Hallstatt-Dachstein

The Salzkammergut is a resort area with numerous lakes and mountains east of Salzburg. Its name means "estate of the salt chamber" and is so-called because it belonged to the Imperial Salt Chamber, the authority charged with running the precious salt mines in the Habsburg empire.
It was listed as a World Heritage Site because the prosperity because of the salt production is "reflected in the fine architecture of the town of Hallstatt."

Salt . Ossuary . Plague Column . Alps . Celtic history .

Reviews

Christer Sundberg (Sweden):
Arriving Hallstatt in Salzkammergut by train is a small adventure in itself. It must be one of the few, if not the only town in the world, which has its train station across a lake. So following a 10-minute ferry ride, whilst gazing at the breath-taking mountain landscape, I arrived to the small town that desperately clings onto the mountain side on a stretch sometimes not wider than 50 meters. Whether it will all slide down into the lake was a question I asked myself more than once…

My stay in Hallstatt lasted for four days so I had plenty of time to explore both the ancient salt mines that has given its name to the landscape, the deep mountain ice caves in the nearby village of Dachstein but also just wonder around in this peaceful alpine landscape. Day-touring tourist might fill Hallstatt during the day but in the late afternoon it all calms down and you can enjoy a rich Austrian dinner together with a cold beer whilst dreaming yourself away to a different time and age.

An odd experience is the small “Beinhaus” (bone house) that in its own way illustrates the problem of availability of land and space in Hallstatt. Since the cemetery was so small and without possibility to expand and cremations was forbidden, there was no alternative than to open the graves after 10-15 years and move the bones to the Beinhouse. It’s a tradition that dates back over twelve centuries and today there are over 1200 skulls, half of them painted in a flowery design. I was told that the last skull to go into the Beinhouse was in 1995 so either the folks here have found some new ground for their cemetery or the Hallstätters have actually found the formula for eternal life…!
 
Linda Byrd (USA):
Years ago I painted a picture of Hallstatt, copied from a postcard that did not name the place. When I was planning a European trip in 2001, I found a picture of the village in a travel book and learned the name of the place was Hallstatt. We made reservations for 2 nights in a hotel there. My first glimpse of the village as we rounded the mountain was breathtaking! If I ever get a chance to go back to Europe, I would like to stay there an entire week. The lake is awesome, swans swimming everywhere. Our hotel (Hotel Grauner Baum, Hotel Green Tree) balcony overlooked the lake. We took the chair lift up the mountain and slid down into an old salt mine as part of a tour group. The area was a major salt trade route thousands of years ago. We also visited ice caves. Do not miss taking a side trip from Salzburg to Hallstatt! It is unforgettable! We spent 2 days just walking and being in awe of the scenery.
 
Frederik Dawson (Netherlands):
Hallstatt, a small paradise on earth in central Austria is breathtaking with its absolute beauty of natural environment. This place is not a newly jet set luxury resort town, but a human settlement since ancient time because of the richness of salt in this area. Salzkemmergut is the name of this region, a beautiful alpine land with many picturesque lakes and the priceless treasure of old time, salt. I am quite sure that Salzkemmergut has strong relationship with Salzburg, as Salzburg was prospered by salt trade, thus its name and Salzburg is really near to this area.

Hallstatt town is the centre of the region with many pretty houses and churches. Unfortunately that I visited Hallstatt before Easter, so the famous salt mine and Dachstein ice cave were closed as well as many tourist facilities, but these made Hallstatt where normally draw thousands of tourists everyday in high season to be more normal town liked not a tourist hot spot. My friends and I walked around this town less than one hour as the town is so small. The main attraction is the town parish church and its cemetery. The cemetery is really small, so the church has to do something with the lack of space problem, as a result, this church has policy to dig the bones up and put them in the small house where tourists come to admire a pile of skeletons and skulls!

I really recommend everyone to take a walk along the lake shore especially on the right bank. The walking path will lead you to see many beautiful lake scenes, in some spot so dramatic liked Norway fjord. Hallstatt is well connected to Salzburg and Vienna by train. I think the train route from Attnang P to Hallstatt is worthwhile by itself with amazing scenery. Hallstatt train station (I’m not sure I can call it a station or not) is on the right bank of the lake, while Hallstatt is located on the left bank, so you need to take a ferry to the town, a really good way to enter this charming place.
 
David Berlanda (Italy / Czech Republic):
I have been once in Halstatt, a beautiful town situated on an artificial promontory (Mülbach), resulting from the dumping of mining debris, and on the strip between the mount Salzberg and the lake; the southern part (18th century) is also called In der Lahn and it’s at the mouth of the valley of Echterntal. In Halstatt are nice tall and narrow Gothic houses (also boat-houses on the lake) that have stone lower storeys with barrel vaults and upper wooden storeys (only a few has saddleback flat roofs with wooden planks or shingles), like on the triangular market square, where is also the column of the Trinity. The main church of St. Mary is constructed on a hill in Gothic style (only the roof and the spire are Baroque; some elements are Romanesque) and has nice windows, a portal, two naves, one apse, sculptures, frescos, vaults and altarpieces also by Lienhart Astl. Near that is the Chapel of St. Michael and the Carmel House, where are the skulls and the bones (marked with names) that couldn’t have space in the cemetery. In Halstatt are also the Baroque Mount of Olives Chapel, the Calvary Chapel, the neo-Gothic protestant church, the Baroque almshouses with a chapel and the Tower of Rudolph that protected the salt workings.
I was a little bit disappointed by this town because it hasn't important monuments, but its architecture is however of high quality. It is worth to be visited if you are near Salzburg (if you go there you must leave the car outside the centre), but I don't think it justifies the inscription under cultural criteria, but rather under the natural criteria (and with a largest part of the Salzkammergut region), under which is not inscribed, because of the beauty of the natural monuments (even if I haven't seen them) and landscape.
Photo: Halstatt - Church of St. Mary
Date posted: February 2006
Kerri (USA):
As one of the other reviewers stated, Hallstatt is a picturesque, beautiful lake-side village. We arrived on the train and took a ferry across the lake, getting an amazing view of the town. While in Hallstatt, we toured the salt mine and Dachstein caves and took a hike to the waterfalls. Amazing! The town cemetary is also quite interesting. It is a must-see for nature-lovers.
Date posted: November 2005
Ben Pastore (USA):
It may be hard to pronounce, but this storybook setting seemed like a dreamscape when I visited in 1999. This is what Austria is all about, and this scenic region is a great palce to stop and smell the strudels, so to speak.
Date posted: June 2005
Klaus Freisinger (Austria):
As the name implies, the region of Salzkammergut, stretching across three Austrian provinces (Upper Austria, Styria, Salzburg) became important through the production of salt. Today, this industry still exists, even though on a much smaller scale. The little town of Hallstatt still has reminders of its former wealth that came with the salt. Now it relies mostly on tourism, since it is located on a beautiful lake with one of the Alps´ most stunning vistas. It is also important for its many prehistoric findings - a whole neolithic culture was named after the place. The Dachstein is one of Austria´s more famous mountains, located in an almost untouched region of high mountains, deep valleys, and evergreen forests. Except for Hallstatt and a few other places, few visitors come here, which is both a blessing and a pity, since it is one of Europe´s most beautiful areas. I don´t know exactly why it was nominated only as a cultural landscape, because its natural properties are at least as important.
 
Jim Humberd (USA):
When we arrived in Hallstatt, we knew we had found one of the more beautiful places in the world. Pictures of Hallstatt, a picturesque, beautiful lake-side village, are often used for a calendar, a jig-saw puzzle, or a greeting card.

People have lived here for 3,000 years, and it's easy to see why. There were 6 or 8 waterfalls and streams coming down the mountain, through the town. They had built garages on stilts, out over the water, to keep the boats protected from the weather.

Next to one church, a couple flights of stairs lead to the town cemetery. Each grave is a separate, detailed, trimmed, precision flower garden. The “gravestones” are crosses covered by a little roof, and many display a photograph of the person buried there.
 
samnuan (thailand):
the only reason that i came here because the breathtaking location of hallstatt, the view is great and the town itself is locate on the cape in the lake so you has to take a ferry to go there. Nothing to do so much but it worth to see the view
 


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