Kaltenbach is a small town on the Ziller in the Zillertal in the Schwaz district of the state of Tyrol, Austria. Despite only about 1170 inhabitants, Kaltenbach is an important winter sports resort with the Hochfügen-Hochzillertal winter sports area.
Hubertus chapel on the Zillertaler Höhenstraße
Maria Visitation Chapel
After the Second World War, the Chapel of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary was built just below a rather dilapidated chapel of the same name that had been in existence since 1650 on the right side of the Kaltenbach and was completed in 1948. The pictures and statues from the old chapel, some of which are centuries old, have been restored and taken over. The oldest of the votive tablets, mostly painted on wood, is dated 1670, the youngest go back to the beginning of the 20th century. The statue of St. Josef comes from the time around 1750, the crescent moon Madonna around 1770. Hans Mauracher created the group of figures Maria Visitation in 1951. In 1976 Hans Rieser created the war memorial of Mary in the cloister.
Kaltenbach waterfall
The Hochzillertal-Hochfügen ski area can be reached from Kaltenbach with the Hochzillertal ski center lift.
Kaltenbach is first mentioned in 1165/69 as "Chaltenbach" in a
traditional note from the Herrenchiemsee Monastery. The name refers
to the settlement by the Bavarians, which began in the 6th century.
The Riedbach, the Angerbach, the Kaltenbach and the Ziller
threatened this area again and again with mudslides and floods,
which for a long time made it impossible to develop the area through
agriculture.
In Kaltenbach, the Zillertal drug trade began in
1685 through "oil carriers", which soon reached as far as
Switzerland and Germany. Starting from Kaltenbach, further
production facilities for medicinal oils were built.
An
economic and tourist revival began with the construction of ski
lifts in the 1960s (Emberglift) and at the end of the 1970s
(Bergbahnen Schizentrum Hochzillertal).
Important branches of
the economy are agriculture, tourism (here especially winter tourism
with the Hochfügen-Hochzillertal ski area) and several commercial
and industrial companies.
Mention should be made of the
internationally active Empl Fahrzeugwerk GmbH with the production of
special truck bodies and fire fighting vehicles, the window factory
of Rieder GmbH & Co. KG and the food wholesaler Braunegger KG.
Geography
Kaltenbach is located in the central Zillertal on
the left side of the Ziller, opposite Stumm, on the rubble cone of
the Kaltenbach. The community consists of the main town and widely
scattered farms on the mountainside.
Community structure
Kaltenbach consists of a single cadastral municipality or town of
the same name. The former place name Emberg was deleted at the
request of the municipality in February 2017.
Neighboring
communities
All four neighboring communities are in the Schwaz
district.
Shop
Sports shops:
Sport Eller (valley
station Hochzillertal).
Sport Stock (valley station and mountain
station Hochzillertal).
Rent & Go (Hochzillertal valley station).
Sport 2000-Rent a sport Unterlerecher (valley station
Hochzillertal).
A wide range of ski equipment can also be rented
in the sports shops. It is advisable to reserve in advance, as new
rental equipment is often sold out at the beginning of the week.
The entire Zillertal between Jenbach and Mayrhofen is opened up by the Zillertalbahn every hour. Steam train rides are also offered (every Wednesday in winter).
Around the city
Bergbahn Hochzillertal, Postfeldstrasse 7, 6272 Kaltenbach. Open:
daily 7:30 am–4pm.
1 Hochzillertal valley station
2
Hochzillertal mountain station