Hallstatt: an amazing cozy town on the bank of a glacial lake

by Dan Bradford · November 21, 2017

Hallstatt is a cozy market town in a hard-to-reach region of Austrian Alps.

Photo: Simon Matzinger https://www.flickr.com/photos/simonmatzinger/32139955053/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Photo: pan.li53, https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4989691314 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Photo: pixabay.com (CC0 Creative Commons)

It is located on a small piece of land between the shore of Hallstätter See and the mountains of Dachstein massif. A little less than a thousand of people live in this wonderful place.

Photo: ErWin https://www.flickr.com/photos/lenzmoser/15598556997/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Photo: Thomas Fabian https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/32484506160/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Photo: Sergey https://www.flickr.com/photos/zhaffsky/8756278916/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Photo: pixabay.com (CC0 Creative Commons)

Hallstatt became famous thanks to the production of salt. The well-being of the locals completely depends on the extraction of salt, which has been mined here for several thousands of years. Since 1595, the dissolved salt is transported to the oldest pipeline in the world in Ebensee, located 40 km from the village.

Photo: By Balou46 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Luca Sartoni https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucasartoni/18317955365/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Photo: marc https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrdubya/9352812333/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/)

Photo: Reisender1701 https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/14205153349/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Photo: Reisender1701 https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/7944032078/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Previously, the village could be reached only by boat or by mountain trails. The first road along the lake was built only in 1890.

Photo: Reisender1701 https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/14388680381/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Photo: thisisbossi, https://www.flickr.com/photos/thisisbossi/2933811850 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Photo: pixabay.com (CC0 Creative Commons)

The ancient town has its own ancient relics. In 1505, the Catholic parish of the Assumption of St. Mary was built on the rock. It was erected in the late Gothic style on the site of an earlier church. The massive tower is the remainder of the previous church. Nearby there is a cemetery and a chapel, where human skulls are adorned, decorated with floral ornament and indicating the name, date and cause of death.

Photo: Reisender1701 https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/7937904568/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Photo: Tauralbus https://www.flickr.com/photos/alfreddiem/4521673212/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Photo: Tauralbus https://www.flickr.com/photos/alfreddiem/4521670506/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Photo: Tauralbus https://www.flickr.com/photos/alfreddiem/4521034741/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

During the archaeological excavations, objects dating from the Iron Age were discovered. There were even those dated from an even earlier Bronze Age! Archaeological finds are exhibited in different museums of Austria. Unique culture, which existed here thousands of years ago, was called the Hallstatt civilization.