Hallstatt is the most photographed village in Austria: a cluster of 16th-century houses clinging impossibly to the shore of a fjord-like lake, the Hallstätter See, backed by the towering Dachstein Mountains in the Salzkammergut region. But Hallstatt is not just a pretty face, it is the oldest salt-mining community in the world, with a history of salt production that stretches back 7,000 years to the Neolithic period, and the salt mine that made the village rich, and gave its name to an entire period of European prehistory, the Hallstatt Culture (800–450 BCE), is still open to visitors today. The Hallstatt Salt Mine (Salzwelten Hallstatt) is one of the oldest and most atmospheric visitor mines in Europe, and the experience, the miners’ slide, the subterranean lake, the prehistoric “man in the salt”, is as memorable as the village on the surface.

Quick Facts: Hallstatt Salt Mines

• The experience: The tour begins with a funicular ride from the valley floor up to the mine entrance at 838 metres (the view of the Hallstätter See, the village, and the Dachstein Mountains is one of the most beautiful in Austria, the climb is worth it for the panorama alone). You change into protective clothing (the white miners’ overalls, you will want the photograph) and enter the mine. A 400-metre walk through the tunnels leads to the highlight: the miners’ slide, a 64-metre-long wooden slide that descends into the heart of the mountain. The slide is fast, smooth, and exhilarating (the original slides were used by miners to descend quickly into the mine, the modern slide is a safer and more enjoyable version), and your speed is electronically measured, the photograph is an essential souvenir. The tour continues along the subterranean lake (the mirror-like surface reflecting the lights in the darkness, beautiful and slightly eerie), past the oldest wooden staircase in Europe (a 3,000-year-old structure preserved in the salt), and to the climax: the “Man in the Salt”, the preserved body of a prehistoric miner, discovered in 1734, still wearing his leather cap and carrying his tools, his skin and clothing preserved by the salt for over 2,600 years. The salt mine is a journey through 7,000 years of human history, deep in the mountain. Tour duration: ~90 minutes
• The Hallstatt Culture (800–450 BCE): Hallstatt is so significant in European archaeology that it gave its name to an entire period: the Hallstatt Culture, the Early Iron Age civilisation that dominated Central Europe from about 800 to 450 BCE, characterised by its mastery of ironworking, its elaborate burial customs, and its wealth derived from the salt trade. The Hallstatt cemetery, discovered in 1846 by the mine manager Johann Georg Ramsauer, contained over 1,000 graves and some of the richest Iron Age grave goods ever found in Europe: bronze vessels, gold jewellery, fine pottery, and weapons. The finds are displayed in the Hallstatt Museum (on the lakefront in the village, an excellent small museum, ~€10, combined ticket with the salt mine: ~€36) and the Natural History Museum in Vienna. The salt [explore more of Austria →] trade connected Hallstatt to the Mediterranean, the village was one of the wealthiest communities in Iron Age Europe
• Practical information: The funicular to the mine entrance runs from the southern end of the village (near the P2 car park). Total entry (funicular + mine): ~€38 (adult). Book online, the time slots can sell out in peak season. The mine is open April–November (closed in winter). The temperature in the mine is a constant 8°C, bring a warm layer, even in summer. Best time to visit: May–June and September for manageable crowds; July–August is very busy. Hallstatt receives over a million visitors a year on a village of fewer than 800 residents, the mine is slightly less crowded than the village centre, but the experience is far better in the morning (before 10am) or the late afternoon (after 3pm). Stay overnight in the village, after the last tour bus departs, Hallstatt empties out and becomes the magical place of the photographs