The Bone House of Hallstatt

Alongside the world´s oldest salt mine, the charnel house or “Bone House” (Beinhaus) in St. Michael´s Chapel is one of the most interesting sites in Hallstatt. The chapel dates back to the 12th century and is located next to the catholic parish church. 

Kept in here, are 1200 human skulls, from which over 600 have been hand-painted and arranged according to individual family groups, the dates of death marked on them. The tradition of recording and painting goes back to the year 1720.

The graveyard in Hallstatt is very small and there is no space to make it larger. In former times, cremation was prohibited, and there was a serious lack of room for new graves to be dug. Ten to fifteen years after a burial graves were re-opened, and the skulls and long bones which took up the most space were removed. The skulls were "cleaned" and then left outside under sun and moon until all that remained of these gruesome skulls was a smooth "ivory" surface. Since the graves are decorated with flowers, the skulls were finally symbolically painted with wreaths of flowers. A snake was symbolically painted on the two skulls under the cross, which is considered a symbol of death and sin (Adam and Eve). Above, the cross of redemption. The skulls on the books were priests.

Symbols of the paintings:       Oak leaves = Glory /  Laurel = Valor /  Ivy = Life / Roses = Love

Though this practice has been dying out since the 1960s, there is a much more recent skull in the Beinhaus. Beside the cross with a gold tooth is the skull of a woman who died in 1983. Her last request was to be put in the Beinhaus. Her skull was entered into the ossuary in 1995, the very last bone to be placed there.