HOF-GASTEIN

hof-gastein, pop. (1900) 840, the capital of the valley, is also a watering-place, the thermal waters being conveyed here from wildbad-gastein by a conduit 5 m. long, constructed in 1828 by the emperor francis i. of austria. hof-gastein was, after salzburg, the richest place in the duchy, owing to its gold and silver mines, which were already worked during the roman period. during the 16th century these mines were yielding annually 1180 lb. of gold and 9500 lb. of silver, but since the 17th century they have been much neglected and many of them are now covered by glaciers.