The saltworks

Mark of power

More than 2,000 years ago, salt extraction and trade are already making Hallstatt and its inhabitants rich. The findings at the burial ground on the salt mountain prove this.

In the Middle Ages the Hapsburgs are quick to realise the value of white gold and assume control of its production and trade. High-up administrative officials manage the salt business by proxy.

The salt officer from Gmunden on Traunsee Lake is responsible for the Salzkammergut region, which is in the imperial family’s possession. The administrators under him attend to affairs in the respective saltworks. The administrator for Hallstatt is based in Bad Ischl.

When fire destroys much of the village centre in 1750, salt production and administration are affected. It is decided that a new salt evaporation house should be constructed along with the administrative building you can see in the image. Both are erected in Lahn rather than in the village centre.

In 1943 salt evaporation stops in Hallstatt and the saltworks administration is relocated to Bad Ischl. This means there is no direct use any more for the large, official building. The office rooms are turned into dwellings; from the 1990s the building is mostly empty.