Austria |

This week’s photo challenge topic from the Daily Post is Culture.

A few years ago, while traveling from Vienna to Salzburg, my wife and I stumbled upon a beautiful and ancient town in the lake district called Hallstatt.

Dating back more than 7000 years, Hallstatt became know for it’s salt mine and salt production.

But, what we found most interesting was the Hallstatt catacomb. Dating back to the 12th century, the “Bone House” contains more than 1200 bones that are painted with flowers and words. Supposedly, Austrians view graves as just a rented space, and after fifteen years of burrial the bodies are exhumed so the bones can be laid to rest in the bone house. We were also amazed at how colourful the graves were.

Some photo credit must go to my wife, because I can’t remember which photos were taken by me, and which were taken by her.