Hallstatt [key], 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 b.c.) and a later (c.800/700 to 450 b.c.). Near the cemetery, preserved in a prehistoric salt mine, the bodies of miners have been discovered, as well as their implements and clothing.
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