Hallstatt: Town in Austria puts up fence to stop selfies

Why was a wooden fence put up in this Austrian town?

Hallstatt is a town in the Austrian mountains, famous for its pretty views and glacial trails.

It's also an extremely popular photo destination - so much so that a fence was recently put up by the town to stop tourists from being able to take so many pictures.

The fence has since been taken down, but Hallstatt's mayor says he wants to put up a banner to remind tourists that people live in the area.

Over a million tourists head to Hallstatt every year to take pictures at a viewpoint that was theorised to have been the inspiration behind the Disney film Frozen.

How do you feel about a selfie ban in tourism hotspots? Read on to find out more, and let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page!

Why is Hallstatt so popular?

Image source, BARBARA GINDL

This is the view that people travel to Hallstatt to photograph

Hallstatt is a Unesco World Heritage site, which means it is protected as a special place because of its history.

It's extremely popular for its picturesque views, sitting next to a lake in the Austrian mountains. More recently, it was theorised to be the inspiration for the magical land in the Disney movie Frozen.

A replica of the town has also been built in Guangdong, in China. The mayor of Hallstatt flew out to China to take part in the opening ceremony when it was made.

Now, millions of tourists visit the town every year - even though only a few hundred people actually live in the town. Lots of people head to one viewpoint, which overlooks the town, the lake and the mountains, to take pictures and selfies.

What has happened in Hallstatt?

Image source, Andreas Gebert

The town's mayor has had enough of people coming to take selfies of the view

Earlier this week, people noticed that a wooden barrier had been put in place to hide the famous view.

The Mayor, Alexander Scheutz, told Austrian newspapers that people who live in the area wanted to be left alone. The town has previously set limits for cars and busses, but says they regularly reach the daily limit for 450 cars and 54 busses.

The barrier has since been taken down, but mayor Sheutz says he wants a banner to be put up to remind tourists that people live in the town.

Why is selfie-taking an issue?

Image source, Getty Images

Only 500 people live in Portofino, but thousands of tourists visit the town each year

This isn't the first time that tourists have been told to cut back on picture-taking in popular tourist destinations.

In Portofino, in Italy, the Mayor claimed that there was 'chaos' in the town from all the tourists coming to take pictures of the view of colourful houses overlooking the sea, and tourists were banned from hanging around for too long in certain places.

What do you think, is it fair for people to ban tourists from taking selfies? Is the view something everyone should be allowed to enjoy? How would you feel about your home being a tourist destination? Let us know in the comments!