Hall in Tirol

Hall in the County of Tyrol was first mentioned as a salina (saltern) near Thaur castle in a 1232 deed. The current name dates back to 1256, and similarly to Halle, Hallein, Schwäbisch Hall or Hallstatt is derived from the Celtic word for salt.

Since the 13th century the salt mine at Absam in the Hall Valley north of the town formed the main industry of the town and its surroundings. The first adit was laid out in 1272 at the behest of Count Meinhard II of Tyrol, with the brine channeled by a 10 km (6 mi) long pipeline to the evaporation pond at Hall. The importance of the salt industry, which exported goods as far as Switzerland, the Black Forest, and the Rhine valley, is reflected in Hall's coat of arms, which shows two lions holding a cask of salt. In 1303 Hall became a town. The rights that came with this, as well as the business associated with trading from Hall downriver on Inn and Danube, turned it into the leading market and trading place in the northern parts of Tyrol. Its development suffered a serious setback in 1447, when large parts of the upper town area were razed by a fire. In 1477 it got the right of coinage, when the Tyrolian mint was moved from Meran to Hall. In 1486 the mint produced the first large silver coin Guldengroschen in Europe. In the 16th century the mint in Hall also introduced the world's first automated coining machine. Today a reconstruction of this revolutionary machine can be seen in the Hall Mint Museum [3] in the Burg Hasegg.

In the 15th and 16th century, Hall was one of the most important towns in the Habsburg Empire. This period saw the construction of many of the churches, monasteries and convents that still shape the appearance of the town. Today Hall has the biggest intact old town in the western part of Austria.

During the Habsburg Monarchy a military garrison was established in Hall. This, along with the large freight train station, became a target of heavy bombardment during World War II, which destroyed the train station but left the old town almost unscathed.

From 1938 to 1974 the town was called Solbad Hall – Solbad was dropped from the town name a few years after the salt mining was closed in 1967.

• Klaus Dibiasi, Olympic diving champion.
• Janine Flock, skeleton racer.
• David Gleirscher, Olympic luge gold medalist.
• Christoph Grienberger, the Jesuit astronomer.

Hall in Tirol is twinned with:

• Iserlohn, Germany, since 1967
• Winterthur, Switzerland
• Sommacampagna, Italy

Climate type is dominated by the winter season, a long, bitterly cold period with short, clear days, relatively little precipitation mostly in the form of snow, and low humidity. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Dfc" (Continental Subarctic Climate).[4]

• City-Tour with many pictures of Hall in Tirol