboring Hallstatt for a few nights. I had read about Bad Goisern’s Krampus event, and wanted to see it. So, our hotel helped us organize a taxi to Bad Goisern, and off we went.
We arrived in Bad Goisern at about 6:30, hoping there would be some stalls selling dinner before the parade at 7pm. Honestly, we sort of struck out — there were a few stalls with food and drinks, but the food was extremely limited (especially for my vegetarian friend). Don’t come hungry to the Bad Goisern Krampuslauf!
At any rate, when we arrived, we saw participants gathering at the start of the parade route:
The fences along the parade route were already full of spectators, but we managed to find a spot behind some teens and settled in to watch the event.
An immediate observation: Bad Goisern’s Krampuslauf seemed to be a really local event with an Austrian crowd. We didn’t hear anyone else speaking English (or anything but German) the entire evening, and as far as we know, we were some of the few foreign tourists in attendance. (I suspect this is a huge difference between the Krampus events in Bad Goisern and bigger cities like Salzburg and Innsbruck, which attract way more tourists).
Just before 7 pm, an announcer did some sort of call-and-response thing I didn’t understand, and then loud, heavy-metal music erupted from the speakers while smoke, fire, and lighting effects began at the start of the parade route.
After a few minutes, Krampus(es?) began to walk through our section of the route. Most carried branches and ping-ponged between the fences on either side of the route, reaching over to swat at spectators — especially teens like the ones right in front of us, who were frequent targets (young kids got high fives or fist bumps instead!). Some were dragging fire pits on chains connected to their costumes (yikes!) or carrying torches. Many wore loudly clanging bells that added to the general environment of noise.
Krampus wasn’t the only creature in the Krampuslauf. There were people who seemed to be dressed as chimney cleaners, marking people with soot (some people think it’s lucky!). There were angels — some with black wings — at least one witch, and some vaguely hellish outfits. There was also a St. Nicholas who pushed us (lol).
The whole thing, honestly, was just wild. We spent most of the Krampuslauf sort of laughing in disbelief and marveling at every new costume (I liked the Krampus with colorful Christmas lights strung along his horns) — and also trying to avoid being hit by Krampus branches. It was truly a visual and auditory spectacle.
Despite the intense vibes of the parade, it didn’t ever feel like things were out of control or like the Krampuses were actually running wild. While some of them could get pretty aggressive in their efforts to smack down some teens, the teens I saw were always giggling about it. There were also security guards along the route, and in the one and only instance where a Krampus seemed to be getting a bit too aggressive about breaching the fence, a guard pulled him back.
All in all, I’m so glad I went to the Bad Goisern Krampuslauf — what an exciting cultural experience!
Check out this video to see the Bad Goisern Krampus Run in action:
How to See the Bad Goisern Krampuslauf for Yourself
When is the Bad Goisern Krampuslauf?
The Bad Goisern Krampuslauf takes place on December 7 each year, no matter what day of the week that date falls on.
Here’s the programming schedule for the event each year:
- 4 pm: Musicians start playing in the square, with hot drinks for sale
- 6 pm: Children’s Krampuslauf
- 6:30 pm: St. Nicholas makes an appearance
- 7 pm: The Krampus Run begins
How to Get to Bad Goisern
There are a few ways to get to Bad Goisern for its Krampuslauf:
If you’re renting a car while visiting Austria, you can simply drive to Bad Goisern. However, be warned that parking may be a challenge on the evening of the Krampuslauf.
If you’re staying nearby, like in Hallstatt (more on that in a minute), you can take a taxi. The easiest way to accomplish this is to ask your hotel to help you arrange a taxi. This is what my friend and I did, and it worked out great — but be warned that it was quite expensive (by our standards) at €20 each way.
You can take the 541 bus to Bad Goisern from a number of nearby locations. But if you’re not staying in Bad Goisern overnight, be sure there’s also a bus back to your home base after the event!
For those coming from a bit farther away, Bad Goisern does have a train station, so you can travel to Bad Goisern by train.
Where to Stay for the Bad Goisern Krampuslauf
If you’d like to experience the Bad Goisern Krampuslauf, I recommend that you stay in either Bad Goisern or the nearby town of Hallstatt (which is much more of a tourist destination than Bad Goisern).
My top recommendation? Stay in Hallstatt, which has a Christmas market that runs one day a year — on December 8, which is conveniently the day after Bad Goisern’s Krampus Run.
So, if possible, take the train and boat to Hallstatt by the afternoon of December 7, then take a taxi to Bad Goisern for the evening of December 7 in order to see the Krampuslauf, before staying overnight in Hallstatt and visiting the Hallstatt Christmas market the next day.
That’s exactly what my friend and I did, and it worked out great for us. We stayed at Weisses Lamm in Hallstatt, which we loved. We were given what has to be the best room in the place — a large, top-floor room with a balcony that has views of the town’s two famous steeples.
Views from inside our room (left) and the room’s balcony (right)
Weisses Lamm also had a really good breakfast (included in the price of the room) and was within walking distance of everything in Hallstatt, including the ferry station.
Here are some other lodging options to consider in Hallstatt:
BUDGET | To be honest, “budget” doesn’t really exist in Hallstatt, but Pension Hallberg gets exceptional reviews without costing an arm and a leg.
COMFORT | With its location right beside the ferry station, Heritage Hotel Hallstatt is maybe the most conveniently located lodging option in the entire town.
LUXURY | If you can manage to snag the balcony room at I Da Mitt — which is located right in Hallstatt’s main square — you can sit on your balcony and watch the Christmas market unfold right below you. A dream!
If you’d rather stay in Bad Goisern instead, take a look at Hotel-Bad Goisern or Wanderlust Boutique Rooms, which looks like a real gem.
Other Krampus Runs in Austria
If you won’t be able to make it to Bad Goisern’s Krampuslauf but would like to experience a Krampus event elsewhere in Austria, here are the dates for some of the notable Krampus Runs in 2026:
- Schladming: November 21
- Lienz: TBD
- Seefeld: December 4
- Hallstatt: December 4 (note that this is a children’s Krampus Run, so different than the rest!), December 5
- Salzburg: December 5
- Innsbruck: December 5
Planning to visit Vienna? You may be able to find some Krampus-related events there, but traditional Krampus Runs are much more the domain of western Austria. Go elsewhere in Austria on December 5 if seeing a Krampuslauf is important to you! (Or do what I did: stay in Vienna on December 5, but head to Bad Goisern for their event on December 7.)
Final Thoughts
If you’re planning a trip to Austria in early December, I strongly recommend designing an itinerary that will allow you to experience a traditional Krampuslauf. The Bad Goisern Krampuslauf is a particularly great option!
More Information About Austria
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