For more than 200 years, this landmark has stood on the prominent vantage point high above the village of Thaur. In June 1815, the reorganization of Europe had just been completed with the Congress of Vienna, and so on October 21 of that year, Emperor Franz I of Austria found some time to visit the town of Hall and the saltworks there. On that occasion, he also climbed over the Thaurer Törl to this magnificent vantage point. From here, he had an excellent view of the sites where his Tyroleans - he had already ceded them to Bavaria at the negotiating table in Pressburg in 1805 - had opposed Napoleon's troops in heroic struggles for freedom.
It is testament to the loyalty of his subjects to the emperor that they erected a wooden pyramid here the following year to commemorate this visit. In 1839, it was replaced by an 11.4-meter-high stone pyramid. The inauguration of the new imperial monument took place on September 20, 1839 in the presence of Prince Lobkowitz. This special event was captured in a painting. A Berlin painter had captured this romantic scene in a painting. The painting used to hang in the salt works management in Hall, then went to the general management of the salt works in Bad Ischl and is now owned by the city of Hall. It hangs in the prince's room in Hasegg Castle. However, it can only be viewed in exceptional cases.
In the early days, this brick landmark was correctly called the Franzens Pyramid. It was only much later that the name Kaisersäule crept in. The dignified inscription that Emperor Franz I greeted his people from this spot was there from the very beginning.