Salt mines near Salzburg
The importance of salt in Salzburg
Salt mine in Hallein Throughout history, salt has always been very important for Salzburg. It gave the city of Salzburg one part of its name (German: salz = salt) and made the city rich. Salt is also often called white gold on account of its great value. The prince archbishops of Salzburg knew about the salt’s value and they organised a prospering trade within the surrounding regions and countries. They extracted the salt from the salt mines in bad Dürrnberg near Hallein and shipped it on the river Salzach to its destination. Today production in the wide labyrinths of the salt mines has ceased, but there you can still visit the salt mines near Salzburg and get an impression of what this subterranean work was like. Even the Celts, 2,500 years ago, found ways to extract this white gold.
Video Gallery
Picture gallery A daytrip to the Bad Durrnberg salt mines near Hallein
Wooden slide The salt mines near Hallein are some of the oldest salt mines in the world. Dressed in traditional miner’s clothes you will travel by small train down the mountain. There you can learn about the dangerous work in the salt mines and how they extract the salt from the rocks. Definitely one of the highlights is the boat trip on the subterranean salt lake. During the tour your guide will tell you everything about salt and its secrets. On wooden slides you will go deeper and deeper into the salt mines before the train “Grubenhunt” brings you back to the surface. Children from the age of 4 can go on a special guided tour through the salt mines with Salty Joe. A visit to the Celtic Village and the Celt Museum in Hallein is also included in the entrance fee. The guided tour lasts approximately 70 minutes, and the whole trip including the village and the museum lasts about 2.5 hours.
