Hallstatt (Austria)
Hallstatt is a mountain municipality located in Austria inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. There is also a beautiful town with the same name. For many called the most beautiful place in Austria. So Chinese investors have decided to … copy it. The unique landscape and buildings have been completely replicated. Both alpine-covered cottages and a nineteenth-century neo-gothic church.
The replica was built in 2011. When the inhabitants of the original town learned about it, they initially expressed strong opposition to this idea. A similar opinion was given by Chinese people who believed that their native architecture is so interesting that it makes no sense to copy someone else’s. Another opinion was the original Hallstatt authorities, as well as tourist offices. The commune lives mainly from tourism, and the copy of the town has had a very positive impact on it. Before building the Hallstatt replica, about 50 Chinese people came to visit every year. Now, tourists from the Far East count in hundreds and even thousands in one season.
