Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights & Activities
Salzbergwerk
(funicular return plus tour adult/child/family €26/13/54, tour only €19/9.50/40; 9.30am-4.30pm, closed late
Oct-late Apr)
The fascinating Salzbergwerk is situated high above Hallstatt on Salzberg
(Salt Mountain) and is the lake's major cultural attraction. The German- English tour de-
tails how salt is formed and the history of mining, and takes visitors down into the depths
on miners' slides - the largest is 60m, during which you have your photo taken (€5 to
purchase).
The Hallstätter Hochtal (Hallstatt High Valley) near the mine was also an Iron Age
burial ground. An audioguide (€2; bring photo ID) available from the base station of the
funicular takes you through the numbered stations and explains the site and rituals of
burial.
The
funicular
(one way adult/child €7/3.50)
is the easiest way up to the mountain station, from
where the mine is 15 minutes' walk; a switchback trail takes about 40 minutes to walk.
Another option is to take the steps behind the Beinhaus and follow the trail until it joins
the picturesque Soleleitungsweg; go left and follow the very steep trail past the waterfall
and up steps. It's a tough climb, and not really for children.
SALT MINE
Beinhaus
(Bone House; Kirchenweg 40; admission €1.50; 10am-6pm, closed Nov-Apr)
This small charnel house
contains rows of neatly stacked skulls, painted with decorative designs and the names of
their former owners. Bones have been exhumed from the overcrowded graveyard since
1600, and the last skull in the collection was added in 1995. It stands in the grounds of
the 15th-century Catholic
Pfarrkirche
(parish church), which has some attractive Gothic
frescoes and three winged altars inside.
CHURCH
Weltkulturerbe Museum
( 8206;
www.museum-hallstatt.at
;
Seestrasse 56; adult/child/family €7.50/4/18; 10am-6pm daily Apr-Oct,
closed Mon & Tue Nov-Mar)
This multimedia museum covers the region's history of Iron Age/
Celtic occupation and salt mining. All explanations are in German and English. Celtic
and Roman excavations can be seen downstairs in
Dachsteinsport Janu
(Seestrasse 50;
8am-6pm)
, a shop opposite the tourist office, or near the Salzbergwerk, where there
is an exhibition grave.
MUSEUM
