Wörgl

Wörgl

Coat of arms
Wörgl

Location within Austria

Coordinates: 47°29′N 12°04′E / 47.483°N 12.067°E / 47.483; 12.067Coordinates: 47°29′N 12°04′E / 47.483°N 12.067°E / 47.483; 12.067
Country Austria
State Tyrol
District Kufstein
Government
 • Mayor Hedi Wechner (SPÖ)
Area
 • Total 19.68 km2 (7.60 sq mi)
Elevation 511 m (1,677 ft)
Population (1 January 2016)[1]
 • Total 13,311
 • Density 680/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal codes 6300-6302
Area codes 043-5332
Vehicle registration KU
Website www.woergl.at

Wörgl (German pronunciation: [ˈvœrɡəl]) is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, in the Kufstein district. It is 20 km (12 mi) from the international border with Bavaria, Germany.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
18691,080—    
18801,485+37.5%
18902,319+56.2%
19003,126+34.8%
19104,232+35.4%
19234,155−1.8%
19344,196+1.0%
19394,689+11.7%
19516,247+33.2%
19616,828+9.3%
19717,937+16.2%
19818,598+8.3%
199110,041+16.8%
200110,885+8.4%
201112,645+16.2%

Transport

Wörgl is an important railway junction between the line from Innsbruck to Munich, and the inner-Austrian line to Salzburg. Its railway station has been designated as a Hauptbahnhof (German: main station) since 10 December 2006.

European route E641 connects Wörgl with Salzburg, the routes E45 and E60 (Austrian autobahn A12) pass through Wörgl.

History

World War II

Nearby Itter Castle was the site of one of the last European and most unusual battles of World War II. The Battle for Itter Castle was fought on May 5, 1945 by surrendered Wehrmacht troops, the United States Army, Austrian Resistance fighters and former French political prisoners against the 17th Waffen-SS Panzer Grenadier Division. The leader of the surrendered Wehrmacht troops, Major Josef "Sepp" Gangl, was killed during the battle and is buried in Wörgl's municipal cemetery. A street in the city is named for Sepp Gangl.

Twin cities

The Wörgl Experiment

One Schilling note with demurrage stamps from Wörgl

Wörgl was the site of the "Miracle of Wörgl" during the Great Depression. It was started on July 31, 1932, with the issuing of "Certified Compensation Bills", a form of local currency commonly known as Stamp Scrip, or Freigeld. This was an application of the monetary theories of the economist Silvio Gesell by the town's then-mayor, Michael Unterguggenberger.

The experiment resulted in a growth in employment and meant that local government projects such as new houses, a reservoir, a ski jump and a bridge could all be completed, seeming to defy the depression in the rest of the country. Inflation and deflation are also reputed to have been non-existent for the duration of the experiment.

Despite attracting great interest at the time, including from French Premier Edouard Daladier and the economist Irving Fisher,[2] the "experiment" was terminated by the Austrian National Bank on September 1, 1933.[3][4]

In 2006 milestones were placed, beginning from the railroad station through the downtown, to show this history.[5]

Notable personalities

Wörgl, church: Stadtpfarrkriche Sankt Laurentius
Panorama of Wörgl from Hennersberg.
Wörgl, panorama

See also

References

  1. ↑ Statistik Austria - Bevölkerung zu Jahresbeginn 2002-2016 nach Gemeinden (Gebietsstand 1.1.2016) for Wörgl.
  2. ↑ http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj10n3/cj10n3-13.pdf
  3. ↑ David Boyle, The Money Changers - Currency Reform from Aristotle to e-cash, Earthscan, 2002, ISBN 1-85383-895-0, p.237.
  4. ↑ Eric Helleiner, The Making of National Money - Territorial Currencies in Historical Perspective, Cornell University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-8014-4049-1, p.158-9.
  5. ↑ http://meilensteine.woergl.at/
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