Let Hallstatt go: Arendelle-like Austrian village eerily quiet as 'Frozen' fans stay away

Travel restrictions in place because of the coronavirus have left the streets of this alpine village deserted

Austria's Hallstatt is hugely popular with fans of Disney's 'Frozen', who believe it was the inspiration for the village of Arendelle in the film. AFP / JOE KLAMAR

The Unesco-listed town on Lake Hallstatt's western shore in Austria's mountainous Salzkammergut region is eerily quiet now that tourism has halted. AFP

Covid-19 has changed everything for the 780 locals of this Austrian village who are weighing up a return to calm with the loss of tourism income. AFP

Only a few months ago residents of the impossibly picturesque Austrian village of Hallstatt were debating how to stem the influx of tourists thronging its narrow streets, nestled between soaring mountains and a sparkling lake. AFP

The collapse in international travel brought about by the coronavirus pandemic has left Hallstatt's streets empty. AFP

View of a street in the Hallstatt village. AFP

A lonely passenger rides the river ship connecting the train station to the village. AFP

Let it go - Frozen fans have done exactly that in Hallstatt as fans stay away from the Austrian alpine region thanks to travel restrictions in place due to Covid-19. AFP

Archaeology suggests the region has been settled for about 3,000 years, but it only shot to popularity when Disney's 'Frozen' was released in 2013. AFP

A very peaceful night in Hallstatt as tourists stay away due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. AFP

At its peak, the tiny village was receiving more than 10,000 tourists per day. AFP

A woman cleans river boats at lake Hallstatt in Hallstatt. AFP

A river ship captain steers his ship towards the village of Hallstatt. AFP

Tour groups used to jam the streets - with up to 100 coaches arriving daily in the high season - but now the village is quiet, Covid-19 has changed everything. AFP

Be careful what you wish for.

Earlier this year, the mayor of Hallstatt –  a tiny village in Austria's mountainous Salzkammergut region – was pleading with tourists not to visit.

With daily numbers of about 10,000 people per day piling into the narrow streets of the Unesco World Heritage Site, tourists outnumbered the local population at a rate of more than 12 to 1.

Congestion, traffic jams and overcrowding in restaurants, shops and on the lake had become part of everyday life in the village thought to be the inspiration behind Arendelle, in Disney's popular Frozen.

In China, an exact replica of the town was built in Guangdong, inspiring thousands more people to go seek out the real thing. Hallstatt recorded more than a million visitors in one year.

Today, the tiny region which sits at an altitude of 511 metres under the slopes of the Dachstein range, is facing the opposite problem.

Travel restrictions put in place to curb the spread of Covid-19 coupled with the worldwide collapse of tourism has left Hallstatt empty of tourists. And with no travellers in town, there's no tourism income for locals.

Located about an hour from Salzburg, Hallstatt attracted atleast 100 visitors a day before it found Disney fame. Now, as Frozen fans are forced to "let it go", visitor numbers are even lower than that.

Authorities in Austria have restricted who can enter the country and are advising that any travel should be for essential purposes only. The measures are in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.