Summer 2007 - Day 15

Day 15

Sounds like a gruesome way to start the day but our first stop was a Beinhaus (bone house) in Hallstatt. The bone house is located in the church cemetery and dates back to the 12th century. It houses over 1200 skulls and 610 of them have been painted. The painting of the skulls, in flowery designs, was seen as an act of love.

At the time, cremations were forbidden and there was no possibility for the cemetery to expand. When the cemetery became overcrowded, graves that were 10 - 15 years old, were opened and the skulls removed. The skulls were then cleaned and placed in the sun and moonlight for several weeks until they became ivory white. The skulls were then painted.

This tradition began in 1720 and continued until 1995. The lady died in 1983 and her last request was to be stored in the bone house.





We also visited Hitler's "Eagles Nest" on the top of Kehlstein mountain (1834m) in the German Alps. Kehlsteinhaus (Eagles Nest) was built as a 50th birthday present for Hitler and was meant as a retreat and a place for him to entertain guests. Hitler rarely visited the "Eagles Nest" and it was saved from destruction at the end of WWII.

We took a bus along the 6.5 km mountain road which was blasted out of solid rock in only 13 months. The last 124 metres is via a solid brass lift which has been bored out of the mountain and reached by a 200m long granite tunnel.