(Hall, Austria)

One of the things that has continued to inspire us during our travels is the Rick Steves travel videos. His recommendations have been really good for the most part. So with one of the recommendations in mind, Grant and I took a trip out to Hall which is a town about 20 minutes from Innsbruck. This was far enough to feel like an out-of-town trip, complete with train ride, but close enough not to require a full weekend.

The area around the train station felt a bit industrial but the Old Town part of Hall is really lovely. Rick Steves mentioned that the Old Town of Hall is bigger than Innsbruck’s Old Town and that is definitely the case. A lot of buildings in Innsbruck’s Old Town have been renovated but Hall’s Old Town buildings still retain their Mediaeval feel. When we arrived, which was on a Saturday, they were in full swing of their farmer’s market in the center of town, no doubt a remnant of ancient times.  We stopped off at the Tourist Information Office and got a map and realized that everything worth seeing was very easy to get to and within walking distance.

Because it was winter, a lot of sites were closed, and because it was Saturday, many of the stores and cafes closed early; but we could still walk around and enjoy the cobblestone-lined streets and get a nice pasta lunch. The churches are open and you can walk right in. One of the churches that was really impressive inside was St. Nikolaus. Also, the Sacred Heart Monastery is nice as well – the interior plaster work was very well-crafted and ornate, but in Grant’s opinion lacked color. One of the main attractions in Hall is the Mint Hall and Castle. The Mint Hall is a tentative Unesco World Heritage site and is well known for mass-producing the high quality silver “Thaler” coin which reinvigorated coinage throughout the world. Previously, by the end of the 15th Century, European coins were quite diluted of their silver due to worldwide trading. With a new discovery of silver deposits in Europe, and a new method for mass producing these coins, Mint Hall earned it’s place in the history of money.

We prefer the Old Town in Innsbruck over the one in Hall but if you do have time, Hall is definitely worth a visit. We recommend not going in winter as the Mint Hall is closed during this season. We hope you enjoy our video and photos.

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