Today we went to one of my bucket list cities, Hallstatt. The drive from Altausee to Hallstatt was one of those scenic drives that is so hard not to gawk at the beauty that is surrounding you instead of keeping your eyes on the road. We quickly stopped at the start of Hallstatter Lake right outside of Bad Goisern to enjoy the view of the beginning of the lake.
We entered Hallstatt through a tunnel that goes through the mountain, so when you exit, you are there.
We took a funicular up the mountain to give the kids a special ride up the mountain. You can hike up as well, as you can see from the map below.
At the top of the funicular, is a viewing platform and the entrance to the Hallstatt Salt Caves.
Hallstatt has the oldest salt mine, 7000 years of mining has taken place here. I think that is incredible. Salt was such a valuable commodity and allowed people to trade for other goods. Salt made it possible to preserve meats throughout the winter. There are a lot of hiking trails up at the top. You can walk around in this area and learn about the history of the salt mining. There is a really steep incline when walking around.
St. Barbara has such an interesting story. The miners have her as their patron saint. As you can see from the plaque above that her father kept her locked in a dark tower for 3 years because she converted to Christianity. He then took her life by cutting off her head. He was struck by lightening immediately after doing this.
An entrance and exit into the mine. There are 3 salt cave mining tours you can go on. This one is special because of the funicular and the train you get to ride on. We chose to tour the cave in Altausee and spent our time in Hallstatt exploring.
We hiked down the mountain and I highly recommend doing this. Great views and the UNESCO World Heritage Culture Site has set up informational sights so you can learn more on the way down.
This plaque below signifies the Habsburg’s changing the ways the mining community operated to a socially responsible manner.
You can enter the town center from this path. The town is extremely picturesque and built into the hill on the lakefront.
Hanna found a Krampus mask.
We had fun exploring the city.
We rented electric boats to view the village from the water, this is really fun and I highly recommend it.
Hallstatt is gorgeous! There were a lot of tourist besides us enjoying this beautiful, important village. So keep that in mind if planning a trip here. We really enjoyed day tripping here, but staying in Altausee.
Mama With Wanderlust 