The small town of Hallstatt inspired the decor of Arendelle, in the two Disney films… and is invaded by tourists.

Frozen fans all know Arendelle. Many are also familiar with Hallstatt, a once peaceful little Austrian town with its approximately 795 inhabitants. A postcard decor classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located on the edge of a lake and at the foot of the Salzkammergut massif, the small town has not been officially recognized by Disney as a setting that served to develop the kingdom of Elsa and Anna. Whatever, more and more tourists are flocking there. Up to 10,000 visitors every day, making this corner of paradise a living hell for its inhabitants and the local authorities, who cannot take it any longer.

Most of these tourists come from Asia, where Hallstatt has been well known since 2006 thanks to (or because of) the series Spring Waltz, which was partially filmed in this small town. The beauty of the place has also made it one of the most Instagrammable of the world. The Chinese are just as crazy about it since they even built a reproduction of the city in 2012 in the province of Guangdong.

“Hallstatt is an important part of our cultural history, not a museum. We want to reduce the number of tourists to at least a third, but we have no way of stopping them.”, lamented the mayor of the city in an interview with Times. For the local population, this enthusiasm is not without consequences on purchasing power. The influx of tourists has indeed increased prices significantly, so much so that the mayor has asked transport companies to reduce by a third the number of buses serving his municipality.