Austria
The seal of Hallein depicted on the Austrian commemorative issued on April 30, 1980 to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the municipality reflects the importance of the salt industry in the area. The seal is based on the coat of arms of Hallein. It shows a striding salt carrier with a long-sleeved doublet, breeches, belt and shoes. He is holding a salt cone in a wooden trough on his left shoulder with his left hand and a slanting silver stick in his right hand. On each side there is a silver conical wooden vessel called a perkufe. The perkufen were cone-shaped wooden vessels made of straight wood staves and iron strips with a drainage hole at the top. They were filled like a funnel with the salt mash through the large opening at the top. After the brine had drained and the salt had dried the container would be inverted and removed leaving a cone of salt called a salt dome. For centuries, these salt domes were transported on by cart and raft on the Salzach, a river that owes its name to the cargo carried on it. Celts from Durrnberg began mining salt, which was valued for its use in preserving food, approximately 2500 years ago and continued until the arrival of the Romans. Production resumed in in 1191, becoming a source of great wealth for the Prince Archbishops of Salzburg. Archbishop Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau, who lived from 1559 to 1617, used that wealth to build many of the magnificent baroque buildings in nearby Salzburg. Tourists visited the mine as early as 1607 so it boasts as being the oldest "show mine" in the world. Large scale commercial salt production in the mine ceased in 1989 although small scame production of fine gourmet salt resumed in 2019.
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