Salt Mines

General information

Destination	Category
Salzburg, Austria	Sightseeing Tours

Program details

The history of Salzburg is intrinsically linked to salt and indeed its very name means ‘salt fortress’. The countryside around the city is famed for its salt mines, which produced ‘white gold’ in an area far from the sea and which have been an immense source of wealth since time immemorial. This is a salt mine visit with a difference as you enjoy a roller-coaster ride of emotions deep inside the mountain.

Head south of Salzburg, past the beautiful baroque Hellbrunn Palace, into the stunning Salzburgerland countryside before arriving at the mine, which closed in the 1980s after centuries producing salt. At the mine, receive protective clothing to keep warm – and to look the real deal! Travel in a former miners’ train into the heart of the mountain while a guide regales you with tales of the salt mining in the area since Celtic times thousands of years ago. Discover this secret world of kilometres-long labyrinths dug by miners, with their bare hands, deep into the mountain. Using the wet mining technique, they would dissolve the rock in water and thus end up with salt.

Once inside the cave, have fun on the long miners' slides and enjoy a wonderful raft cruise across a subterranean salt lake. There is also a magical multimedia show that will light up the underground lake and blow you away. Head back to the outside world aboard the miners’ train having discovered the rock on which Salzburg was built.

Meeting/pick-up point: Mirabellplatz 2 (next to Mirabell Gardens and University Mozarteum), Salzburg.
Duration: Four hours.
Start or opening time: Daily at 8.30am and 1.45pm.
Languages: English, German, Spanish, French and Italian.