S
ituated in
the region of
Salzkammergut
(which means
lots of salt
in German),
Hallstatt will tell you stories of
salt mines and its own history.
When you stay in this area, don’t
forget to visit a salt mine and
listen to its history. There are
many salt mines with depths
varying from hundreds to
thousands of meters. Unlike sea
salt on beaches, salt is filtered
from giant stones found in the
mines. Salt from the mountain
is quite different from sea salt
because of its lower levels of
saltiness.
Nowadays, locals have stopped
using mines and other traditional
methods to produce salt from
104
TRAVELLIVE
some saltmines. They have
turned these saltmines into
natural museums showcasing
the salt mining process in both
ancient and modern ways. For
me, the most impressive thing
is the role of saltmines during
the World War II. Because of the
devastating ravages of war and
to prevent their valued cultural
property from being looted in
Hitler’s period, inhabitants hid
paintings, sculptures, documents
and other valuable works inside
the mines. When the war
ended, these masterpieces were
displayed for visitors. Due to
disadvantages during the war,
they were hidden in different
places by different army corps.
It’s even believed that thousands
of precious works have still not
been discovered.
WARM IN WINTER
Hallstatt and its neighbours
are ideal places for bikers. The
open green space brings you
the most peaceful feelings ever
and mesmerizes with its beauty.
It’s not easy to ride on the hilly
terrain, but believe me, you will
have more exciting experiences
than you expect when exploring
this area.
With a small population of
less than 1 million people,
the village welcomes visitors
with their warm attitude. It is,
perhaps, the friendliest place I
have been to in Europe. Locals
do not promote tourism for
commercial purposes, they
just want to welcome naturelovers and display their pride to
the world. I arrived here quite