View source for Place:Hallstatt

{{short description|Town in Gmunden, Upper Austria}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name            = Hallstatt
| settlement_type = 
| image_skyline   = Hallstatt - Zentrum .JPG
| imagesize       = 300px
| image_caption   = The centre of Hallstatt
| image_shield    = Hallstatt Coat of Arms.svg
| shield_size     = 80x110px
| shield_link     = 
| pushpin_map         = Austria
| pushpin_mapsize     = 271
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Austria
| image_map           = 
| mapsize             = 
| map_alt             =
| map_caption         = Location within Gmunden district
| coordinates       = {{coord|47.562|N|13.649|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type  = Country
| subdivision_name  = Austria
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = Upper Austria
| subdivision_type2 = District
| subdivision_name2 = Gmunden
| parts_type        = 
| parts_style       = para
| p1                = 
| leader_title  = Mayor
| leader_name   = Alexander Scheutz
| leader_title1 = 
| leader_name1  = 
| area_footnotes   = {{Austria population Wikidata|area_footnotes}}
| area_total_km2   = {{Austria population Wikidata|area_total_km2}}
| area_metro_km2   = 
| elevation_m      = 511
| elevation_max_m  = 
| elevation_min_m  = 
| population_as_of = {{Austria population Wikidata|population_as_of}}
| population_footnotes = {{Austria population Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
| population_total = {{Austria population Wikidata|population_total}}
| population_urban =  
| population_metro =  
| population_note  = 
| population_density_km2 = auto
| established_title = 
| established_date  = 
| timezone          = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| timezone_DST      = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset        = +1
| utc_offset_DST    = +2
| registration_plate = GM
| postal_code_type   = Postal code
| postal_code        = 4830
| area_code_type = Area code
| area_code      = 06134
| website   = [http://www.hallstatt.at/ www.hallstatt.at]
| footnotes = 
}}

'''Hallstatt''' ({{IPA-de|ˈhalʃtat|lang|de-Hallstatt.ogg}}) is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut region, on the national road linking [[Place:Salzburg|Salzburg]] and [[Place:Graz|Graz]].

Hallstatt is known for its [[Engineering:Salt mining|production of salt]], dating back to prehistoric times, and gave its name to the Hallstatt culture, the archaeological culture linked to Proto-Celtic and early Celtic people of the [[History:Iron Age Europe|Early Iron Age]] in Europe, c. 800–450 BC.

Hallstatt is at the core of the Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape declared as one of the World Heritage Sites in Austria by [[Organization:UNESCO|UNESCO]] in 1997. It is an area of overtourism.

==History==
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| Part_of     = Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape
| Criteria    = Cultural: iii, iv
| ID          = 806
| Year        = 1997
| Area        = 28,446.2 ha
| Buffer_zone = 20,013.9 ha
}}

[[File:Dominic Groebner Hans Reschreiter NHM Wien Abb Salz-Reich 2008 Seite 67 1.tif|thumb|A section of the Iron Age Hallstatt salt workings.]]

[[File:Museum Hallstatt 35.JPG|thumb|"Antenna hilt" Hallstatt 'D' swords, from Hallstatt.]]

During the [[History:Bronze Age|Bronze Age]] salt production became day-to-day commercial activity in Hallstatt. Salt was produced in large quantities in evidently highly organized arrangements. Specialist workers supported the salt mining operations.<ref>{{cite book | author1=Anthony Harding |title=Salt in Prehistoric Europe |publisher= Sidestone Press |year=2013 |page=88 |isbn=9789088902017 }}</ref> The wealth that was generated is on display in the prehistoric cemeteries in Hallstatt.<ref>{{cite book | editor1=Paul Freedman |title=Food: The History of Taste |publisher= University of California Press |year=2007 |page=57 |isbn=9780520254763 }}</ref>

In 1846 Johann Georg Ramsauer discovered a large [[History:Grave field|prehistoric cemetery]] at the Salzberg mines near Hallstatt ({{coor|47.561|N|13.642|E|}}), which he excavated during the second half of the 19th century. Eventually the excavation would yield 1,045 burials, although no settlement has yet been found. This may be covered by the later village, which has long occupied the entire narrow strip between the steep hillsides and the lake.

Some 1,300 burials have been found, including around 2,000 individuals, with women and children but few infants.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Celtic art: from its beginnings to the Book of Kells|last=Megaw, M. Ruth.|date=2001|publisher=Thames & Hudson|others=Megaw, J. V. S.|isbn=0-500-28265-X|edition=Rev. and expanded|location=New York |oclc=47790275}}</ref>{{Rp|26}} 

The humans that settled Hallstatt exploited the salt mines in the area from the 8th to 5th centuries BC. The style and decoration of the grave goods found in the cemetery are distinctive. In the mine workings themselves, the salt has preserved many organic materials such as textiles, wood, and leather, and many abandoned artefacts such as shoes, pieces of cloth, and tools and miner's backpacks have survived in good condition.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook to life in prehistoric Europe|last=McIntosh, Jane.|date=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-538476-5|location=Oxford|oclc=261176933}}</ref>{{Rp|88}}

Hallstatt A–B are part of the [[History:Bronze Age Europe|Bronze Age]] Urnfield culture. Phase A saw Villanovan influence. In this period, people were cremated and buried in simple graves. In phase B, [[Earth:Tumulus|tumulus]] (barrow or kurgan) burial becomes common, and cremation predominates. Little is known about this period in which the typical Celtic elements have not yet distinguished themselves from the earlier Villanova-culture. The "Hallstatt period" proper is restricted to HaC and HaD (8th to 5th centuries BC), corresponding to the early European Iron Age. Hallstatt lies in the area where the western and eastern zones of the Hallstatt culture meet, which is reflected in the finds from there.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia|date=2006|publisher=ABC-CLIO|others=Koch, John T.|isbn=1-85109-440-7|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|oclc=62381207}}</ref>

Hallstatt C is characterized by the first appearance of iron swords. Hallstatt D displays daggers, almost to the exclusion of swords, in the western zone graves ranging from circa 600 to 500 BC.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|40}} There are also differences in the pottery and [[Engineering:Brooch|brooch]]es. Halstatt D has been further divided into the sub-phases D1 to D3 relating only to the western zone.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|40}}

Major activity at the site appears to have finished about 500 BC, for reasons that are unclear. Many Hallstatt graves were robbed, probably at this time. There was widespread disruption throughout the western Hallstatt zone, and the salt workings had by then become very deep.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|48–49}} 

Much of the material from early excavations was dispersed,<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|26}} 

<gallery class="center" caption="Finds from the Hallstatt site">
File:Alice Schumacher NHM Wien Abb Salz-Reich 2008 Seite 133 6.jpg|A bronze vessel with cow and calf, Hallstatt
File:Andreas W. Rausch PA NHM Wien Abb Salz-Reich 2008 Seite 61 1.tif|A wood and leather carrying pack from the mine
File:Museum Hallstatt 26.JPG|A bronze container with stand, Hallstatt Ha C
File:Andreas W. Rausch PA NHM Wien Abb Salz-Reich 2008 Seite 108 oben.tif|A textile fragment from the salt mine
File:Sítula de bronze, vaixella per a beure, tomba 504 de Hallstatt.JPG|Bronze [[Engineering:Situla|situla]], 800-750 BC
</gallery>

===Romans onwards===
Tourists are told that Hallstatt is the site of "the world's oldest pipeline",<ref>Neal Bedford, Gemma Pitcher. ''Austria''. Lonely Planet, 2005. Page 56.</ref> which was constructed 400 years ago from 13,000 hollowed-out trees.<ref name="virtual">{{cite web |url=https://www.welcometobratislava.eu/overnight-trip-to-hallstatt-from-bratislava-a-picturesque-journey/#Hallstatt%E2%80%99s_White_Gold_%E2%80%93_Salt |title=Hallstatt's White Gold - Salt }}</ref> There is so little space for cemeteries that every ten years bones used to be exhumed and removed into an ossuary, to make room for new burials.<ref name="virtual"/> A collection of elaborately decorated skulls with the deceased's name, profession, and date of death inscribed on them is on display at the local chapel.<ref>Matys, Simon. ''The Archaeology of Human Bones''. Routledge, 1998. {{ISBN|0415166217}}. Page 108</ref>

===19th century===
[[File:Hallstatt 1899. pogled sa sjevera.jpg|thumb|A view of Hallstatt in 1899]]
[[File:1 hallstatt austria.jpg|thumb|Hallstatt viewed from the south, Hallstatt Museum]]

Until the late 19th century, it was only possible to reach Hallstatt by boat or via narrow trails. The land between the lake and mountains was sparse, and the town itself exhausted every free patch of it. Access between houses on the river bank was by boat or over the ''upper path'', a small corridor passing through attics. The first road to Hallstatt was only built in 1890, along the west shore, partially by rock blasting. Nevertheless, this secluded and inhospitable landscape counts as one of the first places of [[Biology:Human|human]] settlement due to the rich sources of natural [[Chemistry:Salt|salt]], which have been mined for thousands of years, originally in the shape of hearts owing to the use of [[Biology:Antler|antler]] picks.<ref name="virtual"/>

==Halstatt salt mine==
The Hallstatt salt mine is the world's oldest working salt mine. The mine is located within the Upper Permian to Lower Triassic [[Earth:Haselgebirge|Haselgebirge]] Formation of the Northern Limestone Alps. The Hallstatt salt mine comprises 21 levels and several smaller shafts ranging from {{convert|514|m}} above sea level (Erbstollen level) to an elevation of around {{cvt|1267|m}} (Erzherzog Matthias Schurf level).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schorn |first1=Anja |last2=Neubauer |first2=Franz |title=The structure of the Hallstatt evaporite body (Northern 5 Calcareous Alps, Austria): a compressive diapir 6 superposed by strike-slip shear?, in Journal of Structural Geology |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259511596 |website=ResearchGate |access-date=15 January 2022 |date=2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Kern |editor1-first=Anton |editor2-last=Kowarik |editor2-first=Kerstin |editor3-last=Rausch |editor3-first=Andreas |editor4-last=Reschreiter |editor4-first=Hans |title=Kingdom of Salt: 7000 years of Hallstatt |date=2009 |publisher=Natural History Museum |location=Vienna |isbn=9783903096080 |pages=12–33}}</ref>

==Tourism==

[[File:Blue Hallstatt (204466021).jpeg|thumb|Hallstatt in Winter]]
The problems and opportunities of greatly-increased tourism in Hallstatt were covered by ''{{wipe|The Washington Post}}'' in August 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Nothing to see here: Popular European destinations want fewer tourists|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/nothing-to-see-here-popular-european-destinations-want-fewer-tourists/2019/08/07/5d2060f4-ac95-11e9-9411-a608f9d0c2d3_story.html|access-date=2021-06-24|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Halstatt's tourism began in the 19th century but greatly increased after it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://ktla.com/2020/01/09/austrian-village-that-inspired-frozen-is-dealing-with-overtourism/|title=Austrian Village That Inspired 'Frozen' Is Dealing With Overtourism |date=2020-01-09 |publisher=KTLA |language=en |access-date=2020-01-13}}</ref> It became popular among East Asian tourists in 2006 when it was featured on a South Korean television show.<ref name=":3" /> 

Social media images of Hallstatt, captioned "the most [[Software:Instagram|Instagram]]mable town in the world," [[Viral phenomenon|went viral]] in Eastern and Southeast Asia.<ref name=":3" /> A replica was planned and then built in China in 2011 in Huizhou, Guangdong province, Hallstatt's twin town.<ref name=":0" /> In 2013, it was rumored in China to be the model for the movie ''Frozen''{{'}}s Arendelle village.<ref name=":0" /> By 2017, local churches were employing bouncers to prevent services being disrupted by tourists.<ref name=":0" /> In 2020, the town had a population of 780, and estimates of 10,000 to nearly 30,000 tourists per day,<ref name=":3">{{Cite news| url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fairytale-alpine-village-begs-frozen-tourists-to-stay-away-cbtchmbhv| title=Alpine village begs Frozen tourists to stay away| last=Hutton| first=Alice| date=2020-01-05| publisher=The Sunday Times| access-date=2020-01-13| language=en| issn=0956-1382}}</ref><ref name=":1">[https://kurier.at/chronik/oesterreich/zu-viele-touristen-hallstatt-zieht-notbremse/400034545 ''Zu viele Touristen: Hallstatt zieht Notbremse''], kurier.at vom 13. Mai 2018</ref> primarily via bus tours which bring tourists briefly into the town for photo opportunities, then quickly move on.<ref name=":1" /> 

Hallstatt's economy depends on tourism,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> but according to locals the day-visitors drive away tourists who would stay longer.<ref name=":1" /> Hallstatt became the prime example of overtourism in Austria and led to controversies around limiting the number of tourists.<ref>[https://www.derstandard.de/story/2000063266421/wenn-touristen-einheimischen-auf-die-fuesse-treten ''Wenn Touristen Einheimischen auf die Füße treten''], derstandard.de vom 29. August 2017</ref> The Austrian Public Broadcasting Organization made multiple documentaries about the situation.<ref>[https://ooe.orf.at/tv/stories/2738744/ ''TV-Doku: „Hallstatt süß-sauer“''], Sendungs-Homepage auf orf.at, 25. Oktober 2015</ref><ref>[https://tv.orf.at/program/orf2/20180920/864002401/story ''„Am Schauplatz: Die Chinesen kommen“''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923163345/https://tv.orf.at/program/orf2/20180920/864002401/story |date=2018-09-23 }}, Sendungs-Homepage auf orf.at, 20. Oktober 2018</ref> 

In 2020, the town focused on "quality" tourism.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Street |first=Francesca |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/gallery/hallstatt-austria-photos/index.html|title=The adorable Alpine village of Hallstatt, Austria |publisher=CNN |date=9 January 2020 |language=en|access-date=2020-01-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/overtourism-frozen-hallstatt-austria/index.html|title=How the village that inspired 'Frozen' is dealing with overtourism|last=Street|first=Francesca|publisher=CNN |date=10 January 2020 |orig-year=9 January 2020 |language=en|access-date=2020-01-13}}</ref> From autumn 2020 there are assigned time slots for tour buses to cope with the problem.<ref>[https://ooe.orf.at/news/stories/2961407/ ''Hallstatt begrenzt Touristenbusse''], orf-online Oberösterreich vom 29. Januar 2019</ref><ref name=":0" /> The arrivals will be limited to 54 per day, which is about half of the current number.<ref>[https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/hallstatt-ein-dorf-wehrt-sich-gegen-overtourism-aus-china-ld.1501634 ''Wie Hallstatt sich gegen die chinesische Touristenflut wehrt''], nzz-online vom 23. August 2019</ref> Buses with an overnight booking in the town will receive preference.<ref name=":0" />

In August 2023, it was reported that locals had protested against overtourism, with the town of just 700 residents being visited by up to 10,000 visitors per day during the high season.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bell |first=Bethany |date=27 August 2023 |title=Hallstatt: Austrian town protests against mass tourism |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66634889 |access-date=28 August 2023}}</ref>

==Politics==
Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2015 local elections:

* Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 7
* BFH ([[Social:Independent politician|Independent]]): 4
* Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 2

Alexander Scheutz (SPÖ) has been mayor of Hallstatt since 2009.

==International relations==
===Twin towns—sister cities===

Hallstatt is twinned with:

* {{flagicon|PRC}} Huizhou, China<ref name="Hallstatt-Huizhou twinning">{{cite news |last=Wainwright |first=Oliver |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2013/jan/07/china-copycat-architecture-seeing-double |title=Seeing double: what China's copycat culture means for architecture |work=The Guardian |location=London |date= 7 January 2013 |access-date=2014-11-15 }}</ref>

==Replica==

On 16 June 2011, plans to build a replica in China were first reported.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/xeroxed-village-chinese-secretly-copy-austrian-unesco-town-a-768754.html |work=Spiegel Online International |title=Xeroxed Village: Chinese Secretly Copy Austrian UNESCO Town|date=16 June 2011}}</ref> On 2 June 2012, it was reported that Chinese mining company China Minmetals Corporation built a full-scale replica of the entire town in Huizhou, Guangdong province.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18327751 |work=BBC News |title=Chinese replica of Austrian village unveiled |date=5 June 2012}}</ref>

==Climate==
Hallstatt, like much of Austria (see Climate of Austria), has a [[Earth:Humid continental climate|humid continental]] climate ([[Earth:Köppen climate classification|''Dfb'']]) ([[Earth:Oceanic climate|''Cfb'']] if the {{Convert|-3.0|C|F}} isotherm is used) with warm, rainy summers and chilly to cold, snowy winters. Precipitation is plentiful year-round, hence the ''f'' in ''Dfb,'' but is at its highest during the three months of summer: Jun-Aug.

Spring is a short (March and April) transition season between cold winters and mild summers. By mid-November, fall has turned to winter and the nighttime low temperature is ~freezing, giving a growing season of April to early November.{{Weather box 
| width = auto
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
| location = Hallstatt
| Jan high C  =1.5
| Feb high C  =4.0
| Mar high C  =9.2
| Apr high C  =13.9
| May high C  =19.0
| Jun high C  =22.3
| Jul high C  =24.1
| Aug high C  =23.3
| Sep high C  =19.7
| Oct high C  =13.8
| Nov high C  =6.7
| Dec high C  =2.3

| Jan mean C  =-2.6
| Feb mean C  =-0.7
| Mar mean C  =3.7
| Apr mean C  =8.0
| May mean C  =12.9
| Jun mean C  =16.2
| Jul mean C  =17.8
| Aug mean C  =17.2
| Sep mean C  =13.7
| Oct mean C  =8.6
| Nov mean C  =3.1
| Dec mean C  =-1.0

| Jan low C  =-6.5
| Feb low C  =-5.4
| Mar low C  =-1.7
| Apr low C  =2.2
| May low C  =6.8
| Jun low C  =10.2
| Jul low C  =11.6
| Aug low C  =11.1
| Sep low C  =7.8
| Oct low C  =3.4
| Nov low C  =-0.5
| Dec low C  =-4.3

| precipitation colour =green
| Jan precipitation mm  =86
| Feb precipitation mm  =86
| Mar precipitation mm  =89
| Apr precipitation mm  =110
| May precipitation mm  =125
| Jun precipitation mm  =172
| Jul precipitation mm  =177
| Aug precipitation mm  =153
| Sep precipitation mm  =104
| Oct precipitation mm  =91
| Nov precipitation mm  =96
| Dec precipitation mm  =104

| source =<ref name="Climate-Data.org">{{cite web
|url= https://en.climate-data.org/location/60850/
|title= Climate: Hallstatt
|publisher= Climate-Data.org
|access-date=26 December 2017}}</ref>
}}

== See also ==
*List of World Heritage Sites in Austria

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [https://www.hallstatt.net/home-en-US/ Municipal website (English)]

{{Geographic location
|Centre = Hallstatt
|North = Bad Goisern
|Northeast = Bad Aussee
|East =Obertraun
|Southeast = 
|South =Ramsau am Dachstein
|Southwest =
|West =Gosau
|Northwest =
}}

[[Category:Archaeological type sites]]
[[Category:Iron Age Europe]]

{{Sourceattribution|Hallstatt}}