| Kitzbühel | |
|
Kitzbühel
|
|
| Country | Austria |
| State | Tyrol |
| District | Kitzbühel |
| Mayor | Klaus Winkler (ÖVP) |
| Area | 58.02 km2 (22 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 762 m (2500 ft) |
| Population | 8,207 (1 January 2011)[1] |
| - Density | 141 /km2 (366 /sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | KB |
| Postal code | 6370 |
| Area code | 05356 |
| Website | Kitzbühel |
Kitzbühel (pronounced 'kɪtsbyːl) is a small medieval town in Tyrol, Austria and it is the administrative centre of the district (Bezirk) Kitzbühel with a population of 8,204 (as at 1 Jan 2010).
The town is situated in the Kitzbühel Alps about 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the state capital of Innsbruck and is a ski resort of international renown.
Contents |
Innsbruck is situated on the Kitzbüheler Ache river.
The town borough is subdivided into the municipalities of: Am Horn, Aschbachbichl, Badhaussiedlung, Bichlach, Ecking, Felseneck, Griesenau, Griesenauweg, Gundhabing, Hagstein, Hausstatt, Henntal, Jodlfeld, Kaps, Mühlau, Obernau, Schattberg, Seereith, Siedlung Frieden, Am Sonnberg, Sonnenhoffeld, Staudach, Stockerdörfl and Zephirau.
Kitzbühel's neighbouring municipalities are:
Aurach bei Kitzbühel, Jochberg, Kirchberg in Tirol, Oberndorf in Tirol, Reith bei Kitzbühel, St. Johann in Tirol and Fieberbrunn.
| Kitzbühel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate chart (explanation) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The first known settlers were Illyrians mining copper in the hills around Kitzbühel between 1100 BC and 800 BC.
Around 15 BC the Romans under Emperor Augustus extended their empire to include the Alps and established the province of Noricum. After the fall of the western Roman Empire, Bavarii settled in the Kitzbühel region around 800 and started clearing forests.
In the twelfth century the name Chizbuhel is mentioned for the first time in a document belonging to the Chiemsee monastery (where it refers to a "Marquard von Chizbuhel"), whereby Chizzo relates to a Bavarian clan and Bühel refers to the location of a settlement upon a hill. One hundred years later a source refers to the Vogtei of the Bamberg monastery in Kicemgespuchel and, in the 1271 document elevating the settlement to the status of a town, the place is called Chizzingenspuehel.
Kitzbühel became part of Upper Bavaria in 1255 when Bavaria was first partitioned. Louis II, Duke of Bavaria granted Kitzbühel town rights on 6 June 1271, and it was fortified with defensive town walls. During the next centuries the town established itself as a market town, growing steadily and remaining unaffected by war and conflict. So the town walls were reduced to the level of a single storey building and the stone used for building of residential housing.
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1869 | 2,982 | — |
| 1880 | 3,167 | +6.2% |
| 1890 | 3,290 | +3.9% |
| 1900 | 3,453 | +5.0% |
| 1910 | 4,021 | +16.4% |
| 1923 | 4,378 | +8.9% |
| 1934 | 5,294 | +20.9% |
| 1939 | 5,419 | +2.4% |
| 1951 | 7,211 | +33.1% |
| 1961 | 7,744 | +7.4% |
| 1971 | 8,020 | +3.6% |
| 1981 | 7,840 | −2.2% |
| 1991 | 8,119 | +3.6% |
| 2001 | 8,574 | +5.6% |
| 2008 | 8,437 | −1.6% |
| 2011 | 8,207 | −2.7% |
| Source: Statistik Austria | ||
When Margaret, Countess of Tyrol married the Bavarian, Duke Louis V the Brandenburger, in 1342, Kitzbühel was temporarily united with the County of Tyrol (that in turn became a Bavarian dominion as a result of the marriage until Louis' death). After the Peace of Schärding (1369) Kitzbühel was returned to Bavaria. Following the division of Bavarian, Kufstein went to the Landshut line of the House of Wittelsbach. During this time, mining in Kitzbühel expanded steadily and comprehensive mining rights were issued to her that, later, were to become significant to the Bavarian dukedom. On 30 June 1504 Kitzbühel became a part of Tyrol permanently after the Emperor Maximilian had reserved them for himself the hitherto Landshut offices (Ämter) of Kitzbühel, Kufstein and Rattenberg as a part of his Cologne Arbitration (Kölner Schiedsspruch), that had ended the Landshut War of Succession.
However the law of Louis of Bavaria continued to apply to the three aforementioned places until the 19th century, so that these towns had a special legal status within Tyrol. Maximilian enfeoffed Kitzbühel, with the result that it came under the rule of the Counts of Lamberg at the end of the 16th century, until 1 May 1840, when Kitzbühel was ceremonially transferred to the state. An inscription in the Swedish Chapel dating to the Swedish War states "Bis hierher und nicht weiter kamen die schwedischen Reiter" ("The Swedish knights came as far as here but no further.")[2] The wars of the eighteenth and nineteenth century bypassed the town, even though its inhabitants participated in the Tyrolean Rebellion against Napoleon. Following the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805, Kitzbühel once more became part of Bavaria, but was reunited with Tyrol after the fall of Napoleon at the Congress of Vienna.
When Emperor Franz Joseph finally resolved the confusing constitutional situation and following completion of the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway in 1875, the town's trade and industry flourished. Kitzbühel also had the good fortune to remain undamaged from the ravages of the First and Second World Wars.[3] Since the year 2000 the town has been a member of the Climate Alliance of Tyrol.
Demographic evolution see the list to the right
Famous Habitants in Kitzbühel
Kitzbühel is one of Austria's best known and fanciest winter sports resorts, situated between the mountains Hahnenkamm (5616 ft., 1712 m) and Kitzbühler Horn (6548 ft., 1996 m). The Hahnenkamm is home of the annual world cup ski races, including the circuit's most important event, the downhill race on the famous Streif slope. This downhill is counted as one of the toughest downhill competitions in the world cup.
During summer time Kitzbühel also hosts an ATP tennis tournament on clay, the Austrian Open. The next tournament will be held from 23.07.2012 until 29.07.2012[4]
From 2007 to 2011, ITU Triathlon World Cup races took place at the local Schwarzsee lake.[5]
The Kitzbüheler Alpenrallye is an annual festival of historic automobiles. It was first held in 1988. The first trip of the United Buddy Bears was 2004 to Kitzbühel, following by the first trip into the "big wide world" – when they went to Hong Kong and many other metropolises on all five continents.
Together with the pistes and ski lifts in neighbouring Kirchberg in Tirol, Jochberg and by the Thurn Pass Kitzbühel is one of the largest ski regions in Austria. With around 10,000 hotel and guest house beds, Kitzbühel and its neighbours have an unusually high density of guest accommodation.
Holidaymakers in Kitzbühel have 56 cableway and lift facilities and 168 kilometres of slopes available to them as well as 40 kilometres of groomed cross-country skiing tracks. Of note is the relatively new 3S Cable Car, the cable car with the highest above ground span in the world.
In summer there are 120 km (75 mi) of mountain bike paths and 500 km (311 mi) of hiking trails.
Other attractions are the six tennis courts and four golf courses, the Kitzbühel swimming pool, Austria's only curling hall and the bathing lake of Schwarzsee.
Kitzbühel also caters for the high end of the tourist market, as many celebrities and the jet set come here for the international races on the Hahnenkamm.
Road:
The Brixental Road, the B170, from Wörgl intersects in Kitzbühel with the Thurn Pass Road, the B161, from Mittersill to St. Johann in Tirol. Kitzbühel station is a major bus stop for buses to Lienz and Worgl.
Rail:
Kitzbühel Hauptbahnhof, Kitzbühel Hahnenkamm and Kitzbühel Schwarzsee are stops on the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway. Whilst Hahnenkamm and Schwarzsee stations are served by local trains only, long-distance services from Innsbruck and Graz stop at Kitzbühel station. Kitzbühel station has just been rebuilt (2010) and been equipped with new barrier-less platforms with underpasses and a lift. From 2011 there will be no stationmaster at Kitzbühel and it will not be possible to buy tickets at the counter any longer.