Kitzbühel (German:[ˈkɪtsbyːl]ⓘ, also:[ˈkɪtsbyːəl]ⓘ;Bavarian:[ˈkxɪtsb̥ɪxɪ]) is amedieval town situated in theKitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache inTyrol,Austria, about 100 km (62 mi) east of the state capitalInnsbruck and is the administrative centre of theKitzbühel district (Bezirk). Kitzbühel is one of the most famous and exclusiveski resorts in the world and is frequented by the internationalhigh society. The world's hardest ski raceHahnenkamm Races is a yearly event that attracts the attention of ski fans around the world.Kitzbühel real estate continuously ranks among the world's most expensive.[3] The proximity toMunich has made it a preferred location for vacation homes among theGermanelite.[4][5]
The town 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.
The first known settlers wereIllyrians mining copper in the hills around Kitzbühel between 1100 and 800 BC.
Around 15 BC, theRomans underEmperor Augustus extended their empire to include the Alps and established the province ofNoricum. After the fall of the western Roman Empire,Bavarii settled in the Kitzbühel region around 800 and started clearing forests.
In the 12th century, the nameChizbuhel is mentioned for the first time in a document belonging to theChiemsee monastery (where it refers to a "Marquard von Chizbuhel"), wherebyChizzo relates to a Bavarian clan andBühel refers to the location of a settlement upon a hill. One hundred years later a source refers to theVogtei of theBamberg monastery inKicemgespuchel and, in the 1271 document elevating the settlement to the status of a town, the place is calledChizzingenspuehel.
Kitzbühel became part ofUpper Bavaria in 1255 when Bavaria was first partitioned. DukeLudwig II ofBavaria granted Kitzbüheltown 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. The town walls were eventually reduced to the level of a single storey building, and the stone used to build residential housing.
When CountessMargarete ofTyrol married theBavarian, DukeLouis V the Brandenburger, in 1342, Kitzbühel was temporarily united with theCounty of Tyrol (that in turn became a Bavarian dominion as a result of the marriage until Louis' death). After thePeace of Schärding (1369) Kitzbühel was returned to Bavaria. Following the division of Bavaria, Kufstein went to theLandshut line of theHouse of Wittelsbach. During this time, silver and copper 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: the EmperorMaximilian reserved to himself the hithertoLandshut offices (Ämter) of Kitzbühel,Kufstein andRattenberg as a part of his Cologne Arbitration (Kölner Schiedsspruch), that had ended theLandshut 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 ofLamberg 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 theSwedish War states"Bis hierher und nicht weiter kamen die schwedischen Reiter" ("The Swedish knights came as far as here but no further").[7]
The wars of the 18th and 19th century bypassed the town, even though its inhabitants participated in theTyrolean Rebellion againstNapoleon. Following theTreaty of Pressburg in 1805, Kitzbühel once more became part of Bavaria; it was reunited with Tyrol after the fall ofNapoleon at theCongress of Vienna. Until 1918, the town (namedKitzbichl before 1895) was part of theAustrian monarchy (Austria side after thecompromise of 1867), head of the district of the same name, one of the 21Bezirkshauptmannschaften in theTyrol province.[8]
When EmperorFranz Joseph finally resolved the confusing constitutional situation,[clarification needed] and following completion of theSalzburg-Tyrol Railway in 1875, the town's trade and industry flourished. In 1894, Kitzbühel hosted its first ski race, ushering in a new era of tourism and sport.[9]
In 1924 Alban Ernan Forbes Dennis, a British diplomat and spy, with his wife, the novelistPhyllis Bottome, started the Tennerhof school in Kitzbühel. Based on the teaching of languages, the school was intended to be a community and an educational laboratory to determine how psychology (specifically the theories ofAlfred Adler) and educational theory could cure the ills of nations. Among the pupils were the future authorsRalph Arnold,Nigel Dennis,Ian Fleming andCyril Connolly.[10]
St. Catherine's Church: built 1360–1365, High Gothic church in the heart of the town with a coppersmith altar; the high tower with its spire is a striking landmark in the town centre. Itscarillon sounds at 11 am and 5 pm.
Protestant Christ's Church in Kitzbühel: built in 1962 byClemens Holzmeister
Reisch Dance Cafe: built in 1928 by Lois Welzenbacher (architect of theTiroler Moderne); the Plahl Medical Practice (Arzthaus) was also designed by him
Berghaus Holzmeister, a guesthouse on Kitzbühel's local mountain, theHahnenkamm; built in 1930 byClemens Holzmeister
Fresco byMax Weiler (1951) in Kitzbühel Primary School (Volksschule)
Newly built tri-cable system by the firm ofDoppelmayr, thecable car with the highest elevation above the ground (400 metres (1,300 ft)) in the world.
Museum Kitzbühel - Collection Alfons Walde: the new renovated museum presents the history of the town, from 1000 years ago to the winter sports era; it also includes a larger permanent exhibition of the Tyrolean painterAlfons Walde.
In the 1950s, local legends likeErnst Hinterseer,Hias Leitner,Anderl Molterer,Christian Pravda, Fritz Huber Jr. andToni Sailer wrote skiing history. They put Kitzbühel on the map and their names still resonate today. Now there is a new generation earning the title of Kitzbühel legends: Rosi Schipflinger, Axel Naglich, Kaspar Frauenschuh, andDavid Kreiner. Along with sporting achievements, fashion, and food, they are part of Kitzbühel's unique culture:
Kitzbühel is one of Europe’s best-knownwinter sports resorts, situated between the mountainsHahnenkamm(elev. 1,712 m (5,617 ft)) adjacent to the southwest andKitzbühler Horn(1,996 m (6,549 ft)) to the northeast. The Hahnenkamm hosts the annualWorld Cupski races, including the circuit's most notable event, theHahnenkamm Races on the notableStreif slope. Introduced 89 years ago in 1937, the northeast-facingStreif is among the world's toughest downhill courses, if not the most, and is infamous for an abundance of spectacular crashes. In 1959 theAustrian Alpine Ski Championships took place from 27 February to 1 March.
Each summer Kitzbühel also hosts anATP tennis tournament onclay, theAustrian Open.
TheKitzbüheler Alpenrallye is an annual festival of historic automobiles, first held 38 years ago in 1988. The first trip of theUnited Buddy Bears was 2004 to Kitzbühel, following by the first trip into the "big wide world" – when they went toHong Kong and many other metropolises on all five continents.
Since 2003, Kitzbühel has been hosting an annual Snow Polo event in January.
Together with thepistes and ski lifts in neighbouringKirchberg in Tirol,Jochberg and by theThurn 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 new3S 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 include six tennis courts and four golf courses, the Kitzbühel swimming pool, Austria's onlycurling hall and the bathing lake ofSchwarzsee.
Kitzbühel primarily caters for the high end of the tourist market, as many celebrities and thejet set come here, especially during the international races on the Hahnenkamm.
Together with eleven other towns Kitzbühel is a member of the communityBest of the Alps.[13] KitzSki, Kitzbühel's main ski lift operator, has managed to defend the title of “World's Best Ski Resort Company” for the seventh time in a row at the 2020 World Ski Awards.[14]
Kitzbühel Hauptbahnhof, Kitzbühel Hahnenkamm and Kitzbühel Schwarzsee are stops on theSalzburg-Tyrol Railway. Whilst Hahnenkamm and Schwarzsee stations are served by local trains only, long-distance services fromInnsbruck andGraz stop atKitzbühel station. Kitzbühel station has just been rebuilt (2010) and been equipped with newbarrier-lessplatforms with underpasses and a lift. From 2011 there will be no stationmaster at Kitzbühel and it will no longer be possible to buy tickets at the counter.
^Online, Wiener Zeitung (9 February 2010)."- Kitzbühel housing is most expensive".English News from Austria - Wiener Zeitung Online (in German). Retrieved2022-09-12.
^"Eugene Weisbeck".Bismarck Tribune. May 7, 2014.... Smithsonian Institute Music Festival [sic] in Washington, D.C. In 1978, he represented the United States at the International Polkafest in Kilzbuhel, Austria.
