Place type
5 entries tagged Mine on Introducing Salzburg.
A radon healing gallery 2.5 km inside the Radhausberg mountain, where patients lie on beds in warm, humid tunnels for therapeutic sessions. The microclimate (37-41 degrees, high humidity, natural radon) is used to treat rheumatic and respiratory conditions. The Heilstollen is the single most distinctive thing about Bad Gastein beyond the waterfall.
Salt has been extracted from this mountain above Berchtesgaden since 1517, making it one of the oldest continuously operating mines in central Europe.
The Altaussee salt mine carries a specific historical weight that sets it apart from the other Salzwelten show mines: in 1945, it was the hiding place for thousands of artworks looted by the Nazis from across occupied Europe, including works by Jan van Eyck, Michelangelo, and Vermeer.
The Hallein salt mine on the Dürrnberg plateau above town has been in operation since roughly 600 BC, and at one point it was the economic engine that made the entire Salzach valley worth controlling.
Archaeologists have found evidence of salt extraction in the mountain above Hallstatt going back roughly 7,000 years, which makes this either the world's oldest or one of the oldest documented salt mines depending on how you count.
