Wooden Houses at the Village of Hallstatt
I was quite surprised with the number of visitors taking photos here at Hallstatt, and to think I have only just set foot in the village. I realized that a village this small wouldn’t be able to handle that many visitors. I have read stories about how the village relies a lot on tourism but at the same time don’t like the huge numbers of people who descend on the village everyday. Being a tourist myself, I am guilty of contributing to the problem. Hopefully, I would be able to contribute to the local economy even if just a little.
Walking Along the Main Street of Hallstatt
Most vehicles are not allowed inside the village of Hallstatt. The village is essentially a one street village so they won’t be able to handle a massive volume of vehicles. For those who insist on bringing one, there are only a handful of parking areas here, all of them are outside the village, availability is of course on a first come first served basis. I believe that if you have a booking with one of the local hotels, they would be able to help you with parking but it would be best to check with the your accommodations first.
I was making my way through the village on my way to my accommodation, and I can’t help but admire the houses here. Sure there are concrete ones but the ones I was interested in are the wooden ones which seems to be at least decades old. I like how they kept with the use of wood here instead of turning the village into an ultramodern metropolis. Much of the charm of the village would have been lost had this happened. I can also see how the houses also retain the use of wood in heating their houses. It truly feels like this is some mountain village. That is, if you can ignore the hundreds or even thousands of tourists that come here.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/Hallstatt.kmz} zoom=19]