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A Visit to Salz Welten

© Beverly Eschberger

Salz Welten in Bad Durnberg, just outside of Salzburg, Austria is a formerly operational salt mine that has been turned into a tourist attraction that educates visitors about the history of salt mining in the Salzburg area. It is not exactly a traditional science and natural history museum, but it is educational and informative.

Visitors first change into white canvas coverall pants and jackets, which not only help to keep warm where the underground temperature hovers at about 50 degrees F (10 degrees C), and to protect clothing as visitors slide down wooden chutes that the miners would use to travel quickly from one level to another. (Run back up the stairs for a second ride! It's fun!)

Visitors ride into the mine on the pit railway, where tour guides describe the history of the mine in English, German, French, and Italian. Visitors are led into an underground movie theatre where Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg (1559 to 1617), describes the geology of the area and how a revolutionary salt processing technique that was developed in the Middle Ages, and also his vision of a new Baroque style city center of Salzburg that was paid for with the proceeds of the 36,000 tons of salt that Bad Durnberg per year traded with all of Europe.

The Prince Archbishop also appears in other parts of the tour to describe the operations of the salt mine. Visitors get to see carvings that the miners made from the salt deposits, and the paintings of religious figures who the miners prayed to to protect them from mining disasters. Visitors also get to travel across an underground lake in a large wooden boat, while listening to custom-composed music and enjoying a light show that highlights some impressive salt formations.

Before leaving the mine, visitors get to cross over into Germany underground (don't worry, you won't need your passport!). On leaving the mine, visitors have to opportunity to purchase pictures of themselves taken on the slides and pit railway by the in-mine cameras.

Admission to the Celtic Village next door is included with admission to Salzwelten. Celts settled in the Durnberg area approximately 2,500 years ago, and artifacts left by them have been discovered in archaeological digs in the area. The reconstructed village shows how the ancient Celts lived and worked, while educating visitors about some of the ancient history of the area.

It is a great idea to become a member of your local natural history museum. Membership usually includes free or reduced admission to the museum and special events (often invitation to members-only events), as well as a discount at the museum gift shop. You will usually receive a calendar of upcoming events and often a monthly or quarterly publication of museum research. Some museum publications such as Natural History, published by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and Smithsonian, published by the Smithsonian Institution, are quite lush. Some museum memberships also offer a reciprocal membership to other museums. Membership is a great way to learn more about the natural world and to support your local museum.

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