History Of Bad Ischl
At the center of the Salzkammergut area in the Austrian state of Upper Austria is the spa town of Bad Ischl. Together with its natural beauty and therapeutic waters, it is well-known for its historical and cultural legacy. A long and complex history spanning from antiquity to the present, Bad Ischl has seen the emergence and fall of empires, the growth of salt mining and commerce, and the blossoming of the arts and sciences.
Early period
It is thought that the Celtic tribes that lived in the area throughout the Hallstatt and La Tène eras, between the eighth and fifth centuries BC, already occupied the Bad Ischl area. The Celtic word iska, meaning water, is the source of the name Ischl, which reflects the significance of the river Ischl and its tributaries to the local population. The region was included to the Roman Empire as the province of Noricum in the fourth century BC. Two inscription stones and other sporadic finds—one of which was destroyed in the 18th century, most likely during church restoration—prove the Roman presence. This stone, dated after 170 AD and devoted to Mithras, the Persian deity of light and truth, mentioned a statio Esc(ensis), a customs post on the Ischl river. The Bad Ischl parish church, Pfarrkirche St. Nikolaus, houses a restored Roman tombstone from the third or fourth century AD. A further consecration stone for the Celtic/Roman god Mars Latobius, a deity of mountains and war, was discovered in the neighboring Kienbachklamm canyon. Up until the Germanic tribes like the Ostrogoths and the Lombards attacked it in the fifth century AD, Noricum remained a Roman province for half a millennium. During the peoples’ exodus, the population of the inner Salzkammergut most likely decreased noticeably, but this was countered by the immigration of Slavs and Bavarians. The missionaries from Ireland and Bavaria introduced Christianity to these people when they arrived in the region. Previously regained throughout the 8th and 9th centuries under the rule of Charlemagne, the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, these regions were once more driven back by Hungarian incursions in the 10th century.
The nation had fully recovered from the terrible blows about the year 1000, when it was a frontier territory of the Holy Roman Empire, the Bavarian Mark ob der Enns. Notably, the population grew, and salt output got back up. Food preservation, trade, and tax payment all required salt, also known as “white gold.” Among the oldest and most prolific in Europe, the Salzkammergut’s salt mines provided the local lords with their primary source of wealth and authority. The Styrian margraves (from 1180 dukes) of the Otakare line extended their domain to the inner Salzkammergut in the first part of the 12th century through their adherents, the local lords. Inheriting the territory in 1192, the Babenbergs reigned over it until their demise in 1246. The Salzburger Recht, a legal code that guaranteed the quality and amount of the salt and gave advantages and rights to the salt workers and merchants, controlled the salt trade. From the mines to the salt pans where it boiled and crystallized, the salt was transported by wooden pipes known as Soleleitungen. The salt pans were spread out along the river Ischl at Lauffen, Pfandl, and Ischl itself. The location was originally mentioned in writing as Iselen in 1262 and then as Yschl. The water’s therapeutic qualities were highlighted in 1906 when the word Bad—which means spa—was added. Mineral- and salt-rich, the water was utilized for drinking, bathing, and breathing and was thought to heal a variety of illnesses. The common people as well as the clergy and nobles used the earliest spas, which were constructed in the 15th and 16th century. The 19th and 20th centuries saw the height of the spa culture when the Habsburgs, the Austrian imperial dynasty, made Bad Ischl their summer retreat.
High Middle Ages and the Salt Conflict
Conflict as much as prosperity resulted from the Salzkammergut salt trade. The Salzburg archbishops, who asserted the only right to mine and sell salt, opposed the Habsburgs, who ruled over the region in the 13th and 14th century. Having a long history of competition and animosity with the Habsburgs, the archbishops—who were also princes of the Holy Roman Empire—saw the salt trade as a means of establishing their authority and influence.
When the Habsburgs discovered a new salt mine at Goisern and it began to be mined in the late 13th century, the fighting peaked. Claiming the salt monopoly in the area, Archbishop Conrad IV of Salzburg viewed this mine, which was a part of the Wildenstein manorial authority, a dominion of the Habsburgs, as a danger. When Habsburg favourite Abbot Heinrich von Admont vigorously pursued salt extraction in Hallstatt and also mined salt in the Gosau valley, the archbishop’s rage became even more. The haughty archbishop started a fierce struggle over salt production and the salt trade because he could not stand to share his wealth. He mentioned in his lawsuit the monopoly, which was purportedly exclusive to him. The archbishop was even more incensed when Habsburg Duke Albrecht I, who was also the German king, disregarded this complaint. In the vulnerable locations, like Hallstatt, Albrecht erected fortifications, including the Rudolfsturm, a tower from which he could command the salt works and the environs.
Archbishop Conrad got ready for the last extermination campaign against the newly constructed salt plants, which he detested, when word spread one day that the Duke had died from poisoning. He ordered the mining sites demolished and the surrounding villages turned to rubble. The hub of the Habsburg salt trade, the town of Ischl, was also assaulted and looted. But his victory was to be short-lived since Albrecht I had not passed away and was now retaliating violently against the archbishop. Having gathered his forces and supporters, he marched on the territory of the archbishop. Several castles and towns, including Salzburg itself, Hohenwerfen, and Hallein, he took and burnt. Seizing the archbishop’s mines and salt pans, he also took his money.
Pope Boniface VIII intervened between the two sides, and in 1297 peace was ultimately reached. Reconstruction and peace were to begin with this pact, known as the Treaty of Enns. In the Salzkammergut, it also defined the limits and privileges of the salt trade and acknowledged the Habsburgs as the rightful occupants. The salt works were rebuilt and enlarged, and new mountains were exploited to manufacture salt. The Habsburgs constructed Wildenstein Castle in the thirteenth century and it has served as the residence of the salt keepers, who were chosen by the emperor to oversee the Habsburg salt trade, since 1419. They were in charge of keeping the area safe and orderly as well as of supervising the production, transportation, and taxes of salt.
At this period, Lauffen, on the Traun River, was the principal town of Ischlland and possessed a prime location for the salt trade. The oldest market in the Salzkammergut, Lauffen was first recorded in an 807 document. At the time of the Battle of Dürnkrut/Jenspeigen in 1278, which signaled the ultimate defeat of the opposing king Ottokar II of Bohemia and established Habsburg control over Austria and the Salzkammergut, King Rudolf I of Habsburg awarded it market privileges. Duke Albrecht III additionally granted Lauffen certain rights and privileges in 1392 in recognition of its “special merits.” But Lauffen rapidly lost its status to Ischl, which was situated on the Ischl River and had a direct access to the salt mines and pans. First recorded as a hamlet in 1262, Ischl was awarded market rights by Emperor Friedrich III in 1466. Eventually giving its name to the entire region, Ischl developed as the hub of the Salzkammergut’s spa culture and salt commerce. The land surrounding Bad Ischl, which comprised the salt mines, pans, and factories as well as the forests, lakes, and meadows, was originally referred to as the “Salzkammergut” in 1656.
One of the most modern and successful mines in the Salzkammergut, the one at Perneck, opened up the Ischler Salzberg, a mountain close to Ischl, in 1563. Drilling and blasting the rock removed the salt, which was then carried to the salt pans where it was cooked and crystallized using wooden pipes known as Soleleitungen. Constructed in 1571, the salt pans stood on the Traun river. Later on, they were called the Kolowrat brewhouse, after the 19th-century salt keeper who had repaired them. Apart from the earlier transportation, salt became the main economic foundation for generations of Ischl residents, today also in direct production. Accordingly, Ischl grew to be more significant than Lauffen and finally included it as a cadastral community of Bad Ischl. The brine pipeline was expanded further in 1604–7 to build the Ebensee brewery, and it was extended again from Hallstatt via Goisern to Ischl in 1595. These changes made the salt trade more profitable and efficient, and they elevated the Salzkammergut to one of the most affluent and powerful areas of the Habsburg Empire.
Health resort and “Imperial City”
Ischl was very important economically, as seen by its heyday in the 19th century. When Viennese physician Franz Wirer got to Ischl in 1821, he learned of the amazing healing accomplishments of physicist Josef Götz at the saltworks. Götz had been researching the healing powers of brine baths for the ailing saltworks since 1807. In 1822, forty international spa patrons came. The number of attendees increased by double the next year. The first Ischl spa, a brine bath, opened in 1823. The brine bathing area (Tänzelbad) built in the Traun River home of salt mine cashier Michael Tänzl needed to be expanded as early as 1825.
Ischl became well known in Europe very fast as a health resort. Among the many visitors to Ischl were State Chancellor Metternich and Archduke Rudolf. Here in 1827, the parents of future Emperor Franz Joseph I, the archducal pair Franz Karl and Sophie, had their first spa treatment. In 1827–1828 Franz and Magdalena Koch built the first hotel in the Salzkammergut, the Posthof (Gasthof zur Post).
Ischl was the preferred summer home of Emperor Franz Joseph I, and it had its heyday from 1849 until 1914. At the Seeauerhaus, in Bavaria, the young emperor proposed to Elisabeth (Sisi) in 1853. The museum of Bad Ischl is a monument to its rich past even now.
The famous composer Anton Bruckner has been coming to Ischl every summer since the summer of 1863. He performs as the emperor’s birthday organist and for other happy occasions in the imperial family. Bruckner called himself “the emperor’s organist” a lot of the time. A magnificent spectacle took held on July 31, 1890, for the wedding of Archduchess Marie Valerie and Archduke Franz Salvator. George Frideric Handel’s Messiah included Variations on the Imperial Anthem and Hallelujah. Later thereafter, the Hotel Post extended an invitation to Bruckner to supper. August 2, 1890, saw Bruckner perform an organ performance. He stopped over to see his friend Attwenger on a regular basis. Bruckner’s visits are honored with a commemorative plaque in the municipal parish church. In addition, Bruckner left a note in the Zauner confectionary visitor book.
Johann Strauss, Franz Lehár, and Johannes Brahms were among the well-known composers who used Ischl as a summer hideaway. It is noteworthy, although, as a number of musicians from the turn of the century often made this their summer home. Probably a lot of people were attracted to the neighborhood because of its close proximity to the court. Ischl developed become a well-known artist’s meeting spot during the Danube Monarchy. Every year, in the summer, the Kurhaus holds operetta weeks. Authors of note who lived in Ischl included Franz Werfel, Theodor Herzl, and Mark Twain.
Ischl was formally called Bad Ischl with effect from 1906.
At the Imperial Villa in Bad Ischl, on July 28, 1914, Emperor Franz Joseph I announced the start of war against the Kingdom of Serbia in the Manifesto To My Peoples. Here is portrayed the start of the First World War.
Modern Period
The End of an Era
For Bad Ischl and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the 20th century started tragically. At his Bad Ischl vacation residence, Kaiservilla, on July 28, 1914, Emperor Franz Joseph signed the declaration of war against Serbia. That was the start of World War I, which would finally bring the Habsburg dynasty to an end and the empire to crumble. The following day Franz Joseph departed Bad Ischl and never came back. 1916 saw his death, and 1918 saw Charles I, his successor, abdicate.
Bad Ischl joined the recently founded Republic of Austria after the war. The Habsburg dynasty still owns the Kaiservilla, which the state seized and then returned. Though it lost its royal resort designation, the town continued to draw tourists and celebrities, including the composers Franz Lehár, Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner, and Johann Strauss the Younger, who had either lived or worked there a century before. Skiing and ice skating were popular winter sporting activities in the town as well.
The Rise of Tourism and Culture
Bad Ischl had social and economic problems during the interwar years when the political climate deteriorated and the salt business shrank. Bombings and persecution beset the town during World War II after Nazi Germany conquered it in 1938. Up to 1955, when Austria reclaimed its sovereignty and neutrality, the Allied soldiers held Bad Ischl.
While maintaining its historical and cultural legacy, Bad Ischl remade itself as a contemporary spa and tourist destination in the postwar era. The town pushed its natural and cultural attractions and made investments in the upkeep and growth of its hotels, infrastructure, and thermal facilities. In addition, the town staged a number of festivals and events, including the Salzkammergut Advent, the International Music Festival, the Operetta Festival, and the Lehár Festival. The village was included into the network of cities known as Historic Highlights of Austria, which highlights the history and culture of the nation.
2019 saw Bad Ischl and Bodø and Tartu named as one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2024. As a reflection of its identity and ideals, the town’s slogan for the occasion is “Salt of the Earth”. The community wants to honor its uniqueness and inventiveness as well as its ties to the surrounding area and environment. The community also aspires to support the social and cultural growth of the continent and to promote communication and collaboration with its neighbors and partners in Europe.
