The salt ships

Transporting salt on the Traun River

In the boiling houses of the Salzkammergut salt is extracted from brine by evaporation. It is then pressed into special wooden barrels which are loaded onto flat barges, the so-called Salzplätten.

These small, agile barges travel to Steeg on the Hallstättersee, where bigger vessels take over. From here the journey continues via Gmunden on the Traunsee to Enns, where the cargo is loaded on to large Danube ships. The Danube ships, with their 17-men crew can carry more than 50 tonnes in weight and can manage the route from Enns to Vienna downstream in two days. The return journey however, upstream, takes more than two weeks. In the mid-17th century just under 700 tonnes of salt is delivered from here to the imperial capital each year.

Travelling on the Traun is a risky business in the Middle Ages until a man-made waterway below Gmunden is built in 1552 - the only way to get past the 17 metre high Traun waterfall. The waterway is a technical masterpiece, at 400 metres long it makes possible the regulation of the flow of water and in turn the speed of the ships.