Erdstall Populorum

Useful Information

Location:	Huterergasse 5, 4283 Bad Zell. From Linz A7 direction Prague, exit 1 Unterweitersdorf, B124 to Bad Zell. Turn left towards Schönau, then first left. (48.3509287, 14.6713391)
Open:	After appointment. Gasthaus: All year Thu-Sat 9-24, Sun 8-14:30. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Erdstall
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=64 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Erdstall Populorum, POPULORUM GmbH, Huterergasse 5, 4283 Bad Zell, Tel: +43-7263-7277. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1583	first written mention of brewery.

Description

The Erdstall Populorum is located in the inn Zum feuchten Eck. It is named after the owner of the inn, whose surname is Populorum, apparently a common name in the area. The pub has a cellar at the back, which was used to store food, beer and wine. As the building stands at the foot of a hill, the cellar was not built deep into the ground, but runs horizontally into the hill, which is a great advantage as it does not have any stairs and can therefore be accessed with carts. The rather large room has a barrel vault. It can be reached via a brick corridor from the inn. There has probably been a pub here since around 1200, and it was common for pubs to brew their own beer back then, although the brewery is not mentioned in a document for the first time until 1583. In any case, it can be assumed that the beer cellar was dug at that time to store the home-brewed beer.

But the unique thing of this cellar are two corridors that branch off from it. This is in the rear part of the cellar, which has a completely different character to the front part. At the front it is simply a rectangular room, at the back it is a polygon with vaults, niches and corridors leading off in different directions. Only two of these can actually be described as corridors. The north corridor is 20 m long, so low that you have to crawl, and is blocked at the end. The west passage is 44 m long and has a rather strange "curlicue" at the end where the passage turns back 180° and crosses itself. A shaft then leads upwards, but soon ends. Here you can walk bent over in places, but you also have to get down on all fours in some parts. Unlike the cellar, these passages have no electric light, and as you have to crawl, caving equipment, or at least old clothes, are advisable.

The typical Erdstall is small, you almost always have to crawl or at least bend down. They have no contents, neither sediments nor any remains of pottery or other artefacts. That is why it is impossible to date them. So far, it has always been assumed that they date from the High Middle Ages, and there really was an increase in their use around 1000 to 1200. But there was also a tendency to wall them up from 1200 onwards. The curious shapes, with corridors winding for no reason, are also typical. Due to their small size and lack of ventilation, seating and escape routes, the common explanations that they were escape caves in which the population hid in case of danger are obvious nonsense. It is now being recognised that they probably date back to the Neolithic period and were only slightly reworked in the Middle Ages. This adds to the mystery, we still don’t know who built them, when they were built and why.

Only a few Erdstall can be visited, this is one of the few exceptions. Although there are no regular opening hours, it can be assumed that the tour is possible during the opening hours of the restaurant. The landlord asks you to book in advance, but we can imagine that you can simply ask when it’s not very busy. The tour is free, it is a matter of decency to have something to eat and drink if you take up the offer.