Insights.Outlooks

The Salzkammergut between Facts and Anecdotes

In 2024, 23 municipalities in the Salzkammergut formed one of Europe’s Capitals of Culture.
Born of salt, enriched by salt: the Salzkammergut offers a wealth of fascinating stories, places and people, set against a stunning landscape. Shaped by the elements of salt, water and wood, a multifaceted region emerged, where the history of salt mining began 7,000 years ago in Hallstatt.
The salt trade has nourished, enriched and connected the region internationally; it has made some wealthy and powerful, and attracted many wealthy and powerful people to the area; with its summer resorts, the Salzkammergut has become a place of longing, and the historic cultural landscape of the inner Salzkammergut is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In this book, published by the Salzkammergut Capital of Culture, Trautl Brandstaller guides readers through the eventful history of the Salzkammergut, from the Hallstatt culture through the early emergence of a proletariat to National Socialism and some resistance activities. Writers, artists, journalists and historians describe their perspectives on the Salzkammergut.
With contributions by Christoph Ransmayr, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Yvonne Oswald, Miguel Herz-Kestranek, Nina Höllinger, Günter Kaindlstorfer, Robert Schindel, René Freund and Julia Müllegger.