Publications
Recentring Peripheral Europe: Spatial Imaginaries and Regional Rescaling in the European Capital of Culture Programme
Peripheral European regions gain symbolic revaluation through the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) programme, but structural change remains limited. The study reveals that peripheral attributes—such as frontier, bridge, or cultural landscape—are institutionally recognized and rescaled into broader territorial platforms only when paired with programmatic materialization. Analysis of six ECoC sites (Matera/Basilicata 2019, Pafos 2017, Leeuwarden–Friesland 2018, Veszprém–Balaton 2023, Bad Ischl–Salzkammergut 2024, and Bodø/Nordland 2024) using bid documents, surveys, and evaluations shows that while symbolic de-peripheralization occurs, governance constraints and mobility issues persist. The findings highlight the programme's role in redistributing visibility without erasing peripherality.
Late Pleistocene to Holocene event stratigraphy of Lake Hallstatt (Salzkammergut, Austria): revealed by the Hipercorig drilling system and borehole logging
A groundbreaking sediment core from Lake Hallstatt, Austria, reveals the first high-resolution Late Pleistocene to Holocene record of an intra-mountainous lake in the Eastern Alps. The Hipercorig drilling system enabled recovery of 51 meters of undisturbed sediments, surpassing previous limits and providing a continuous archive spanning over 2,300 years. This core exposes two major lithostratigraphic units: Unit 1 (Holocene) with instantaneous deposits indicating rapid environmental changes, and Unit 2 (Late Pleistocene), likely extending back to the Allerød interstadial. The study also links borehole logging data to core-seismic correlations, offering unprecedented insights into past climate, natural hazards, human-environment interactions, and prehistoric mining activities in this UNESCO World Heritage Site. The findings highlight Lake Hallstatt as a critical archive for understanding the region's rich cultural history, including one of the oldest documented salt-mining landscapes.
Neolithic Hallstatt – a special mining place
Archaeological evidence reveals that Hallstatt, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape, was a sophisticated mining hub for salt exploitation as early as 5000 BC. The discovery of four prestigious stone axes and a deer pick within the Salzberg mining galleries underscores the region's advanced technology and specialization in salt extraction during the Neolithic period. Spatial analyses and use-wear studies on these tools provide new insights into human activity, highlighting the continuity and significance of this industry from ancient times.
Deformation of the Dachstein Limestone in the Dachstein thrust sheet (Eastern Alps, Austria)
Salt tectonics played a crucial role in shaping the Dachstein thrust sheet, influencing its structural evolution from the Late Triassic to the Late Cretaceous. The study identifies six key deformation events, including syn-depositional instability and slumping, growth of the Hallstatt diapir, salt-driven extensional faulting, Jurassic re-activation of faults, Early Cretaceous shortening, and Late Cretaceous extensional reactivation. These findings were derived from a multi-scale analysis combining conventional outcrop observations with digital fieldwork using drone-captured virtual outcrops and GoogleMaps 3D terrain renderizations. The research highlights the significance of salt tectonics in controlling the structure of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, offering new insights into its tectonic history.
Hipercorig Hallstatt History (H3) reveals a high-resolution Late Pleistocene to Holocene sediment record at Lake Hallstatt (Salzkammergut, Austria)
A groundbreaking sediment core from Lake Hallstatt, Austria, reveals a high-resolution record spanning the Late Pleistocene to Holocene, offering unprecedented insights into the 7,000-year history of human salt mining and environmental changes in this UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Hipercorig platform enabled the recovery of two undisturbed cores (41m and 51m) from 122m water depth, revealing distinct lithostratigraphic units—Holocene sediments marked by laminated clays, mass-movement deposits, and turbidites, and Late Pleistocene layers characterized by thin-bedded silty clays with intermittent laminations. Multi-proxy analyses, including x-ray tomography and core logging, confirm the cores' representativeness and promise to elucidate early human settlement patterns, climatic shifts, and geological events in this Alpine cultural landscape.
Researching Change – Understanding Change – Facing Change. 3500 years of human-environment relations in the Hallstatt/Dachstein region
Bronze and Iron Age communities in the Hallstatt-Dachstein region demonstrated remarkable resilience to extreme natural events, including mass movements and climate shifts. This finding emerges from a study analyzing 3500 years of human-environment relations, leveraging unique archaeological, historical, and environmental data preserved in salt mines. The research highlights sophisticated adaptation strategies developed by these societies, offering insights into their technological advancements and raw material management. By examining the long-term evolution of human-environment interactions, the study also addresses the role of archaeologists in understanding climate change impacts on past civilizations.
Microclimatic conditions and modeling possibilities of the Dachstein-Rieseneishöhle
A significant threat to the Dachstein-Rieseneishöhle, one of Austria's most important ice caves and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape, has been identified: rising outdoor temperatures are disrupting winter ice formation, potentially leading to irreversible loss of ice masses. Research comparing climate data from 2018-2020 with archival records since 1950 reveals that average winter temperatures in the cave have increased by over 2°C, while summer periods now exhibit above-freezing conditions—a stark contrast to the sub-zero readings documented between 1956 and 1958. These changes align with regional climate projections for the Eastern Alps, underscoring the cave's vulnerability. While management measures like weather doors and ventilation flaps offer limited mitigation by reducing warm air influx, the study highlights the urgent need for adaptive strategies to preserve this unique microclimate.
Prehistoric salt mining in Hallstatt, Austria. New chronologies out of small wooden fragments
A groundbreaking analysis of prehistoric salt mining at the Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape, Austria, has revealed new dendrochronological chronologies spanning from 1393 BCE to 425 BCE. These findings, derived from over 760 small wooden fragments, provide precise dating for various tree species—fir, spruce, larch, and beech—using advanced crossdating techniques and radiocarbon wiggle matching. The study sheds light on the Hallstatt period (800–400 BCE), a pivotal epoch in European prehistory, by leveraging the exceptional preservation of organic materials within rock salt deposits. This research not only refines our understanding of prehistoric mining activities but also offers unprecedented insights into ancient timber use and environmental conditions.
3500 years of environmental sustainability in the large-scale alpine mining district of Hallstatt, Austria
A groundbreaking study reveals that large-scale salt mining in the UNESCO World Heritage site Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut, Austria, began as early as 4000 BCE and had significant impacts on local vegetation, particularly during the Bronze Age (around 1350 BCE) and the Modern Era (15th-19th century CE). Using paleoecological data from a nearby peat bog, researchers documented for the first time the environmental effects of this ancient mining district. Notably, the study highlights an unexpected environmental sustainability, as natural resources in the region were managed to prevent depletion, ensuring a steady supply of construction materials and subsistence goods for miners over millennia.
Permafrost distribution and conditions at the headwalls of two receding glaciers (Schladming and Hallstatt glaciers) in the Dachstein Massif, Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria
Research in the Dachstein Massif, Austria, reveals that permafrost is predominantly found in north-facing rock walls at elevations of 2600 to 2700 meters above sea level, with its distribution and thermal regime significantly influenced by slope aspect. Using a multi-method approach—including ground surface temperature monitoring, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), and airborne photogrammetry—the study identified large permafrost bodies at north-exposed sites, characterized by high resistivities (>30,000 Ω m) indicative of frozen bedrock. A notable imprint of the former Little Ice Age (LIA) ice margin was detected, with distinct differences in resistivity above and below this line suggesting permafrost aggradation following glacier retreat. These findings provide critical insights into frost-influenced weathering and cirque erosion in high-mountain settings, particularly in the context of receding glaciers.
Geomorphology and event-stratigraphy of recent mass-movement processes in Lake Hallstatt (UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape, Austria)
Lake Hallstatt, nestled within the UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape of Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut, serves as a natural laboratory for studying subaquatic landslides. The study reveals that larger mass-transport deposits (MTDs) in the lake are likely triggered by earthquakes, with sediment cores documenting distinct event deposits linked to historically recorded floods and moderate seismic activity. High-resolution bathymetry, reflection seismic data, and sediment core analyses were used to characterize recent (<200 years) landslides, including rock falls, subaqueous slope failures, and shore collapses. The lake's high sedimentation rate (c. 0.5 cm per year) provides a detailed record of these events, suggesting deeper subsurface evidence of even larger mass-movement processes that warrant further investigation with longer cores.
Sedimentology, carbon isotope stratigraphy and micropalaeontology of the Rhaetian Zlambach Formation– Implications for the Dachstein carbonate platform development (Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria)
A groundbreaking study reveals that the Dachstein carbonate platform in Austria's Northern Calcareous Alps experienced continuous growth and progradation until the late Rhaetian period, contradicting earlier assumptions. The research, utilizing high-resolution stable isotope measurements, X-ray fluorescence, microfacies analysis, and micropalaeontology, identified significant environmental perturbations during the late C. marshi ammonoid zone, marked by notable carbon isotope excursions and fluctuations in benthic microfossil abundance and diversity. These findings suggest that the termination of the Dachstein platform margin growth was more complex than previously understood, with potential implications for understanding regional ecological changes during this period.
Towards Governance or the Management of Cultural Landscapes
Effective governance of cultural landscapes, such as Austria's Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut World Heritage region, requires integrating natural and cultural heritage into regional development while addressing the complex interplay between stakeholders, including local inhabitants, visitors, businesses, farmers, and civil society. This study highlights the need for a balanced approach that considers both vertical (politics, administration) and horizontal (private sector, civil society) dimensions of governance to sustainably manage these landscapes. The research employs a qualitative analysis of regional planning cultures and legal frameworks, offering insights into how regions can harmonize heritage preservation with economic and social development.
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