History

In the Neolitthic time (around 12.000 BC) the first hunters reached the (at that time) inhospitable region on their hunting expeditions (findings in Dachstein Eisriesenhöhlen).

The first signs of settlement dates around 5000 BC (oldest findings).

Since around 3000 BC people lived in the Salzberghochtal and started to gain salt evaporating spring brines.

2000 BC they procduced so much salt, that the people from Hallstatt sold their salt.

1500 BC after discovery of copper and bronze the indigenous population had the posibility to reach the salt deep inside the mountains. The oldest saltmining started and brought personal wellfair to the some of the indigenous people, causing social differentiation.

Since 1000 BC extensive trade relations were established. Between 900 BC and 800 BC the mine of the northern group was closed and a new mine in the east group was opend. During the next century iron replaced copper increasingly. Initially iron was used for tools and weapons only, while jewellery still was made of copper. Since 600 BC an enormous cultural boom and lively trade relations startet the success of the indigenous population in the Hochtal. Around 300 BC a mudslide destroyed the settlement in the Salzberghochtal and therefore the mine in the east group was also closed. The mining in the new saltmine in the westgroup started. Between 400 – 100 BC the indigenous people (illyric tribe) get in contact with celtic people and both cultures merged. During the next century the illyric-celltic inhabitans lived in peace with the Roman empire as they were valued trade partners for the Romans. In that time the saltmining technique was reformed from dry mining (knocking out pieces of salt from the rock) to wet mining (washing out the salt form the rock). Around 100 until 200 AC there existed a roman settlement in Hallstatt, which was destroyed by Germanic tribes. Since 300 AC Christianity spread in the region and gradually replaced pagan gods. Around 530 AC Bavarian people invaded the region and around 600 AC Slavic settlement activity took place. During the middle age the salt minig seems to have continued, but reached its prehistoric significance again at 1000 AC onlly. From 976 the Babenberger, who also built castle Wildenstein, ruled the region until they were extinct. In 1246 the Habsburger overtook the region. Consequently a conflict in between the Archbishop Konrad IV from Salzburg and Herzog Albrecht I (Habsburg) concerning the salt monopoly started. Albrecht I built fortifications in strategic places, as the Rudolfsturm. 1297 peace was made. In 1311 Queen Elisabeth, widow of Allbrecht I, vested Halllstatt citizens with marked rights and mining became state owned enterprises until the year 1998. In 1392 a rebellion by the salt miners in Hallstatt and Lauffen testifies to poor working conditions and hunger in that time. In 1494 Maximilian I confirmed the freedom of the market an awarded its own market coat of arms to the citizens of Hallstatt and also the brewing license. The Protestant faith reached Hallstatt around 1520 via salt shipping. Because of wood shortage, a new saline in Ebensee and a 40 km long pipeline for the brine transport were built. The 16^th and 17^th century were marked by the Counter-Reformation, hunger, uprisings and the expulsion of entire families to Transiylvania. 1734 the “Man in the salt”, a prehistoric corpse of a miner preserved by salz, was found. A fire destroyed in 1750 Hallstatt and also the buildings for the salt processing, but everything was rebuilt in a late baroque style.

1780 Emperor Joseph II ended the religious war and the protestantic church in Hallstatt was built. 1822 during a hurricane-like storm 39 people died in the waters of Lake Hallstatt. Workers involved in the extraction of gravel came across prehistoric remains on the Hallstätter Salzberg in 1846 and the incumbent mining master Johann Georg Ramsauer recognized the value of the findings an lled a comprehensive excavation effort that unearthed the famous grave Hallstätter grave site. In 1860, because of unemployment, hopeless future prospects and hunger, nomerous Hallstatt citizens left and emigrated to America. The first road to Halllstatt was constructed from Gosaumühle in 1875. Until that time Halllstatt could only be reached by ship. The construction of the crown prince Rudolf Kammergut Railway 1876 – 1878 started tourism in Hallstatt. For the Construction of the Lake street, which connects District Lahn with the Gosaumühllstreet, 7 family houses had to be destroyed.

1910 the Dachstein caves were discovered.

A new salt mine tunnel “ Erbstollen” was built at the level of the valley floor of the Escherntal. The cable car to the Dachstein giant ice cave and to the Krippenstein Mountain was opened in 1958. 1964 – 1966 the double tunnel street bypass was constructed.

1997 the salt mine, which belonged to the state since 1311 was sold to a private bidding group.

Since December 1997 Hallstatt was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Hallstatt, Lake Hallstatt, Dachstein Massiv and Mountain Hoher Dachstein, Gosau, Obertraun).

In 2006, Hallstatt was the filming location for a South Korean television series (“Spring Waltz”), which made the place famous in the Far East, so that in 2011/2012 parts of Hallstatt were recreated on an original scale for a housing project for the wealthy in the Boluo district of the city of Huizhou in Guangdong.

The annual visit of 700,000 to 900,000 tourists leads to controversy (over tourism), so that since 2020, coaches have only been allowed to arrive and let their groups off in previously allocated and limited time slots.

Climate

Hallstatt has an oceanic climate with warm rainy summer and cold, snowy winters. In August the average high is around 23°C / 73°F, the daily mean around 17°C / 63°F, the avareage low around 11°C / 52°F. In the salt mine the temperature is the whole year through around 8°C.

Sightseeing attractions

Rudolfsturm

The Rudollfsturm was built at the end of the 13^th century as a defensive tower at what was then the only accsess to the high vally. This is the only place in the high valley where the sun shines at the winter solstice and borders the world famous prehistoric Halllstatt cementery in the east. Until 1954, the tower was permanently used as the headquarters of the respective mining operations manager.

The tower has a square floor plan with diagnonals aligned with the cardinal points. It is three floors high and built form quarried limestone. The remains of the medieval wall are up to 1.8 meters thick. The two-story extension faces south. In 1954 the building was converted into a restaurant and in 2008 it was completely renovated as part of the Upper Austrian state exhibition and provided with a mountain-side extension.

Katholic Church Maria Himmelfahrt / Maria am Berg

The first Christian community was probably founded in Hallstatt around 1050, and a small Romanesque church was built around 1150. The tower is still preserved. The enlarged second Romanesque church was built by 1320. In the late Gothic period, the church building was expanded and the current interior was designed by 1505. During the religious wars, the two-aisled church belonged alternately to Catholics and Protestants. After the great fire of 1750, the Romanesque tower was equipped with a Baroque helmet. In 2002 the parish church was completely restored. In 1978, four small Gothic paintings were torn from the Marian altar and taken away. This art theft kept investigators busy across Europe for almost 30 years until the paintings were seized during a raid in Italy in 2017. Since 2018, they have been renovated and are once again part of the Marian altar in the Hallstatt parish church.

Hallstätter Marien Altar

The Hallstatt St. Mary’s Altar in the southern area of ​​the double choir is a pentaptych, a convertible altar with a main shrine, two movable outer wings and two movable inner wings. The altar was made from fir wood in the workshop of Leonhard Astl around 1510-1520. Sculptures, reliefs and ornaments are carved from linden wood. Sculptures and reliefs are extensively gilded. The altar, which was donated as a miners’ altar, is one of the most important and elaborate late Gothic winged altars in Upper Austria. The last restoration took place in 1985. It was found that the original condition was largely preserved.

The outer wings are fully painted and the altar is flanked by 2 shrine guards. The altar was presented in this closed form on weekdays and especially during Lent. The paintings show scenes from the life of Jesus. During Advent and Christmas, the altar is half opened and shows scenes from the life of Mary and the childhood of Jesus. Here, 4 relief panels in front of the main shrine are flanked by 2 painting panels each on the outer wings. The fully open shrine with the 4 gilded relief panels of the inner wings and the gilded sculptures of the shrine itself is reserved for the high Marian holidays. The entire back of the altar is also painted with the theme of the Last Judgment.

Ossuary

The Michael’s Chapel from the 12th century, located to the right of the Catholic church, contains the world-famous ossuary with its collection of over 600 artistically painted skulls, sorted by family. Some skulls were painted as early as the 18th century. However, the heyday of this art form was the 19th century. There are also painted skulls from the 20th century.

Prothestantic church (“Christuskirche”, “Chist church”)

The Protestant prayer house with space for 355 people was inaugurated on October 30, 1785 at what is now the mouth of the Mühlbach. It was a building with rectangular windows and no bell tower. In 1859 two salt production houses were bought, demolished and the new Protestant parish church was built on this site by 1863 for 37,000 guilders with space for 550 people. Funders included the Thurn und Taxis donor families (Princess Therese Mathilde Amalie von Thurn und Taxis) and Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the Queen of Prussia Elisabeth Ludovika, Friedrich Hebbel, Imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and Adalbert Stifter. The old prayer house was sold in 1864 and the Hallstatt Shipping pier was built in its place. The altar of the new christus church was made of oak. The prayer house’s original slider organ was purchased by the Ebensee Catholic Church in 1810 and reinstalled in the new church. In 1865 this was replaced by an organ by Franz Sales Ehrlich. The tower contained 4 bells, which were lost during the First World War, as well as 35 organ pipes, which were replaced by zinc pipes. In 1934 new bells were purchased, which had to be melted down again in 1943. The roof was replaced between 1957 and 1961 and the interior was renovated in 1961. Since 1977, 3 new bells have been ringing again (faith, hope, love).

Museum

The Hallstatt Museum Association was founded in 1884 and the municipality made house number 27 available to the museum association. The museum was opened in 1888 and Josef Stocker, the former owner of the house, became the first museum director. The artifacts, which were discovered by mountain master Johann Georg Ramsauer in the Hallstatt burial ground in 1846, form the basis of the collection, which was collected and expanded by Friedrich Simony, a young naturalist who was exploring the Dachstein region at that time. From 1889 onwards, targeted excavations took place at the burial ground. The excavation managers were Bergrat Hutter and Isidor Engl. By 1906, so many artifacts had accumulated that not all of them could be exhibited. During this time, Engel systematically inventoried and cataloged all existing exhibits for the first time. The young researcher Friedrich Morton was elected curator of the museum in 1925 and began excavating underground with A. Mahr. He published 2,100 publications, which are owned by the Hallstatt Museum. In 1969 a prehistoric museum was opened in the former rectory, Hallstatt No. 56.

The new World Heritage Museum was finally opened in 2002.

Today, the museum is divided into 26 main themes – from prehistoric salt mining, to the Celts and Romans, to the Middle Ages and modern times. The important researchers of the Hallstatt culture (Ramsauer, Simony, Engl and Morton) find their place as well as the rich finds and treasures of the burial ground. The historical development of Hallstatt, folklore topics, work and crafts, but also the importance of Hallstatt for the development of the Protestant religious community in Upper Austria and the natural habitat are described in detail. Reference is also made to Hallstatt’s tourism development and its importance as a world cultural heritage site.

Hallstatt period burial groun (Hallstatt Gräberfeld) and Saltmine

In 1846, while extracting gravel, workers came across prehistoric human bones and ancient objects. As careful digging continued, 7 skeletons were uncovered. The incumbent mining master at the time, Johann Georg Ramsauer, recognized the significance of the find and its cemetery character. By 1863, 980 graves had been uncovered under his leadership. Another large part of the burial ground was discovered during the construction of the road in the 1930s and uncovered under Friedrich Morton. All finds are in the Hallstatt Museum. The graves from the period 800 – 400 BC contain luxury goods from all over Europe, which demonstrate the extensive trade relationships of the Hallstatt residents at the time. The burial ground appears to have been very densely occupied and it is now assumed that there were around 5,000 to 6,000 dead people buried here. People of all ages were buried and since many of the skeletons show signs of wear and tear that indicate heavy physical work, it is assumed that these people worked in the salt mine or salt processing. The type of burial was body graves with a mostly west-east orientation, supine position and view of the exit of the high valley, as well as cremation graves and urn graves. In most cases, the grave goods in the cremated graves were of higher quality, which suggests a social difference in burial styles. In addition to numerous vessels made from different materials, the grave goods include artistic weapons and elaborately designed jewelry. Grave goods of such exceptional value and high quality as those found in the graves of Hallstatt miners are otherwise only known from the ceremonial graves of this period. In the so-called Hallstatt warrior graves, which date from 800 to 600 BC. BC (HaC), swords made of bronze or iron were found. The Hallstatt period burial ground was still in use at the beginning of the La Tène period. A particularly rich grave from this time is designated 994 and contained a sword with an elaborately figuratively decorated scabbard. This grave is one of the last burials that were created in the Hallstatt burial ground. In 1838, an object made of Hisch antler was found inside the Kaiser-Franz-Josef Stollen, which was probably used to mine salt. Using radiocarbon analysis, the age of this pick was dated to around 7,000 years (5000 BC, Neolithic). Furthermore, several stone axes from 5000 – 2000 BC were found. In the Bronze Age (2000-800 BC) the first salt mining can be found in the Hallstatt salt mine around 1500 BC. At that time, the salt was cut out of the rock using dry mining and brought to the shaft using carrying bags over wooden stairs and pulled to the surface on ropes in wool bags. The Hallstatt mines reached depths of over 100 m. One of these Bronze Age wooden stairs has been completely preserved in the Christian von Tuschwerk tunnel. The staircase was examined dendrochronologically and could be dated back to 1344 and 1343 BC. It is the oldest surviving wooden staircase in Europe to date. Several people could walk in both directions and side by side on the stairs.

Since the mountain pressure threatened to damage the staircase, it was extensively documented where it was found, dismantled into over 60 individual parts, dismantled and taken to the Natural History Museum in Vienna, where it was analyzed in detail.

Since the staircase requires very special climatic conditions for its preservation, such as those prevailing in the Hallstatt Salt Mountain, and it should also be accessible to the public, it was reinstalled in its own special display case in the Hallstatt Salt Mine visitor mine. 300 years after the end of the Bronze Age, the first Hallstatt period mining can be found. Bronze picks are now being used and finds suggest that resources are being used more economically, as can be seen in traces of repairs or other reuse of tools. Analyzes of the skeletons from the burial ground – one-sided signs of wear and tear such as those caused by carrying heavy loads or changes in children’s cervical spines) suggest that it was mainly women and children aged around 8 who carried the salt from the mine. Finds of children’s shoes and corresponding clothing remnants support these assumptions.

In the middle of the 4th century BC, salt mining in Hallstatt suddenly came to a halt, which was probably due to a heavy flow of rubble that made the high valley uninhabitable for many years. The “Man in the Salt”, a miner who died at the time and was found in the Kilbwerk in 1734 while mining salt, is considered a witness to this catastrophe. His well-preserved body had completely grown into the mountains. He was brought to the valley and buried at the Hallstatt cemetery. From the 2nd century BC the mines were located in the highest mining areas of the salt mountain and were driven through the mountain from top to bottom. All the tunnels that lead into this area of ​​the La Tène period mining have now been closed again by mountain pressure. According to records from the 16. / 17. century, the La Tène period mine, with an area of ​​72,000 m² and a depth of 330 m, was probably the largest of the prehistoric mines to date. Salt mining in Hallstatt has been documented again since 1311, but may also have been carried out in Roman times. Around 1900, 250 workers, mostly from the surrounding area, were employed at the Hallstatt saltworks. In 1926 the first show mine was built in the Hallstatt salt mine.