Hallstatt

Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Hallstatt, Upper Austria, Austria
Got away before 7 and made good time (about 6 minutes) to the station - Wien Westbahnhof this time. Checked the platform of the train, grabbed a couple of salad rolls, and then ducked into the First Class Lounge for a free coffee. I couldn't get the machine to work, so we had a little croissant and a pastry and a glass of juice instead.

The train was a 'westbahn' train, and left at 7 .38. Our pass was valid, but we were second class on it - because 1st class is Business. And yes - their second class was good. It was quite crowded - not tourists though, business people. We reached 200km per hour!

Then changed to a Regional train - a real regional train this time. We wended our way past various sees (lakes) until we got to Hallstatt See. There is nothing at the stop, except for a sign to the ferry - and it was raining.

Just to put an end to the myth - the ferry from the Hallstatt train stop to the town of Hallstatt on the other side of the lake, is NOT free. It only costs €2.50 each, one way, but I'd read in a few places that it was part of the train fare. As you can see from the photo, there was a lot of cloud and it was raining. But pretty awesome all the same!

Unfortunately, there was no Tourist Information near where the ferry docked . And the shops don't have awnings like in Australia. There were a lot of wet people milling around. The tour buses (and there are a lot) arrive at the other end of town - near the Tourist Office. Also near our hotel (we asked a friendly shop keeper).

We'd arrived early so we could do the tour of the Salt Mine.

 Hallstatt Salt Mine (Salzwelten):
You'd think that the discovery of concrete in the mine from 1,500 BC would make this an old salt mine, but it's actually much older. In 1838, workers found a pick made of stag horn from the Neolithic Age dating back to 5,000 BC, making the mine 7,000 years old!! This make
Salzwelten the oldest salt mine in the world!

During the 1800's there were even more big time for discoveries at the mine, like in 1833 when mining director Johann Georg Ramsauer found the Hallstatt miners burial ground. This along with other comprehensive finds from the early Iron Age (800 – 400 BC) have lead historians to call the period the “Hallstatt period” .

Today visitors to the mine are given a very wide range of activities from a ride on a barge over the mine's salt lake, a slide down the old wooden miners' shoot, interaction with large salt blocks, and the "Man in Salt" which is our favorite thing. The "Man in Salt" was discovered in 1734 when the body of a former miner was found, perfectly preserved in salt. Records describe the corpse as being "pressed flat as a board and features worn away by stone. Clothing and tools quite unusual, but completely intact." 

But I was so wet and frazzled, that it all seemed too hard. Then when I saw it was €23 (for Seniors) each we decided not to do it. The cloud made the funicular ride (half of the fee) a bit pointless, and I'd already read about the mine - I just wanted to go on the slide!

Our room wasn't ready (check in was 2pm and it was 12.15), so we left our bags and went exploring. The sun came out - for a while. Checked in at 2 and then went out again (after checking the internet worked) .

Hallstatt was brilliant. We still managed to walk up more stairs - but worth it. And a lot of tourists around - lol. Here are a few descriptions of things from big boy travel.

" .....Hallstatt's true beauty, the tightly stacked timber homes!   As you walk along the water's edge, notice how Hallstatt's houses were built close to the cliffs on the mountains perched above the lake. The houses were built like this not only because of a lack of land but also so the residents could have direct lake access. The second floor today was actually the first floor and today's first floors were mainly the 'garages' or boat access. Until the late 1800's, the only way to reach the houses was either by boat or through the narrow pathways like the still visible just over the roofs of the houses along the stroll. In 1890, the road you are walking on was built, making the village greatly more accessible although part of the local bank needed to be blasted away to make the road's path ."

Protestant Church
:
As the teachings of Martin Luther became popular, especially among miners, in the 16th century a need grew for a Evangelical Church. This time was also in the dead heat of the Reformation during a lot of conflict between Protestants and Catholics. In 1601, all local bridges were destroyed making transportation of wood and boats impossible pushing Protestant further into rebellion against the Catholics. The local Archbishop of
Salzburg's supporters tired to suppress the protestant rebellion, and condemned their
opposition to death setting their homes on fire. In 1734, 300 Protestants were forced
out of their homes in and around Hallstatt during the night and forced to re-locate. In 1781, Emperor Joseph II lightened the regional Catholic stance toward religious tolerance and allowed Protestants to practice with some restrictions. in 1861, Emperor Franz Josef I took
the tolerance a step further and officially declared that the Evangelical and Catholic faiths should be equally tolerated. This enhanced step toward tolerance let the local Protestant population grow to 500 people and the current Protestant Church was built in 1863 .

Bone House in Michael's Chapel
(Beinhaus en Michaelschapel):

Since the 1200's exhumed human bones have been moved from the grave graveyard to be displayed in the Bone House in the Gothic Michael's Chapel. Why is this? It was mainly because the lack of land didn't let the graveyard expand for new deaths and cremation was
not allowed by the church. Their solution was to dig up bodies 10 to 15 years after a burial and move the bones to the chapel, therefore opening up a grave spot for the newly dead. The exhumed skulls were cleaned and then left outside for weeks until they were as smooth ivory
before being arranged inside into careful rows of interconnected kin. In 720 A.D., a new
tradition started with the decorative painting of new skulls going into the Bone House. The early paintings were limited to flowers meant to symbolize wreaths of flowers that are traditionally laid on graves, and were seen as a sign of love. The painting then expanded into their names, the dates they lived and more symbols such Oak Leaves (symbol of fame or importance), Laurel (symbol of victory), Ivy (the symbol of life), and Roses (symbol of love). The two predominantly place skulls under the Cross of Salvation have been painted with Snakes (symbol of death and the sins of Adam and Eve). The both the left on right of the cross are bibles, each with two skulls of former priests.





 
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alvin
2015-06-24

really enjoying this Purple

2025-02-15

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