TheZiller Valley[1][2][3] (German:Zillertal) is a valley inTyrol, Austria that is drained by theZiller River. It is the widest valley south of theInn Valley (German:Inntal) and lends its name to theZillertal Alps, the stronglyglaciated section of theAlps in which it lies.[4] TheTux Alps lie to its west, while the lower grass peaks of theKitzbühel Alps are found to the east.
The Ziller Valley is one of the valley areas in Tyrol most visited by tourists.[4] Its largest settlement isMayrhofen.
The Ziller Valley branches from the Inn trench nearJenbach, about 40 km northeast ofInnsbruck, running mostly in a north–south direction. The Ziller Valley proper stretches from the village ofStrass to Mayrhofen, where it separates into four smaller valleys, theTux valley and the sparsely settled, so-calledGründe – Zamsergrund, Zillergrund and Stilluppgrund. Along the way, two moreGründe and theGerlos valley, which leads to theGerlos Pass and intoSalzburg, branch off.
Unlike other side valleys of the Inntal, the Ziller Valley 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 Ziller Valley municipalities.
Near theTuxer Joch, a pass between theWipptal and theTux valley, there have beenarcheological finds from middleStone Age. The oldest remains of settlements in the Ziller Valley date back to theIllyrians during the lateBronze and earlyIron Ages – a tribe from the Balkan Peninsula who were absorbed in that area by the Bavarians (Baiuvarii).
The earliest written record of the Ziller Valley dates from 889, whenArnulf of Carinthia granted land to theArchbishop of Salzburg in the "Cilarestale".[5] Ownership of the valley was divided along the Ziller River. Even today this division is visible, as churches on the right bank of the river generally have green towers and belong toSalzburgDiocese, 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 theCounts of Tyrol, while the lands east of the Ziller pledged as security to the Counts of Tyrol by the Lords ofRattenberg from 1290 to 1380. In 1504, with both the County of Tyrol and theArchbishopric of Salzburg dominated by theHabsburgs, the Ziller Valley was united underEmperor Maximilian and put under joint Tyrolean/Salzburgian rule.
In 1805, theTreaty of Pressburg ended theWar of the Third Coalition and forced Austria to cede Tyrol toBavaria. For the purposes of this treaty, the Ziller Valley was considered part of Salzburg and thus remained with Austria. The people of the Ziller Valley nevertheless joinedAndreas Hofer'sTyrolean Rebellion of 1809 in the Battle of the Ziller Bridge (14 May). Later that year, the insurrection was defeated and the Ziller Valley briefly became Bavarian until theCongress of Vienna in 1814/1815.
While the relatively lenient stance of the archbishops of Salzburg had allowed the creation of small pockets ofProtestantism in their lands since theProtestant Reformation, the remaining Protestants were oppressed more harshly during theHabsburg rule of the 19th century. In 1837, 437 Protestant inhabitants of the Ziller Valley left the valley after they were given the choice of renouncing theAugsburg Confession or emigrating toSilesia, whereFrederick William III of Prussia offered them lands and housing nearErdmannsdorf (nowMysłakowice in western Poland).
In 1902, theZiller Valley Railway was constructed, which still runs between Jenbach and Mayrhofen to this day, opening up the valley, the economy of which had previously relied mostly onagriculture andmining, tocommerce andtourism. From 1921 to 1976,magnesium carbonate (and latertungsten) were mined around the Alpine pastures of the Schrofen and WanglAlmen above the Tuxertal Aropeway conveyor of more than 9 km length was used to transport the ore to the Ziller Valley Railway goods station in the valley below.
The Ziller Valley 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 began in 1953/1954 with the construction of the Gerlosstein ski region, today theZillertal Arena, which was soon followed by other lifts and the opening of theMayrhofner Penkenbahn in 1954. The use of water power took off in the 1970s.
In the second half of the 20th century, after the end of mining in the valley, tourism became the area's dominant economic activity. In 2003, tourists stayed a total of 6 million nights in the valley, mostly duringwinter sports holidays. Following a phase of mergers by building connecting lifts during the 1990s and early 2000s, there are now four bigski areas, the largest of which is theZillertal Arena, and three smaller satellite areas in the valley. Combined, they offer a total of more than 170 lifts and more than 630 km of downhill slopes.
Traditional agriculture – mostly cattle, dairy and some sheep farming on theAlm pastures – is still widespread and the largesawmill outside the village ofFügen is a sign of thelumber industry that also plays a significant role. The periphery of the area is home to a number of factories. Four largereservoirs in theGründe supply water to a total of eighthydroelectric power stations, generating slightly more than 1,200 GWh per year.
The Ziller Valley 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 theChristmas carolSilent Night across the world during the 19th and early 20th centuries. More recently, theSchürzenjäger band have had tremendous success in German-speaking countries with theircrossover mix ofVolksmusik andpop.
The majority of the population belongs to theCatholic Church, which plays an important role in the socio-cultural life.[6]
After theReformation a livelyProtestant movement developed in the Ziller Valley. There was animosity from the side of the Catholic Church, culminating in the forced exodus of Ziller Valley Protestants in 1837.[7] Today, some smaller Protestant congregations exist inMayrhofen,[8]Jenbach[9] andSchwaz.
47°20′N11°52′E / 47.333°N 11.867°E /47.333; 11.867
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