Hallstatt July 11-12

After almost a week of rain we arrived to sun in Hallstatt. Our hotelier told us we were the first people to check in while it was sunny in over a week! Hallstatt was a fun town to walk around in.We visited the Catholic church and the Beinhaus, a bone house which has about 12,000 skulls; some from the 18th century. As in most cemeteries in Europe there isn't a lot of room in the one in Hallstatt so, after about 15 years your bones are dug up to make room for new bodies. The skulls were treated and then painted and placed in the chapel. There is one from 1983 that has a gold tooth. Now that the Catholic church has okayed cremation space isn't as big a problem so it isn't common practice anymore to dig the bodies up and paint the skulls. However, if you request it to be done, it is possible. After the beinhaus we explored the little town and then had dinner. We spent the rest of the evening in the hotel room because it started raining again.

The beinhaus in the background.

One of the gift shops lets you go down to see the original street level and ruins from the old city.