Spherical Screen at the Salzwelten Hallstatt
At the Salzwelten Hallstatt, visitors are led through what is essentially the tourist route to experience the seven thousand year old salt mine. The salt mine is essential in cultivating the history and culture of this part of Europe. It was so influential that it was named the Hallstatt Culture. We were in one of the chambers at the salt mine which we were shown a film about how mining started here. After all one would have to wonder that with all of these salt hidden away in the mountain, how did people then even know it was there. The film answered all those questions.
Film Illustraing the Formation of Salt Deposits at the Salzwelten Hallstatt
After that we were led to another spot where there are another film showing. This time, the screen was a large sphere. The topic of the film is how all this salt got there in the first place. It is probably common knowledge that the sea is salty. In fact, a lot of the salt that is used these days comes from the sea. So it might not come as a total surprise to find out that the salt here in these mountains actually came from the sea? The sea? But the nearest sea would be the Adriatic Sea. That would be correct now, but back then there, was an inland sea in this region.
Over the millennia, the ancient sea dried up and left behind a massive deposit of salt. Due to the action of continents, the salt was buried, folded and twisted with the rock and eventually rose up with the mountains that we see today. It is a fascinating story to hear. All these salt was hidden away in the mountains until an intrepid forager from Hallstatt happened to drink salty mountain water which led to the discovery of the salt deposits. The salt was a prized commodity and eventually made Hallstatt and this part of Europe very prosperous.
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