Kufstein is located on the green Inn and on the border with
Bavaria, the city is the second largest in the Austrian state of
Tyrol. Kufstein is known for its former fortress, world-famous for
the Kufstein song.
Kufstein lies in the wide valley floor of
the Inn and on both sides of the river between the Kaiser Mountains
in the east and the Brandenberger Alps in the west.
On the
western bank of the river is the Zell district with the train
station, which is part of the eastern center. On the east bank of
the Inn lies the district of Kufstein-Zentrum, to the north of the
center is Sparchen, and to the south of the center are Weissach and
Endach. The urban area of Kufstein also includes
Kufstein-Kaisertal im Kaisertal, Kufstein-Stadtberg, Mitterndorf,
Morsbach, Thierberg.
The quite clear center of Kufstein is
located directly below the northern part of the fortress: The old
town is the narrow Römerhofgasse northwest of the festivals and
directly on the banks of the Inn with restaurants, the well-known
hotel "Auracher Löchel" and some smaller shops, it is considered the
smallest old town in Austria. The lower town square on a steep
hillside is the part north of the fortress and was the medieval
center of the town. The upper town with the upper town square, the
church of St. Vitus and the town hall is the higher part of the city
center to the northeast of the fortress, from here you can also
access the fortress area.
Numerous construction cranes in and
around the city center, which are clearly visible from afar, testify
to the current lively construction activity in Kufstein's city
center.
Kufstein song
Do you know the pearl, the pearl of
Tyrol?
You probably know the town of Kufstein ...
The
Kufstein song is one of the most famous folk tunes, the composer was
Karl Ganzer (born April 15, 1920 in Brixlegg, † January 1, 1988 in
Kufstein). After the Second World War, Ganzer made his way as a
musician with his accordion in the Kufstein area, the Auracher Löchl
was one of his main places of activity and the Kufstein song was
initially created on a whim in a rather unsuitable four-eighth time.
The breakthrough came at the beginning of the 1960s with the
recordings of the yodelling king Franzl Lang in the
Schunkel-friendly three-quarter rhythm, other interpreters then
included Maria and Margot Hellwig.
In the years 2005 to 2009
the melody, a music producer claimed the authorship of the yodel
phonetics, was also part of a legal dispute over the lucrative
exploitation. A court declared Karl Ganzer to be the sole poet and
composer of the song, including the yodel, in the interests of his
heirs.
On the front of the Tiroler Wirts- & Weinhaus Auracher
Löchl there is a monument to Karl Ganzer, the title has been sold
over 100 million times and made Kufstein world famous.
Holla-rä- di-ri, di-ri, di-ri .....
Small town chronicle
The oldest traces of settlement in the region are Ice Age arrowheads
from the Kaisertal, the region in the Lower Inn Valley is
subsequently always of high strategic importance as an easy access
to the Alpine pass on the Brenner because of the Inn waterway and
because of the land routes in the climatically favorable because
protected alpine valley. A military road existed under the Romans.
After the end of Rome, the region was occupied by the Bajuvars
in the 6th century. 788 was the year Kufstein was first mentioned as
"Caofstein". The earliest evidence of a castle on the strategically
favorable rock head directly on the banks of the Inn comes from the
year 1205.
In 1310 the place was still a market, in 1393
Kufstein received city rights, and the city wall was built at this
time.
Around the year 1180 the separation of Bavaria and
Austria (Habsburg) took place, Kufstein became a border town, but
initially still belonged to Bavaria and did not come to Tyrol until
1342 on the occasion of the wedding of Countess Margarete of Tyrol
with the Bavarian duke son Ludwig the Brandenburger at the end of
the marriage but in 1369 again Bavarian. As a result, Kufstein, as a
border town, was again and again the focus of disputes between
Bavaria and Tyrol / Austria: The fortress is expanded by the
respective owner, but also repeatedly conquered by the enemy.
The border town of Kufstein benefited in peacetime as a transit
and toll station for trade on rivers and roads, but the population
suffered and impoverished in times of war as a result of sieges and
shelling, and town fires in 1703 and 1809 resulted from the war In
1814 the city finally came to Austria.
In the middle of the 19th century, industrialization began with
the Kink cement works in Weissach.
The opening of the
Kufstein – Innsbruck railway line in 1858 led to a further increase
in through traffic and was also the beginning of tourism in the
village, but at the same time the end of shipping on the Inn. The
fortress, which was no longer cannon-proof, had already lost its
military importance, now the city fortifications were also
demolished and the city moats filled.
Towards the end of the
Second World War, Kufstein also came under attack by the Allied
troops, and numerous historic buildings were destroyed.
Today
the city is the second largest in the state of Tyrol after
Innsbruck. In addition to tourism, Kufstein is also the location for
a university of applied sciences, industry and commerce, the most
famous factory for winter sports enthusiasts is the ski manufacturer
Kneissl.
Festung Kufstein
The Kufstein Fortress sits in a strategically extremely favorable
location on a rock head above the Inn, it was first mentioned in
1205 and expanded in various phases until 1522. This first castle
belonged initially to the bishops of Regensburg and from 1313 to the
Bavarian dukes.
In 1504 the Austrian Emperor Maximilian
besieged and conquered the castle and turned it into a fortress safe
from cannons. In 1703 and 1805 it could be conquered again by the
Bavarians, from 1814 it was again Austrian.
From the
beginning of the nineteenth century, the defenses were no longer
able to cope with the firepower of the then modern artillery, and
the fortress lost its strategic importance. It has been owned by the
city of Kufstein since 1924.
You can visit the elements of
the fortifications such as fortress batteries, barracks, casemates,
the "Kaiserturm", the fortress fountain, etc. You also have a good
view of the city's surroundings.
The Heldenorgan on the
Neuhof fortress was installed in 1931, initially with 1,813 pipes
and 26 registers and in 1971 expanded to 4,307 pipes and 46
registers, making it the largest outdoor organ in the world.
Guided tours: duration approx. 75 minutes, € 1.80;
Kufstein
Fortress (fortress restaurant, event center), Oberer Stadtplatz 6,
A-6330 Kufstein. Tel .: +43 (0) 5372 602-350. Open: Summer: 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m., winter 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Price: Adult fortress access: €
9.90.
Churches
St. Vitus: A previous church is already
occupied around 788. The choir of today's church was built around
1390 to 1420, the three-aisled hall longhouse was built around 1500.
In the 17th century, the interior was redesigned in Baroque style.
The frescoes are by Rudolf Stolz (Bozen) and from 1929, some remains
of the historical frescoes from 1420 are preserved behind the altar.
Pfarrplatz 2; Information at the parish
Dreifaltigkeitskirche,
Pfarrplatz 1, A-6330 Kufstein. Built between 1500 and 1502 as a
foundation of the Weinränntl family with a crypt chapel. The rococo
canopy altar dates from 1765.
Pfarrplatz, next to St. Vitus;
Parish church St. Martin in the district of Zell: A church is
already occupied between 650 and 680, the present church was built
after expansion and additions to the previous church.
Parish
church St. Josef in the Sparchen district: The basilica church was
built in 1953/54 in the neo-Romanesque style.
Buildings
Rathaus, Unterer Stadtplatz 20, A-6330 Kufstein: The building can be
documented for the year 1502, but is probably even older. Also used
as a school building and bread bank for the bakers. Extensively
renovated between 1921 and 1924, the stepped gable with the coats of
arms of the North and South Tyrolean cities also dates from this
time.
Most of the medieval city fortifications were demolished in
the 19th century, the remains that have survived are:
The ruins
of the former water bastion, built between 1560 and 1563 and
restored after severe disintegration in 2002, are the largest
remnants of the city's former defenses.
Location: on the Inn
promenade;
The southern corner tower of the city wall, also known
as the "water tower" with the outlet gate from Römerhofgasse to the
Inn.
Former Hotel Egger (today Stadtsparkasse), is considered the
most beautiful Art Nouveau building in Tyrol, renovated in 1992.
Location: Oberer Stadtplatz 1.
Thierberg ruins in the northeast
of Kufstein on the 721 m high Thierberg. The castle was built around
1280 as the seat of the Lords of Freundsberg, and over time it has
become a popular place of pilgrimage.
In the castle chapel there
is a rococo altar with the altarpiece "Beheading of St. John", the
chapel was the last hermitage in Tyrol.
The old castle keep was
renovated and can be climbed, the view extends far into the Inn
valley.
Boarding from Gasthaus Neuhaus
Monuments
Andreas Hofer Monument: In 1926 the 3.5 m high monument for the
legendary Tyrolean freedom fighter was erected on the Kufsteiner
Kalvarienberg. The Calvary has a good view of the city and fortress
and also has seven smaller prayer chapels.
List monument
Kufstein: Located on the eastern edge of the forest of the town of
Kufstein, there is the Friedrich List monument created by the
Kufstein sculptor Norbert Pfretzschner in 1906. Built in memory of
Friedrich List.
cast iron Marienbrunnen from 1863 on the lower
town square.
Museums
Local history museum Kufstein, Kufstein Fortress,
A-6330 Kufstein (on the Kufstein Fortress). Tel .: +43 (0) 664 351
85 51. Open: only in summer from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Price: Entry
included in the entry to the fortress.
The museum shows the
prehistory of the region and exhibits on local history such as
folklore, traditional costumes and old handicrafts. The history of
the castle and its sieges is also dealt with, and there is also the
second largest bird collection in Tyrol and geological exhibits.
Sewing machine museum, Kinkstraße 16, A-6330 Kufstein. Open: daily
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Price: free entry, donation requested.
Josef Madersperger (* 1786 in Kufstein, † 1850 in Vienna) is
considered to be the inventor of the sewing machine, and in 1810 he
succeeded in producing a functional prototype.
The museum in
Madersberger's birthplace shows insights into the life of the
inventor, the development of the sewing machine and the change in
clothing from luxury goods to mass products.
Madersberger
experienced an inventor's fate: Since nobody wanted to take over
series production, he gave his sewing machine away to the
Polytechnic Institute in Vienna in 1839.
By plane
The nearest major international airport is Munich
Airport: Munich (also "Franz Josef Strauss", 121 km, approx. A good
hour's drive). From here, Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners
offer connections to cities in Germany, Europe and worldwide. As the
second largest airport in Germany, it is connected to a growing
number of cities.
Other quickly accessible airports are Innsbruck
Airport (86 km, just under an hour's drive) and Salzburg Airport
(104 km, an hour's drive);
The Kufstein-Langkampfen airfield
(LOIK) on the east bank of the Inn is approved for gliders, motor
gliders, ultralight and single-engine aircraft up to 2 tons.
Fliegerclub Kufstein-Langkampfen, Kufsteiner Str. 42, A-6336
Langkampfen. Tel .: +43 (0) 5372 63833.
By train
Kufstein
train station is on the Munich-Kufstein-Innsbruck railway line and
is a stop for regional trains and ICE connections.
The train
station is on the west side of the Inn and can be reached in a few
minutes from the center on the east bank via an Inn bridge.
By road
From the north (from Germany) via the A93 Rosenheim /
Dreieck Inntal motorway to Kufstein (the German part of the Inntal
motorway), symbol: AS Kufstein Nord.
From the south via the
Austrian Inntal motorway A12 (Innsbruck - Kufstein (the Austrian
part of the Inntal motorway), symbol: AS Kufstein Süd.
Attention:
The 5 km long, previously toll-free section of the Inntal motorway
from the German border near Kiefersfelden to the "Kufstein-Süd"
motorway exit will also have a toll from December 1, 2013! (10-day
vignette).
Parking spaces are indicated several times in
Kufstein, the parking lot in the center is chargeable.
By
bicycle
The Inn cycle path leads downriver to the Danube and
there to the Danube cycle path, and upstream to the Tyrolean
Oberland.