The Hallstätter - Between Tradition and Modernity

What he lives on and what he loves

"Come here!" says the grandfather to his grandson and grabs the oar. "I'll have to show you, because your father, the Gosinger, will never teach you!

The father, the Gosinger, is from Gosau who married a Hallstatt woman many years ago and has lived in Hallstatt for just as many years. He has mastered the technique of rowing with the flatboat just as perfectly as anyone from Hallstatt. Perhaps there are subtle differences in rowing style, in the elegance of the oar position or steering. It's not that easy to swing across the lake with such a vessel, because a flatboat only has one oar, and therefore an inexperienced person usually rows in circles. In Hallstatt, by the way, they call a flatboat a "Fuhr". It looks like a gondola. Yes, these Hallstatt people are unique, with their own names for what determines their lives, with their own way of life. They are by no means backwoods, as one might assume when one learns that this region was difficult to reach for centuries.

Salt: The defining element of the Hallstatt people

The natives of Hallstatt were already cosmopolitan, establishing a European culture on the Salzberg mountain and trading with half of Europe. Salt production and salt transport later connected them with the world, which finally came to them when tourism was discovered. Love of one's homeland and openness to the world are not opposites in Hallstatt.

It was never easy to be a Hallstatter - and it's not easy today either. Salinen Austria has been privatized and its workforce has been greatly reduced in recent years.

Life Around Salt

The Hallstatt boiling huts were closed as early as 1965. The job opportunities have shrunk. It is difficult to live on a few months of tourism for the whole year. That's why many Hallstatt residents look for work outside their hometown, which is much easier today thanks to mobility by car. But many of them no longer return home, or only at the proverbial holy times. The number of inhabitants has fallen

The tradition is interrupted

The tradition of the son following the father's profession has been interrupted. For centuries this was common practice in Hallstatt, and usually it was even the same branch of service through the generations. The sons of the miners followed their ancestors in their choice of profession. It was no different with the pan servants, ironworkers and blacksmiths. And of course with the salt workers, the noble and wealthy salt lords who played an essential role in Hallstatt's history for over half a millennium. They donated numerous works of art to the church.

Chair bearer and mountain guide

The emerging tourism brought new job opportunities, but very inhumane professions emerged. For example, there was even one registered occupation listed in the district administration of Gmunden as a "trade concession" of chair bearer. The aristocrats let themselves be carried to the Rudolfsturm, the Gosau mill, and even the Simonyhütte. The mountain guides were better off than the chair bearers, although they were also demoted to the service of the rulers. Today's chair bearers are the cable cars.

Long tradition

The former main occupations of Hallstatt - miners, lumberjacks and fishermen - live on in a memorial. A memorial for what the Hallstatt man loves in his free time is not required. But the times have changed. Active sports and media presence have also changed the lives of the people of Hallstatt. That had little effect on sociability. The people of Hallstatt still meet for a conversation in their traditional inns, but the topics have shifted. Politics and world events come to the fore. Conversations from bygone days about mountain, hunting and poaching experiences are noticeably decreasing.

But there are still enough Hallstatters who play in the “Salinenmusikkapelle” band with enthusiasm instead of listening to canned music. And the people of Hallstatt still love their mountains, their lake and their forests. On days off they go to the "wood forest" to take advantage of the tree servitude they have been entitled to for generations, and on long winter evenings they make things out of them or turn or carve them.

Life between mountains and lake

This life has never been easy. And even today it is not easy to live in this landscape, which is indeed endowed with beauty, but with few riches. But that never discouraged the Hallstatters. They are used to asserting themselves. In the struggle for existence, which was always a few degrees harder here than elsewhere, this breed of people came into being: independent and yet adaptable, self-confident and yet modest, connected to their homeland and yet open to the world. But what is the point of the unsuitable attempt to characterise the Hallstatters? A note on this: the fact that the guests keep coming back cannot only be explained by the history, the landscape and the art, it must also be due to the Hallstatters. Copyright of the English version: © www.hallstatt.net / All rights reserved.

Experience history - visit Hallstatt now!

Detailed: History of Hallstatt

The mining town of Hallstatt is located on the west bank of the fjord-like Lake Hallstatt. Due to the salt deposits, Celts settled here. Finds from the burial ground document a whole epoch - the Hallstatt period (800-400 BC).

Archaeological excavations in Hallstatt

The sensational findings and centuries-old remains of settlements in the centre of Hallstatt made the "cellar full of history" a real spectator magnet. A must see!

Themed trails & Audio Guide Tour

By means of display boards and interactive elements, visitors learn a lot of interesting and useful information about this unique natural and cultural landscape within the UNESCO World Heritage region. Most themed trails can be enjoyed whatever the weather.

Events & guided tours in the Hallstatt Salt Mine

Experience an unforgettable excursion into the depths of the oldest salt mine in the world and into the skies above Hallstatt! We give you an overview of guided tours and many other events around the Hallstatt Salt Mine.