The Hallein Salt Mine, also known as ''Salzbergwerk Dürrnberg'', is an underground
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
mine located in the
Dürrnberg
Dürrnberg, also named Bad Dürrnberg, is an Austrian village part of the municipality of Hallein, in Hallein District (Tennengau), Salzburg State. It is the location of the Hallein Salt Mine (''Salzbergwerk Dürrnberg'').
History
The history of D ...
plateau above
Hallein
Hallein () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is the capital of Hallein district.
Geography
The town is located in the ''Tennengau'' region south of the City of Salzburg, stretching along the Salzach river in the shadow of ...
, Austria. The mine has been worked for over 7,000 years since the time of the
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
tribes and earlier. It helped ensure nearby
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
would become a powerful trading community. Since World War I, it has served as a mining museum, known for its long wooden slides between levels.
Description
There are several named tunnels in the mine, including the Obersteinberg opened in 1450, the Untersteinberg, the Jackobberg, the Rupertsberg, the Wolf Deitrich tunnel and the Dr. Nusko tunnels. They descend all of the way to Hallein.
[
Early mining was done by hand and extracted salt rock crystals as a solid. To improve efficiency, fresh water would be pumped into a cavern. After several weeks of absorbing salt from the walls, the water was pumped out to a processing plant in Hallein.]
In 1829, the Bavarian–Austrian Salt Treaty
The Bavarian–Austrian Salt Treaty of 1829 (german: Konvention zwischen Bayern und Österreich über die beiderseitigen Salinenverhältnisse vom 18. März 1829, short ''Salinenkonvention'') is the oldest European treaty still in effect. It was sig ...
was created, as the mine actually crosses under the border into Bavaria. The treaty stipulates that up to ninety Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n farmers are allowed to work in the mine.[
]
Scientific research
There has been scientific research which used ancient human feces found in the older tunnels to determine how resources were shared between cultures.
Visiting
There is a 90-minute guided Salzwelten-tour which covers 1 kilometer. Visitors put on white coveralls to protect their clothes inside the mine. There is a electric train ride into the mine which leads to two sets of wooden slides. Visitors straddle two wooden rails and slide quickly down to the lower level of the mine. There is a boat trip across an underground lake before exiting the mine.
In 1969, there were 150,000 visitors to the mine. At that time, the tour covered and went down seven wooden slides.[
]
See also
*Dürrnberg
Dürrnberg, also named Bad Dürrnberg, is an Austrian village part of the municipality of Hallein, in Hallein District (Tennengau), Salzburg State. It is the location of the Hallein Salt Mine (''Salzbergwerk Dürrnberg'').
History
The history of D ...
* Bavarian-Austrian Salt Treaty
References
External links
Official site
{{portal bar, Food
Underground mines in Austria
Salt Mine
Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations.
History
Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...
Mining museums in Austria
Salt mines in Austria
Museums in Salzburg (state)
Salt museums
Buildings and structures in Salzburg (state)
Show mines
Economy of Salzburg (state)