The Keltenmuseum in Hallein near Salzburg contains major discoveries from the La Tene period of the Iron Age which come from burials in the area surrounding the nearby Hallein Salt Mine (Salzbergwerk Dürrnberg), at Dürrnberg. The Museum was founded in 1882 and was housed in the Bürgerspital. In 1930 it was moved into the Rathaus and from 1952 occupied a gateway of the town or stadt's fortifications. In 1970 the name was changed to Keltenmuseum and the museum was moved into the former Salt Offices (Saline Hallein) on the Pflegerplatz, which fronts the river Salzach. In 1980 the Museum staged a major exhibition "Die Kelten in Mitteleuropa" (The Celts in Central Europe), which demonstrated the wealth of discoveries that were being made at the Hallein. In 1993-4 the Austrian architect Heinz Tesar drew up plans for the conversion and extension of the Museum and on 1 January 2012 the Museum became a constituent part of Salzburg Museum.
The Salt Office and the Saline Hallein
The building dates from the mid-18th century and in the Salt Office, now the top floor of the Museum, are a series of rooms, including the Prince's Chamber and Green Room, which have a series of 80 paintings by the artist Benedict Werkstötter, which illustrate the various processes of salt production. These were specially commissioned following a visit by the Prince- Bishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach in 1757. The Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg derived much of their wealth from the mining of salt at Hallein, although in 1732-4, 780 of the miners, who were protestants, were forced to leave Hallein because of their religious beliefs. In 1816, following the inclusion of Salzburgerland into the Habsburg Empire the office was amalgamated with the other Austrian salt production centres
Paintings in Salt Office
Salt Mining in the Hallein Area
The richest deposits of salt in central Europe are concentrated in at short distance from each other in the Eastern Alps, in the Salzburg and Salzkammergut areas. The mines of Hallstatt, Hallein-Durrnberg and Bad Reichenhall are close together, with those at Bad Aussee further to the east. Mining at Halstatt started in the later Bronze Age and reached its peak during the Hallstatt phase of the Iron Age (c750-480BC). At Hallein-Durrnberg mining started later at the end of the Hallstatt period and the two mines co-existed for about 200 years. Mining at Hallstatt at ceased suddenly around 400BC. It is thought that some sort of natural disaster, possibly the flooding of the mines, stopped the salt-mining at Hallstatt. The evidence of wealth from the Hallein-Durrnberg cemeteries suggest that for most of the La Tene period the mines flourished, but around 100BC the mines went into decline and production seems to have moved to Reichensall.
Salt mining was re-established at Hallein by 1198 AD when a salt pan is mentioned at "Meulpach" . Under the Archbishops of Salzburg during the Middle Ages, Hallein became the major centre of production in the Eastern Alps and salt routes developed up the Salzach and particularly to Bohemia. In the 18th and early 19th centuries Hallein lost its trade with Bavaria and Bohemia. In 1854/62 a new saline conditioning plant was built on Perner Island, which is in the Salzach opposite the Keltenmuseum. Then in 1954/55 a new thermo-compression plant was added. However, with the rationalization of Austrian Salt production in 1989, these plants were closed and salt extraction ceased. The Dürrnberg mine exists now only as a Tourist attraction, together with the Celtic Village Open Air Museum.
The Burials on display in the Keltenmuseum
Iron Age burials have been found over a large area around the Salt Mine at Dürrnberg since the 16th century. In more recent times an excavation of a robbed burial mound in 1932 produced a spectacular bronze wine flagon. This was previously on display in Salzburg Museum, but is now at the Keltenmuseum. In the 1960s Ernst Penninger started his excavations at the Moserstein, producing a series of very rich burials of the final phase of the Hallstatt period and the earlier La Tène period. This has been followed by excavations at Lettenbühel, Kranzbichl and Simonsbauerfeld. The most important burials are: