The Salzburg Place Name Commission (SONK), founded in 1975 and composed of specialists and representatives from authorities, has focused from the very beginning on creating a comprehensive database of place names, which is also supplemented with historical evidence and dialectal pronunciation guides. This database primarily serves as the basis for a Salzburg place name book, intended to complement Franz Hörburger's monograph of the same name as a scientifically grounded reference work.

The structure of this now alphabetically organized Historical-Etymological Lexicon of Salzburg Place Names (HELSON) is oriented around the political districts (or Gaue). In 2015, the first volume (City of Salzburg and Flachgau) will be published under the patronage of SONK as part of the special volumes of the Society for Salzburg Regional Studies.

All settlement names are recorded, including names of cities and villages, hamlets, neighborhoods, and districts from the official place directory. Hof names (from standalone estates, primarily when historical evidence is available) are included in an unsystematic manner, as well as obsolete name material and interesting field names that provide insights into language and cultural history. Important mountain and water names are also selectively recorded.

An overview of onomastics and language history will introduce this first volume. The main part consists of alphabetically ordered name entries, featuring the local dialect pronunciation, a series of historical evidence, an etymological interpretation, and the most important scientific secondary literature. A bibliography and various indexes complete the volume.