Mittersill

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Mittersill

Coat of arms	Location

Administration
Country	Austria
State	Salzburg
District	Zell am See
Mayor	Wolfgang Viertler (Ind.)
Basic statistics
Area	132.03 km² (51 sq mi)
Elevation	790 m (2592 ft)
Population	5,464 (31/12/2005)
- Density	41 /km² (107 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	ZE
Postal code	5730
Area code	06562
Website	www.mittersill.at Coordinates: 47°16′00″N 12°28′00″E / 47.266667, 12.466667

Mittersill is a market town in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, in the Pinzgau region of the Alps. It is located on the Salzach river, with a population of 5,584 (2001).

1 Geography
2 History
3 Sights
4 Industry
5 Tourism
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Mittersill lies approximately 25km to the west of Zell am See, 30km to the south of Kitzbühel and 27km east from the start of the Salzach valley in Krimml.

Mittersill straddles the Salzach river and one of its tributaries; the Felber. The town is bordered on the south by the Hohe Tauern mountain range, and to the north by the Kitzbühel Alps.

It has traffic links running east to west and well as north to south. The road tunnel, Felbertauern runs southerly through the Hohe Tauern at a height of c.1630m, providing a connection with Lienz in East Tyrol. To the north lies the mountain pass Pass Thurn at a height of 1274m providing a connection with Kitzbühel and Tyrol.

[edit] History

There is evidence of settlement in the Mittersill area since the Bronze Age in around 2200 B.C However Mittersill itself was first founded in the 11th century as a part of Bavaria, and in the mid 12th century its castle was built. In the 13th century Mittersill fell under the control of the Archbishopric of Salzburg and the castle became the seat of the archbishops in Upper Pinzgau. By 1357 Mittersill had a market town charter conferred upon it by the Salzburg Archbishop Ortolf, which boosted the town's profile considerabley. By the 14th century was acting as an important trade crossroad with salt, ice and copper being taken south over the Felbertauern Pass (2481m) to Bolzano-Bozen and Friuli in north eastern Italy, and goods such wine, fruits, velvet and silks coming north over the pass to be taken into present day Austria and Germany.

In the 1525 peasant's war (Bauernkriege) the Mittersill castle was burnt down and subsequently rebuilt to giving it the appearance that can be seen today. In 1635 and 1746 the town itself was struck by fire and most of the medieval market place was destroyed as a result of these two fires.

In 1898 Mittersill became linked to Zell am See and Krimml along the Salzach valley with the opening of the Pinzgau Lokalbahn train service which still operates today.

In 1939 in Mittersill a military school for an aerial tramway construction was founded. During World War II, a subcamp of Mauthausen concentration camp was located here.^[1] In 1943 construction work for a goods cable car across the mountain range started. Part of this cable car included two supports, each was 280 metres high; one was made of steel and the other was made of wood (the tallest ever to be wooden built). As a result of the war, this aerial cable car could not be completed and both pillars were demolished in the 1950s. On the 8th of August 2008 (08/08/2008) Mittersill will receive Town/City Charter rights.

[edit] Sights

Mittersill castle stands about 140m above the town, the current building dates from the 1525 German peasant's war when the original structure was burnt down. Since 1888 the castle has been in private hands, hosting notable guests such as: Dutch Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard, the Shah of Persia, Clark Gable, Henry Ford, Bob Hope and Aristoteles Onassis.

The 900 year old Felber Tower, hosts a museum about the local area, covering topics such as local history, geology and mountaineering.

The St. Leonard parochial church originally dates from the 13th century, but sports later additions, such as; a 1420 stone sculpture of St. Leonard, a Baroque facade and onion dome and an 18th century high altar in the rococo style.

The smaller St. Anna church dates from the 18th century and fashioned in the style of the Tyrolean rococo. Though originally a Roman Catholic church, it today is used for Protestant worship in Mittersill.

The St. Nicholas church located next to the Felber Tower was built in the 15th Century in the late Gothic style. The interior decór is 17th century Baroque, with exception of the side altar which is rococo in style.

The National Park Zentrum Hohe Tauern opened in Mittersill in 2007. It functions as a museum and centre for the Hohe Tauern National Park, with information about the geology, landscape, flora and fauna found in the alpine region.

[edit] Industry

Mittersill is home to two large industries, the Blizzard ski factory, and Fahnen Gärtner flag factory, which provide jobs for the local townspeople. It also has a fair amount of tourist business, attracting mainly skiers and snowboarders during the winter season and hikers in summer. Farming also remains significant with emphasis mainly in cattle and dairy farming.

South of Mittersill a large tungsten mine is located. The ore consists mainly from Scheelite.^[2]

[edit] Tourism

In Winter Mittersill is a popular destination for winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding and sledding Mittersill has a connection with the Kitzbühelski area through the newly built panoramabahn cable car which allows access to the Resterhöhe skiing area, which in turn is connected to the ski areas of Kirch and the Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel by the 3S Aerial Tramway; an aerial tramway with the largest span in the world. Mittersill is also close to other well known ski resorts such as Zell am See, Kaprun and the Zillertal Arena.

Mittersill is also located near to the municipality Bramberg am Wildkogel which boasts what is estimated to be at 14km the longest toboggan run in the world.^[3]

In summer Mittersill has an 18-hole golf course and acts well as a gateway to the Hohe Tauern National Park with its newly built National Park Centre. Popular summer activities range from hiking and mountain biking to paragliding.