Hallstatt

Hallstatt , village, Upper Austria prov., W central Austria, in the Salzkammergut , on the Lake of Hallstatt. A tourist center, it is one of the oldest settlements in Austria. The term Hallstatt now refers to late Bronze and early Iron Age culture in central and western Europe. During excavations in the latter half of the 19th cent., more than 2,000 graves were discovered in an ancient cemetery near Hallstatt. Most of the graves dated to two time periods, an earlier (c.1100/1000 to c.800/700 BC) and a later (c.800/700 to 450 BC). Near the cemetery, preserved in a prehistoric salt mine, the bodies of miners have been discovered, as well as their implements and clothing.

Hallstatt Small town in w central Austria, believed to be the site of the earliest Iron Age culture in w Europe. Iron was worked here from c.700 bc. The site contains a large Celtic cemetery and a deep salt mine. Fine bronze and pottery objects have also been discovered.

Hallstatt. Archaeological site in upper Austria that has given its name to the first assuredly Celtic cultural epoch. Specifically, Hallstatt denotes a salt-mining complex over-looking the lake of the same name, extensively excavated between 1846 and 1899.

Synonymous with the early Iron Age, Hallstatt culture flourished in four phases, A, B, C, and D, from as early as 1200 BC to as late as 600 BC; its influence was widespread in Europe from c.800 BC to 450 BC, following the Urnfield culture and being superseded by the La Tène style. Hallstatt art is generally severely geometrical, admired more for its technical than for its aesthetic achievements. Extravagant, almost baroque, Hallstatt felt little of the Greek orientalizing influence. The typical bird motif probably derives from Italy; plant patterns are rare.

Bibliography

See August Aigner , Hallstatt (Munich, 1911);
J. V. S. Megaw , Art of the European Iron Age (New York, 1970).