The brine pipeline route

Did you know that? The oldest pipeline in the world is located between Hallstatt and Ebensee. The pipeline that carries the salt water from Hallstatt to the salt works in Ebensee. Construction of this technical masterpiece began in 1595. It initially led from the Hallstatt salt mine via Goisern to Lauffen and Ischl, and finally to Ebensee, where Hallstatt brine was processed into salt as early as 1607.

Most of the salt that can be extracted in our mountains requires "wet" mining, i.e. the injection of water into the Haselgebirge. The brine obtained by leaching is later boiled, whereby the common salt precipitates. A brine pipeline was an essential means of transport from the salt mountain to the brewhouse at all times of economic and political development. The large forests of the Salzkammergut were just as important as a source of energy for boiling the salt. One solid metre of wood was burned for every tonne of salt.

When the wood ran out

At the end of the 16th century, the end of the forest wealth was already in sight. His "imperial men" in the Salzkammergut quickly got to work. The forest from which the brine was to be extracted was in Ebensee. It seemed to be inexhaustible. This marked the birth of Ebensee as the saltworks capital of the Salzkammergut.

The mine surveyors with their surveying equipment laid out the pipeline route at a steady gradient from the high mountain down into the valley. Along the rock faces, always taking care to minimise the movement of earth and stone masses. Today, this would be called a gentle, near-natural construction method. They moved from Lake Hallstatt over the Hinlauf to Bad Goisern past the wild Lauffen to Bad Ischl and on again to Ebensee - a total of 40 kilometres.

A gift from the mountains

The foresters selected the trunks that were suitable for the raw production, a total of 13,000 trees with uniform plait thicknesses. The loggers had long since prepared long drills (Nager) in several calibres for pre-drilling and re-drilling. Flat planing and cone cutting were specially developed to mill the rich "almond in weibel" joints out of the drilled logs. Driven together, they are airtight and brine-proof. The wooden pipeline created in this way was intended to last 100 years and the last wooden pipes were only replaced after the last world war. However, the power to let the brine flow is a gift from the mountain, the natural gradient down into the valley. The first brine flowed into Ebensee in 1607.

The Gosauzwang bridge

Where the Gosau valley flows into the Hallstättersee basin (Gosaumühle), the brine route was interrupted in its regular course. The pipes had to be led deep down into the stream bed and from there steeply upwards again. This was called "forcing". The pressure in this "pusher" required pipes forged with iron rings and turnbuckles on their mortises. The "Zwang" was the main concern of the "Strennleute" until 1775; the strain on the pipework in this section was too great. Emperor Franz Josef II finally ordered the construction of the Gosauzwang Bridge to finally eliminate this neuralgic point.

The bridge, consisting of 5 to 40 metre high pilasters with spans of 25 metres and a supporting structure made of chopped tree trunks, became a landmark of Salzkammergut architecture. It was given the name "Gosauzwang".

How did the first tree get across? This question may still puzzle many an admirer of this structure today. It was also the most difficult question during construction at the time. After all, the space on the arrowheads is small and the weight of the "Ensbaum", which is over 25 metres long, is great.

A commission from the Court Chamber was sent to solve this problem. Master Spielbüchler, the builder of the bridge, had the tree laid while the High Commission dined in the Gosaumühl inn. Instead of praise, however, he received reprimands and abuse, almost dismissal, so that people forgot how the first tree, on which all the other timbers could be transported, had actually been laid.

The oldest "pipeline" in the world

At certain intervals, the structurally very attractive brine pits were also necessary to control the amount of brine flowing through. But also to warm it up to prevent it from thickening due to frost. This would have resulted in the pipe becoming blocked. Differences in the measurement results between the point of delivery and the point of arrival indicated pipework faults and limited troubleshooting to certain sections.

And today it still exists, the brine pipeline. Made of plastic pipes, it is laid deep underground far below the frost line. The Ebensee salt works was also renovated. It took 370 years from the first round pans to a salt works that can produce all the salt Austria needs.

The other benefit of the brine pipeline route has not yet been mentioned. It is one of the quietest and most beautiful walks in the Dachstein Salzkammergut holiday region. Crossing meadows and forests, you walk along a truly unique world record - the oldest "pipeline" in the world.

Due to the natural conditions, the trail is closed from late autumn to spring. In spring, an active inspection is carried out to restore the safety of the path.

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