Just take a look at this! OMG seriously – this was a unique and beautiful place!

A cute little village with 770 inhabitants, it sits on the edge of Hallstatter See with a gorgeous view of Dachstein massif across the lake

its REALLLLY touristy! this was the first place where we saw bus loads of Japanese tourists roll on in… this town does run mainly on tourism

Its a quiet and peaceful area with breathtaking views of the mountains, with brids flying around and ducks and swans swimming around in bliss

Hallstatt is a UNESCO site and is located in the district of Gmunden in Upper Austria between the southwestern shore of Hallstatter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein Massif

Hallstatt is known for its production of salt dating back to prehistoric times

Tourism had its opportunities as well as problems, the tourism here began in 19th c. and kept increasing after it made it to the UNESCO list. It was featured on a Korean television show and since then its brought the buses of east Asians here.

LOCATION

https://goo.gl/maps/t7xcw41uzwSLiJRs5

Thr drive wasnt too far from Gmunden and was a beautiful drive through the mountains

The town itself is very tiny with not even 1000 inhabitants

As you can see, the whole area is just roads made through mountains and is a dream to drive along!

Until late 19th c. it was only possible to reach Halstatt by boar or narrow trails. The land between the lake and mountains was sparse and the town had taken over any of the free patches available to build on

The first road to Halstatt was only built in 1890 and they had to blast rocks to create access

Access between houses on the river bank was by boar or over the upper path (a small corridor passing through attics)

We drove along the roads excited to get to Halstatt which has been on my bucket list forever!

In awe of the awesome tunnels made along the mountain roads

Such beautiful scenery along the way, I wanted to stop everywhere and explore!

This is a section of the Iron Age Halstatt salt mines

Its the worlds oldest working salt mine and has 21 levels and small shafts from 514m above sea level (Erbstollen leve) to an elevation of around 1267m (Erzherzog Matthias Schurf level)

Since 1595 the production of salt has transported 40km from Halstatt to Ebensee via a brine pipeline where the salt is taken to salt evaporatation areas

Beautiful Halstatt! looking over from the shore when we got to our camp site

Halstatt is one of the most popular places – and a replica was planned and built in Huizhou, Guangdong province – check it out here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallstatt_(China)

There is so much to explore around here, if you have the time stay a few days and go up the mountains, the view is beautiful from up there!!

DUcks enjoying the view

A few of the houses and mainly hotels and accommodations around Halstatt

View of the Evangelisches Pfarramt, their local parish church

Walking amongst the locals houses and b&bs – they are all so cute and unique in their own ways with wooden decorations and balconies with perfect views of the lake and surrounding mountains

The sun shining off the mountains… I loved how every time you looked out towards the view it had changed somehow in some way so it was always different

The restaurants and shops were mainly found on the lower pathway along the water and the locals homes were higher up via steep path ways

Fun swan paddle boats, too cold that day for them to be in use

The cafe and restaurants along the way had beautoful lanterns and sitting areas with million $ views!

Started wandering around and found the marketplace, Oberer Marktplatz

Looking up from the market place towards more homes and accommodations

I loved how the buildings were so colourful and neatly tucked in together – all so different yet working so beautifully together

Wasserfall Hallstatt, crashing down behind the main part of the town and behind the road into Halstatt

p.s. We didnt do this but there are stairs going up towards the waterfall and the views from there are amazing! go if you can, ive seen some photos and wish I had gone if id known about it

Hallstatt Lutheran Church – walking up through the narrow alleyways

The beautiful Marketplatz with all these cute little B&Bs surrounding it and cafes and shops

This square dates back to 14th c. and in the middle is the Trinity column which was donated by a couple from Halstatt (in mid 18th c. Plague columns were also called Trinity columns are monuments that commemorate the time of the plague or given as a thank you for the fact that the plague was over

There are always some sort of events held here through out the year

Beauitful stone steps lead up to someones home

Beautiful houses along the Seeufer Promenade, made from wood and with intricate detailing, each house has its own design and flair!

An old school fountain, still in use today with some adjustments

Katholische Pfarrkirche Hallstatt (The Catholic Church) – such a peaceful location, a beautiful building with fabulous artwork both outside and inside

The tower of this church has been here since 12th c. the existing church was finished in 1505 and was compoletely rennovated in 2002

The Catholic Church graveyard… with the most beautiful view over the lake

As night time set in, and as the flocks of tourists left, the beauty of this little town showed through in another way, the streets were really quiet and it was so nice and serene walking along and admiring the shimmering lights in the water of the lake

If you have the time, there is an amazing viewpoint – World Heritage Viewpoint and you can see Halstatt from above

I forever loved my experience in Halstatt witht he campervan! It would be nice to visit here again and actually stay in a hotel or B&B in the town centre of Halstatt for a few days and really get to experience and explore the town deeper and the surrounding areas

FOR NEXT TIME:

There are the Salt mines i want to explore / go up to the “Skywalk”above Halstatt to view the village from above / The Hallstatt ossuary which is a small room full of 1200 skulls painted (right next to the Catholic Church) / Panorama lake trip on a boat / Viewing platform on Krippenstein