♥ Welcome to Hall's history

I am very happy to tell you something about my home and our beautiful city of Hall. I grew up here, in a place full of history, laughter, hospitality and last but not least - girl power. My mother and I have the great joy of welcoming you and making your vacation in the Hall-Wattens region unforgettable.

But let's start at the beginning .... Back then - a long time ago - in 1640, our house was a “BADhaus und Heilpraxis mit eigener Quelle, Badgießern und Barbieren” (spa house and medical practice with its own spring, bathing founders and barbers), as you can read under “history”. Hall was already an important trading center at that time and was first mentioned in a document in the 12th century. “Hal” was the name for salt back then. From this time until 1967, the salt works were the most important economic source of the town. The sole was extracted in the Halltal valley, transported through a wooden pipeline to the “Sudhaus on the Inn” where it was boiled down to salt. The required quantities of firewood could also be obtained here, which were transported from the upper Inn valley to Hall. Old views of the town show the wooden rake on the Inn and the huge wood storage areas. Shipping upstream on the Inn was therefore not possible, and Hall became a transshipment point for imported goods. Hall was once a real economic hub and therefore has the largest old town in Tyrol. The salt water was of course also important for the BADL and the spas.

Hall is built on a so-called floating cone, which is why the upper and lower town are connected by the Langer Graben. If you visit the parish church of St. Nikolaus, you will notice that the nave has a kink or is inclined. This is because the choir of the old 13th century church was so close to the edge of the terrain that the new nave had to be built to the north for structural reasons. Did you notice this during your visit? The collection of relics donated by Knight Florian Waldauf, which attracted numerous pilgrims at the time - a few pieces can still be seen today in the Waldauf Chapel of the parish church, is also very special.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Hall was one of the most important towns under Habsburg reign. There is even a view of Hall in the beautiful vestibule of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The ladies' convent with the collegiate church, a summer residence, the doctor's house, the bandmaster's house and music house with adjoining Jesuit order had 40 ladies in the 16th century and was intended to ensure a carefree and pious life for the noble women.  

In addition to salt mining, salt processing and trade, a fourth important economic sector developed in Hall, in the form of many different trades. Blacksmiths, locksmiths, ropemakers, supply trades such as bakers and butchers, and above all the hospitality industry, with up to 30! inns played a major role in economic life. There were also several inns on our side of the Inn, including one with a ballroom and coach garage...

Today, you can discover traces of the old days everywhere in Hall and also in our house. I am now the 6th generation to run the place, learning with enthusiasm and a lot of young energy how best to maintain and look after the BADL. I would be delighted if you also love to be here and feel at home between old history and lots of stories...