Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
• This short walk starts at the dock.
Boat Landing:
There was a Hallstatt before there was a Rome. In fact, because of the
importance of salt mining here, an entire epoch—the Hallstatt Era, from 800 to 400
B.C.
—is
named for this important spot. Through the centuries, salt was traded and people came and
went by boat. You'll still see the traditional
Fuhr
boats, designed to carry heavy loads in
shallow water.
Toweringabovethetownisthe
Catholicchurch.
ItsfadedSt.Christopher—patronsaint
oftravelers,withhiscaneandbabyJesusonhisshoulder—watchedoverthosesailinginand
out. Until 1875, the town was extremely remote...then came a real road and the train. The
good ship
Stefanie
shuttles travelers back and forth from here to the Hallstatt train station,
immediately across the lake. The
Bootverleih
sign advertises boat rentals. By the way,
Sch-
muck
is not an insult...it means jewelry.
Notice the one-lane road out of town (below the church). Until 1966, when a bigger tun-
nel was built above Hallstatt, all the traffic crept single-file right through the town.
Look down the shore at the huge homes. Several families lived in each of these houses,
back when Hallstatt's population was about double its present 1,000. Today, the population
continues to shrink, and many of these generally underused houses rent rooms to visitors.
Hallstatt gets about three months of snow each winter, but the lake hasn't frozen over
since1981.Seeanyswans?They'vepatrolledthelakeliketheyownitsincethe1860s,when
Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Sisi—the Princess Diana of her day—made this region
their annual holiday retreat. Sisi loved swans, so locals made sure she'd see them here. Dur-
ing this period, the Romantics discovered Hallstatt, many top painters worked here, and the
town got its first hotel (now the Heritage Hotel).
Tiny Hallstatt has two big churches: Protestant (bordering the square on the left, with a
grassy lakeside playground) and Catholic (up above, with its fascinating bone chapel).
• Walk over the town's stream, and pop into the...
Protestant Church:
The Catholic Counter-Reformation was very strong in Austria, but
pocketsofProtestantismsurvived,especiallyinminingtownslikeHallstatt.In1860,Emper-
or Franz Josef finally allowed non-Catholic Christians to build churches. Before that, they
were allowed to worship only in low-key “houses of prayer.” In 1863, Hallstatt's miners
pooled their humble resources and built this fine church. Step inside (free and often open).
It's very plain, emphasizing the pulpit and organ rather than fancy art and saints. Check out
