Content deleted Content added
Copyedit the lead, added the gallery section |
some rephrasing |
||
Line 1:
[[Image:Blick auf Uderns.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Uderns]] in Zillertal]]
The '''Zillertal''' ("Ziller valley") is a valley in [[Tyrol (state)|Tyrol]], [[Austria]] that is drained by the
The Zillertal is one of the valley areas in Tyrol most visited by tourists.<ref name="aeiou"/> Its largest settlement is [[Mayrhofen]].
==Geography==▼
▲== Geography ==
[[File:Zillertaler Alpen 2009.jpg|thumb|Zillertal Alps]]
The Zillertal branches from the Inn trench near [[Jenbach]], about 40 km northeast of [[Innsbruck]], running mostly in a north-south direction. The Zillertal proper stretches from the village of [[:de:Strass im Zillertal|Strass]] to Mayrhofen, where it separates into four smaller valleys, the [[Tux valley]] and the sparsely settled, so-called ''Gründe'' - Zamsergrund, Zillergrund and Stilluppgrund. Along the way, two more ''Gründe'' and the [[Gerlos valley]], which leads to the [[Gerlos Pass]] and into [[Salzburg (state)|Salzburg]], branch off.
Unlike other side valleys of the Inntal, the Zillertal rises constantly, but only marginally, from one end to the other - only about 100 m over 30 km. Permanent settlements cover about 9% of the entire area of the Zillertal municipalities.
== History ==
Near the [[Tuxer Joch]], a pass between the [[Wipptal]] and the [[Tux valley]], there have been [[archeology|archeological]] finds from middle [[Stone Age]]. The oldest remains of settlements in the Zillertal date back to the [[Illyrians]] during the late [[Bronze Age|Bronze]] and early [[Iron Age]]s - a tribe from the Balkan Peninsula who were absorbed by the Bavarians ([[Baiuvarii]]).
The earliest written record of the Zillertal dates from 889, when [[Arnulf of Carinthia]] granted land to the [[Archbishop of Salzburg]] in the "Cilarestal". Ownership of the valley was divided along the river Ziller. Even today this division is visible, as churches on the right bank of the river generally have green towers and belong to [[Salzburg (city)|Salzburg]] [[Diocese]], while churches on the left bank have red towers and belong to Innsbruck Diocese.
In 1248, the land west of the Ziller was acquired by the [[County of Tyrol|Counts of Tyrol]], while the lands east of the Ziller pledged as security to the Counts of Tyrol by the Lords of [[Rattenberg]] from 1290 to 1380. In 1504, with both the County of Tyrol and the [[Archbishopric of Salzburg]] dominated by the [[Habsburg]]s, the Zillertal valley was united under [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Maximilian]] and put under joint Tyrolean/Salzburgian rule.
In 1805, the [[Treaty of Pressburg (1805)|Treaty of Pressburg]] ended the [[War of the Third Coalition]] and forced Austria to cede Tyrol to [[Bavaria]]. For the purposes of this treaty, the Zillertal was considered part of Salzburg and thus remained with Austria. The people of the Zillertal nevertheless joined [[Andreas Hofer]]'s Tyrolean [[Insurrection]] of 1809 in the Battle of the Ziller Bridge (14 May). Later that year, the insurrection was defeated and the Zillertal briefly became Bavarian until the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1814/1815.
[[Image:Zillertal um 1898.jpg|thumb|The Zillertal [[Circa|c.]] 1898]]
While the relatively lenient stance of the archbishops of Salzburg had allowed the creation of small pockets of [[Protestantism]] in their lands since the [[Protestant Reformation]], the remaining Protestants were oppressed more harshly during the [[Habsburg]] rule of the 19th century. In 1837, 437 Protestant inhabitants of the Zillertal left the valley after they were given the choice of renouncing the [[Augsburg Confession]] or emigrating to [[Silesia]], where [[Frederick William III of Prussia]] offered them lands and housing near [[Erdmannsdorf-Zillerthal|Erdmannsdorf]] (now [[Mysłakowice]] in western [[Poland]]).
Line 24 ⟶ 29:
The Zillertal was known for its itinerant tradesmen, "farm doctors" and singing families. In the second half of the 19th century refuge huts were erected and trails established as climbing became a mass sport. The development of the area for tourism begain in 1953/1954 with the construction of the Gerlosstein ski ergion, today the [[Zillertal Arena]], which was soon followed by other lifts and the opening of the ''Mayrhofner Penkenbahn'' in 1954. The use of water power took off in the 1970s.
== Economy ==
[[Image:Binder2.JPG|thumb|Sawmill at Fügen and goods train on the [[Zillertalbahn]]]]
With the downfall of the mining industry in the valley, tourism has become the dominant economical factor in the second half of the 20th century and beyond. There are now (as of 2003) 6 million nights spent by tourists in the valley, mostly during [[winter sports]] holidays. Following a phase of mergers by building connecting lifts during the 1990s and early 2000s, there are now four big [[ski area]]s and three smaller satellite areas in the valley, with a combined total of more than 170 lifts and more than 630 km of downhill slopes.▼
▲
Traditional agriculture - mostly [[cattle]], [[dairy]] and some [[sheep]] farming on the ''Alm'' pastures - is still widespread, securing the continued existence of this predominant [[cultural landscape]]. There is also a significant [[lumber]] industry with a large [[sawmill]] outside the village of [[Fügen]], and a relatively large number of factories of various industries in the outher valley. Four large [[reservoir]]s in the ''Gründe'' supply the water for a total of eight [[hydroelectric power station]]s generating slightly more than 1,200 [[GWh]] per year.▼
▲Traditional agriculture
== Culture ==▼
▲==Culture==
The Zillertal is particularly renowned for its musical tradition. For instance, several families of travelling singers and organ builders from the valley have been credited with spreading the [[Christmas carol]] ''[[Silent Night]]'' across the world during the 19th and early 20th centuries. More recently, the [[Schürzenjäger]] band have had tremendous success in German-speaking countries with their [[fusion (music)|crossover]] mix of ''[[Volksmusik]]'' and [[pop music|pop]].
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Zillertal berliner huette.jpg|Berliner Hütte
Line 43 ⟶ 50:
</gallery>
== References ==
{{
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Zillertal}}
* [http://www.zillertal.at/en/summer/home/ Zillertal website] {{small|(Summer)}}
| |||