Finkenberg in the Zillertal Alps is located in the valley
entrance of the Tuxertal, a southern side valley of the Zillertal in
North Tyrol / Austria.
For the settlement history of the
region see the article on the Tuxertal;
Finkenberg was first
mentioned in 1389 as "Vinkenperg" and was important in the Middle
Ages as a station on the way over the Pfitscher Joch to South Tyrol.
Copper and silver mining was also carried out in the 15th century.
Otherwise, Finkenberg was a farming village until modern times.
Tourism in Finkenberg developed from the beginning of the 19th
century and after the end of the Second World War it became the most
important branch of the economy. The municipality lists 200
accommodation establishments with around 2,600 guest beds. In 1987
the Finkenberger Almbahn went into operation on the Penken.
The local mountain of the community is the Grünberg (2,765 m);
Finkenberg's most famous son is the ski racer Leonhard Stock,
gold medalist in the downhill run at the 1980 Winter Olympics in
Lake Placid.
Catholic Church of St. Leonhard. From 1721.
Mineral and Crystal Museum. Tel .: +43 (0) 5285 62089. Private,
guided tours by telephone arrangement.
Tux Gorge with Devil's
Bridge. Wooden bridge built in 1876 over the 70 m deep gorge of the
Tux brook.
Hochstegbrücke. Wooden bridge from the 19th century
over the Zemmbach.
In summer
Nature trail on the moor on the Penken.
In
the winter
Penken ski area (in the Ski-Zillertal3000 network).
Tel .: +43 (0) 5287 8506. 9 lifts, 34 kilometers of slopes.
By plane
The nearest international airport
is in Innsbruck (77 km). Other airports that can be reached are in
Salzburg (180 km) and Munich - Franz Josef Strauss Airport (200 km);
By train
From Jenbach an der Unterinntalbahn (Kufstein -
Innsbruck route) with the Zillertalbahn to Mayrhofen, then by bus or
taxi to Finkenberg.
Information on the Zillertalbahn:
www.zillertalbahn.at;
By street
The Tuxertal itself is a dead end, the approach is
only possible from the north from the Unterinntal (Inntalautobahn
A12, Kufstein - Innsbruck) and on the federal road B169 through the
whole Zillertal or from the east from Mittersill on the federal road
B168 and over the Gerlospass (toll, approx . ten euros), each
possible via Mayrhofen.
Tuxer Sportbus all year round free journey to Hintertux;
Free
ski bus to Mayrhofen and Hintertux in winter;
Night bus "50
Cent-Night-Liner", in winter until 02.20;
Finkenberger Almbahnen,
Persal 200, A-6292 Finkenberg (from the village (878 m) to the
Penken (1760 m) / ski area Zillertal 3000). Tel .: +43 (0) 5285
62196. Open: Summer: 8.45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Price: Ascent & descent
middle station (1,780 m) adults 13.50 children 9.50; Penkenjoch
(2,095 m) adults 20.00 children 13.00. last change:
1 Almbahn
valley station
2 Almbahn middle station
3 Almbahn mountain
station
Restaurant Almstüberl, Penkenberg 619, 6292 Finkenberg. Tel.: +43 (0)5285 63495.
Upscale
Stock Resort, A-6292 Finkenberg 142. Tel: +43 (0)5285 6775
0, Fax: +43 (0)5285 6775 421. Feature: ★★★★★. Price: Double room from
€139.
Olympia Relax Hotel Leonhard Stock, Dorf 151, A-6292
Finkenberg. Tel.: +43 (0)5285 62688, fax: +43 5285 62633, e-mail:
info@olympiahotel.at. Olympic champion Leonhard Stock personally
welcomes his guests to the Olympia Relax Hotel.
Alpine Club - weather service;
Avalanche warning service for
Austria
The nearest pharmacy is in Mayrhofen
Tourism association Tux-Finkenberg, Lanersbach 401, A-6293 Tux. Phone: +43 5287 8506, Fax: +43 5287 8508.
Finkenberg is about three kilometers southwest of Mayrhofen, at the
entrance to the Tux Valley, between the foothills of the Penken and the
Grinberg peaks. After Mayrhofen, it is the second largest municipality
in the Zillertal in terms of area. The municipal area includes, among
other things, the Zemmtal west of the Zemmbach, part of the Zemmgrund,
the Zamser Grund, the Schlegeisgrund with the Schlegeis reservoir, the
border to South Tyrol with the Schwarzenstein (3368 m), Großer Möseler
(3480 m), the Hochfeiler (3509 m), the Hohe Wand (3289 m) and on the
municipal border to Schmirn the Olperer (3476 m). There are several Kees
(glaciers) in the municipal area.
The municipality has an area of
172 square kilometers. Three percent of this is agricultural land, 22
percent forest and 15 percent alpine pastures. Almost sixty percent is
high alpine territory.
The municipal area includes the following two localities (residents
as of January 1, 2023):
Ginzling (203)
Finkenberg (1235)
The municipality includes the hamlets and farms Altenstall, Astegg, Au,
Bösdornau, Brunnhaus, Dorf, Dornau, Enntal, Freithof, Greut, Gschößwand,
Gstan, Hochsteg, Innerberg, Kohlstatt, Lindtal, Mooslau, Persal, Stein,
Tal, Tiefental, Tuxegg and Zellberger.
Dornauberg-Ginzling has a
special statute for Tyrol: the district of Dornauberg to the left of the
Zemmbach belongs to Finkenberg, while Ginzling to the right of the
Zemmbach belongs to Mayrhofen. Ginzling has its own mayor. The Zemmbach
also forms the border between the diocese of Innsbruck to the west and
the archdiocese of Salzburg to the east.
There are no prehistoric or early historical finds from the upper
Zillertal, but the place names suggest a pre-Christian settlement. The
place names coined by the Rhaeto-Romanic are quite numerous, such as
Floite, Pfurtschell, Draslar, Zemmtal, Zamsertal. The first documented
mention of the name "Vinkenperg" dates back to 1389 in a document from
the Rattenberg Servite Monastery.
The residents of Finkenberg
belonged to the parish of Fügen from the start. Because of the great
distance, a wooden chapel was built in Finkenberg at the end of the 15th
century. In 1634 this was replaced by a small brick church. The current
church was built in 1720 and expanded in the 19th century.
For
several centuries, the place also had a certain importance due to the
traffic over the Pfitscher Joch. Finkenberg is mentioned in 1779 as the
main team of the Zell court.
It was a farming community until the
19th century, and the situation only changed with the onset of tourism.
From 1920 to 1976, many Finkenbergers also found work in the Tux
magnesite works. With the Peace Treaty of St. Germain in 1919, the
Schlegeisgrund was added to the municipality of Finkenberg by the
municipality of St. Jakob in Pfitsch (this area is still used by the
farmers of St. Jakob as an alpine pasture and grazing area). After the
Second World War, Finkenberg developed from an agriculturally dominated
community to a community that lives from tourism. The development of the
Penken ski area also made a significant contribution to this.
Finkenberg is heavily influenced by tourism with the Penken ski area (Zillertal 3000). Ginzling positions itself for mountaineers as an alternative to gentle tourism. In the rear grounds, alpine farming and energy management (Schlegeis reservoir) dominate.
Of the 69 farms in 2010, 20 were run as a main occupation, 34 as a sideline, five by partnerships and ten by legal entities. These ten cultivated more than half of the areas. In the production sector, 49 of the 65 employees worked in the construction industry. The most important employer in the service sector was accommodation and catering with 175 employees, followed by professional services (28), transport (25) and social and public services (23 employees).
In 2011, 694 employees lived in Finkenberg. Of these, 249 worked in the community, almost two-thirds commuted out.
The number of overnight stays rose from 380,000 in 2010 to 417,000 in 2019. The course of the year shows two peaks, a higher one with 63,000 overnight stays in February and a smaller one with 50,000 in August. There are hardly any overnight stays in May (5000) and in November (12,000).
Finkenberg can be reached via the Zillertalstrasse and the Tuxer Strasse. The Zillertalbahn runs to Mayrhofen, from there there is bus service.
The community was given the following coat of arms in 1972: On a
green three-mountain, a finch about to fly, turned to the right, on a
golden background.
The coat of arms symbolizes the name of the
municipality as a talking coat of arms. The community colors are yellow
and green.
Horst Fankhauser (born 1944), mountaineer
Richard Kröll
(1968–1996), alpine skier
Peter Steinlechner (born 1953), former lead
singer of Schürzenjäger
Leonhard Stock (born 1958), ski racer