Salt mining took place for centuries in the Salzkammergut, long before the Salzburg Archbishops
opened salt works around Hallein in 1200AD. By medieval times, salt was transported by ships to
Passau and on to Frankonia, Bohemia, into present day Lower Austria and to Moravia by cart. The
salt crossed the rugged Tauern mountains and reached as far as Carinthia and East Tyrol. On the
river Salzach at Hallein, 119 tons of Dürrnberg salt were shipped daily each spring when the river
Salzach was navigable until it reached the Danube. Two-thirds of the Hallein salt was transported on
the Salzach, and ship building was a side industry. Above right: Joseph Schaitberger
The Knappenfahne shown on the introductory page dates from 1586, and shows the unique sword
dance of the Dürrnberg miners who were paid to perform. They entertained the Archbishops and
danced by torch light in a round chain dance dressed in their trachten, depicting the skills and
customs of their work in 12 scenes. In the 16th and 17th Century, 16 dancers took part and the
performance took from 45 to 90 minutes and included a bow of respect to sponsors and guests. It
eventually grew to include 20 dancers, up to 30 torch holders and included a 50 man chorus.
Such dancing had been around since ancient times in German regions, and was even recorded by the
Roman historian Tacitus who commented: “One public diversion which is constantly exhibited at all
of their meetings, the young, whose men by frequent exercise have attained great perfection in that
pastime, strip themselves, and dance among the points of swords and spears with the most wonderful
agility, and even with the most elegant and graceful motions. They do perform this dance for hire,
but usually for the entertainment of spectators, where applause is sufficient reward.”
There was danger involved with every aspect of mining and great disasters occurred in the history of
salt mining at Dürrnberg, but being a miner was still considered a privilege with good pay and modern
job benefits, and the occupation tended to stay within families.
Shift-work in the mines began on Monday morning and ended at lunchtime on Saturday. The miners,
sitting on a "saddlecloth", slid down into the mine on a banister-like contraption. Up to the mid
19th century, the saline solution produced in the solution chambers of the mine was transported to
the various Sudhäuser, or salt houses, in the town where it was processed.
opened salt works around Hallein in 1200AD. By medieval times, salt was transported by ships to
Passau and on to Frankonia, Bohemia, into present day Lower Austria and to Moravia by cart. The
salt crossed the rugged Tauern mountains and reached as far as Carinthia and East Tyrol. On the
river Salzach at Hallein, 119 tons of Dürrnberg salt were shipped daily each spring when the river
Salzach was navigable until it reached the Danube. Two-thirds of the Hallein salt was transported on
the Salzach, and ship building was a side industry. Above right: Joseph Schaitberger
The Knappenfahne shown on the introductory page dates from 1586, and shows the unique sword
dance of the Dürrnberg miners who were paid to perform. They entertained the Archbishops and
danced by torch light in a round chain dance dressed in their trachten, depicting the skills and
customs of their work in 12 scenes. In the 16th and 17th Century, 16 dancers took part and the
performance took from 45 to 90 minutes and included a bow of respect to sponsors and guests. It
eventually grew to include 20 dancers, up to 30 torch holders and included a 50 man chorus.
Such dancing had been around since ancient times in German regions, and was even recorded by the
Roman historian Tacitus who commented: “One public diversion which is constantly exhibited at all
of their meetings, the young, whose men by frequent exercise have attained great perfection in that
pastime, strip themselves, and dance among the points of swords and spears with the most wonderful
agility, and even with the most elegant and graceful motions. They do perform this dance for hire,
but usually for the entertainment of spectators, where applause is sufficient reward.”
There was danger involved with every aspect of mining and great disasters occurred in the history of
salt mining at Dürrnberg, but being a miner was still considered a privilege with good pay and modern
job benefits, and the occupation tended to stay within families.
Shift-work in the mines began on Monday morning and ended at lunchtime on Saturday. The miners,
sitting on a "saddlecloth", slid down into the mine on a banister-like contraption. Up to the mid
19th century, the saline solution produced in the solution chambers of the mine was transported to
the various Sudhäuser, or salt houses, in the town where it was processed.
The main feature of the Sudhäuser was a big, flat, horse shoe shaped salt pan, a 'Sudpfanne', built
of riveted metal which was suspended from the ceiling by hooks and supported underneath by brick
columns. Boiling is the oldest method of extracting salt. The brine taken from the salt mine was
heated until the water had completely evaporated and the pure white salt had crystallized.
During the evaporation, which ran from Monday until Saturday, the hot and damp salt was pulled
from the pan every two hours and put into conical wood containers, tapped down, and after a short
time pulled from the form. These heavy salt plugs were dragged by carriers into the baking ovens,
'Pfieseln'. After the drying, the salt cones were smashed into thumb size pieces for transportation
barrels. Other aspects of the industry involved the packing and transport of salt.
Boiling houses for the salt were built of local lumber, and as the sources of fuel dwindled, the boiling
houses were moved. This enriched the lumber trade in the area. The wood industry was crucial for
Salt pans, barrels and other implements.
The salt springs which emerged from horizontal tunnels in the valley sides were actually the ancient
galleries into the old flooded salt mines that had been worked in prehistoric times, a fact that later
miners were unaware of. One tunnel the miners worked in went all the way through from Dürrnberg
to Berchtesgaden, and disputes over property rights and boundaries were common among the
neighboring rulers.
In the earliest mines of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., salt was extracted from the mountain in solid
form. At the height of prehistoric mining, Dürrnberg salt was traded from the Baltic Sea as far as
Italy, and from France as far as Hungary. From the 7th century BC, Celtic people lived in the area of
today's salt mines around nearby Hallstatt, a large prehistoric salt-mining area. The "Hallstatt period,"
c.750 - 450 BC, is named after this region rich in archaeological evidence. With simple tools made of
wood and bronze the Celts had built underground tunnels by hand up to 300 metres deep into the
mountain to reach the valuable salt deposits. Salt was the main trade commodity used by the Celts.
In early times, salt was a valuable food preservative and almost as highly prized as gold, and trade
links were established with the Mediterranean regions. Dürrnberg is also home to a major Celtic site
dating from 500-300 BC., and the mountainous area contains several large areas of ancient
salt-mining dating from this period.
There was a long time, until 1200, during which the mine on the Dürrnberg was again used and work
restarted. The medieval miners used hammers and iron pickaxes for building galleries. In Dürrnberg,
miners in 1573 and again in 1616 found "men in the salt," 2,000 years old mummified Celtic bodies
perfectly preserved in salt. There were no signs of change other than that their skin had been colored
brown by the effects of the salt. They unfortunately gave them "Christian burials," and thus,
destroyed them. The grave of a Celtic chieftain buried with various treasures was discovered as
recently as 1932. Clues to the ancient miners' diet from preserved feces were obtained. They ate
millet, barley, beans, and apples. The salt they carried out was in leather rucksacks, and these ancient
miners wore woollen clothes and leather slippers. Salt mining at Dürrnberg was ended in 1989.
of riveted metal which was suspended from the ceiling by hooks and supported underneath by brick
columns. Boiling is the oldest method of extracting salt. The brine taken from the salt mine was
heated until the water had completely evaporated and the pure white salt had crystallized.
During the evaporation, which ran from Monday until Saturday, the hot and damp salt was pulled
from the pan every two hours and put into conical wood containers, tapped down, and after a short
time pulled from the form. These heavy salt plugs were dragged by carriers into the baking ovens,
'Pfieseln'. After the drying, the salt cones were smashed into thumb size pieces for transportation
barrels. Other aspects of the industry involved the packing and transport of salt.
Boiling houses for the salt were built of local lumber, and as the sources of fuel dwindled, the boiling
houses were moved. This enriched the lumber trade in the area. The wood industry was crucial for
Salt pans, barrels and other implements.
The salt springs which emerged from horizontal tunnels in the valley sides were actually the ancient
galleries into the old flooded salt mines that had been worked in prehistoric times, a fact that later
miners were unaware of. One tunnel the miners worked in went all the way through from Dürrnberg
to Berchtesgaden, and disputes over property rights and boundaries were common among the
neighboring rulers.
In the earliest mines of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., salt was extracted from the mountain in solid
form. At the height of prehistoric mining, Dürrnberg salt was traded from the Baltic Sea as far as
Italy, and from France as far as Hungary. From the 7th century BC, Celtic people lived in the area of
today's salt mines around nearby Hallstatt, a large prehistoric salt-mining area. The "Hallstatt period,"
c.750 - 450 BC, is named after this region rich in archaeological evidence. With simple tools made of
wood and bronze the Celts had built underground tunnels by hand up to 300 metres deep into the
mountain to reach the valuable salt deposits. Salt was the main trade commodity used by the Celts.
In early times, salt was a valuable food preservative and almost as highly prized as gold, and trade
links were established with the Mediterranean regions. Dürrnberg is also home to a major Celtic site
dating from 500-300 BC., and the mountainous area contains several large areas of ancient
salt-mining dating from this period.
There was a long time, until 1200, during which the mine on the Dürrnberg was again used and work
restarted. The medieval miners used hammers and iron pickaxes for building galleries. In Dürrnberg,
miners in 1573 and again in 1616 found "men in the salt," 2,000 years old mummified Celtic bodies
perfectly preserved in salt. There were no signs of change other than that their skin had been colored
brown by the effects of the salt. They unfortunately gave them "Christian burials," and thus,
destroyed them. The grave of a Celtic chieftain buried with various treasures was discovered as
recently as 1932. Clues to the ancient miners' diet from preserved feces were obtained. They ate
millet, barley, beans, and apples. The salt they carried out was in leather rucksacks, and these ancient
miners wore woollen clothes and leather slippers. Salt mining at Dürrnberg was ended in 1989.
Earlier mining: To The Schwazer Bergbuch
Dürrnberg is called Bad Dürrnberg today for its spas which came about when mining ceased.It is part
of the administrative district of the Tennengau, named for the Tennen massif, a division of the
Salzach Valley south of Salzburg framed by rolling hills, woodlands, waterfalls and some historic
houses called the Tennengauer Einhöfe. Living accommodations were quite simple for the miners
and farmers in the area around the mines. If a house and its farm buildings were built parallel to each
other, they were called a pair-höfe. If they are combined under one roof, they are called an Einhöfe,
hof meaning hall or court. Aside from the Einhof type, there were also Zwiehof, Haufenhof,
Gruppenhof, Mehrseithof, Hakenhof, Streckhof and others.
The Dürrnbergers of the 16th and 17th centuries lived in these large one-building farmsteads with
farm buildings and living units combined under one roof and linked with a connecting hall. In the
Einhöfe, sometimes two families lived under the one roof in a “common house” with their own
rooms above, and kitchens and stable areas opening to the unlocked central common corridor on the
ground floor. These large houses were heated by large, decoratively tiled wood fireplace-furnaces
which existed from the 16th century, with a smoke oven and sleeping shelf.
of the administrative district of the Tennengau, named for the Tennen massif, a division of the
Salzach Valley south of Salzburg framed by rolling hills, woodlands, waterfalls and some historic
houses called the Tennengauer Einhöfe. Living accommodations were quite simple for the miners
and farmers in the area around the mines. If a house and its farm buildings were built parallel to each
other, they were called a pair-höfe. If they are combined under one roof, they are called an Einhöfe,
hof meaning hall or court. Aside from the Einhof type, there were also Zwiehof, Haufenhof,
Gruppenhof, Mehrseithof, Hakenhof, Streckhof and others.
The Dürrnbergers of the 16th and 17th centuries lived in these large one-building farmsteads with
farm buildings and living units combined under one roof and linked with a connecting hall. In the
Einhöfe, sometimes two families lived under the one roof in a “common house” with their own
rooms above, and kitchens and stable areas opening to the unlocked central common corridor on the
ground floor. These large houses were heated by large, decoratively tiled wood fireplace-furnaces
which existed from the 16th century, with a smoke oven and sleeping shelf.
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