Bad Reichenhall

Snapshot

Bad Reichenhall is 25 minutes from Salzburg and technically in Bavaria, but its salt story and the 1928 Predigtstuhlbahn, the oldest cable car of its type still running anywhere, make it a natural extension of any Salzburg itinerary. The salt has been flowing here for at least 2,000 years.

The Story

The Celtic settlers who arrived around 600 BCE were not the first to notice the brine springs at Bad Reichenhall, but they were the first to organise extraction at scale. They built stone basins, boiled brine in open pans, and traded the salt along routes linking their settlements to Hallstatt and beyond. Romans formalised the operation from the 1st century BC, digging shallow pools near what is now the spa district. The monks of St. Zeno arrived in 1136 and restarted organised production after the post-Roman gap. By the medieval period, Bad Reichenhall’s saltworks were among the most productive in the Eastern Alps.

The 1617-1619 wooden pipeline, 31 km long with six lift stations, connected the Bad Reichenhall springs to boiling works in Traunstein across a rise of over 200 metres. It was replaced in 1816-1817 by Georg von Reichenbach’s water-column pump, a machine that lifted brine efficiently over the same route using hydraulic pressure rather than timber conduits. The 1834 fire that destroyed most of the town gave King Ludwig I the occasion to commission the Alte Saline: rebuilt 1844-1851 with overshot water wheels on marble bases and a hydro-electric power plant, it was called by observers at the time the most beautiful saltworks in the world. It remains the most architecturally remarkable industrial building in the region and is open for tours.

The Predigtstuhlbahn, which opened in 1928, ascends the Predigtstuhl from the town edge. Its original cabins still run, making it the oldest cable car of its type still in operation. The summit sits above 1,600 metres and offers walking in both directions. The town’s spa tradition, formalised as Bad (spa) Reichenhall in the late 19th century, continues through the Brine Sanatorium and several hotel wellness facilities built on the therapeutic brine tradition.

Planning

Bad Reichenhall is 25 km from Salzburg, about 25-30 minutes by car on the A10/B21 or 30 minutes by regional train (direct connection). It can be visited as a half-day or combined with Berchtesgaden for a full Bavaria day, since the road continues directly south. The Alte Saline runs guided tours from April to October, hourly from 10:00. The Predigtstuhlbahn runs year-round (check seasonal closures). The brine pipeline trail along the Saalach is free and offers views of the old pump infrastructure. Lake Thumsee, 5 km from town, is good for a free swim in summer.