Völs is a market town with 6938 inhabitants (as of January 1,
2020) in the state of Tyrol in Austria. The municipality is located
in the judicial district of Innsbruck.
Fiè lies at 574 m
above sea level in the Inn Valley and borders Innsbruck to the west.
Fiè has an area of 5.62 km².
Völs is connected to the state
capital via the S-Bahn Tirol / S-Bahn Tirol line of the S-Bahn
Tirol.
The oldest evidence of settlement are stone
ax finds from the 3rd millennium BC. Coin finds and the Völser
Bacchus, a ten centimeter high, 1.38 kilogram bust, which served as
the sliding weight of a speed scale, date from the Roman period.
This find from the 1st century AD is considered to be one of the
most important finds of its kind in Tyrol.
The first written
records come from the years 1183/88, when a "Heinricus de Velles" is
mentioned in the tradition book of Benediktbeuern Monastery, which
the more recent literature refers to Völs with reservations. In 1312
Völs became a tax municipality.
In 2001 Völs was raised to a
market town.
The Roman Catholic parish church of Fiè is in the market town of Fiè
in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the state of Tyrol. The parish
church, which is subordinate to the patron saint of Jesus Christ in
Emmaus, belongs to the deanery of Wilten-Land in the diocese of
Innsbruck. The church is under monument protection (list entry).
History
The church was built between 1965 and 1967 according to the
plans of the architect Josef Lackner.
Architecture
The church
with a square floor plan was built in plastered concrete and wood. The
building is divided into various levels by sloping surfaces and has a
crown-like finish with pointed corners drawn upwards and a roof hanging
inwards.
Furnishings
There is a picture of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus from the end of the 18th century. The crucifix originated in the
19th century.
The Kreuzkirche is the Evangelical Lutheran church of Völs in the
Innsbruck-Land district of Tyrol. She belongs to the Evangelical
Superintendency AB Salzburg and Tyrol.
History
The Völser
Kreuzkirche was built in 1958 as a preaching station of the Christkirche
Innsbruck for the mostly Protestant refugees from former German-speaking
areas of Eastern Europe who had settled in the Völser Friedenssiedlung.
The church building, designed by Albert Andergassen, was inaugurated on
October 11, 1959.
Architecture
The Kreuzkirche is a simple,
brick, elongated building with a raised gable wall. The asymmetrical
facade with a bell-holder on the side and the eponymous, free-standing,
ten-meter-high cross made of reinforced concrete is dominated by the
sgraffito Jesus and the sinking Peter on the Sea of Galilee by Heinz
Scheffler, created in 1959, which shows the sinking Peter and the
inscription "Do not be afraid, only believe!" (Matthew 14.31 EU). In the
east, a flat-roofed extension with a community room and a small
apartment was added in 1975. The sgraffito on the east facade of the
extension with fish was created in 2002 by Heinz Scheffler.
The
church interior of the hall church, which is lit from the side through
narrow rectangular windows, is closed off by a gently sloping concrete
rafter roof. The altar area, raised by two steps according to the
specifications of the Rummelsberger program, contains a plastic
representation of the risen Christ in front of the cross. The psalm word
"Sing to the Lord a new song, for he works miracles!" (Psalm 98 EU) is
attached above the organ standing on the side.
Völs is 574 m above sea level in the Inn Valley and borders Innsbruck
to the west. Fiè has an area of 5.62 km².
The lines
Regional-Express#Österreich, S-Bahn Tirol#S4 and S-Bahn Tirol#S5 of the
S-Bahn Tirol stop in Völs.
The most important features in Völs include the
“Völser Badl” outdoor pool and the “Cyta” shopping center. Most of
the events take place in the event center "Blaike" and in
"Vereinshaus 1". As a shopping and residential suburb, Völs is
directly adjacent to Innsbruck.
The Völsersee settlement is
next to the Olympic Village in Innsbruck one of the most densely
populated settlement areas in the Innsbruck metropolitan area and is
not far from the approach path of Innsbruck airport. Nevertheless,
the quality of living is good, as the daily distances in particular
are short and there is a good range of leisure activities available
in the area. During the construction of this settlement, Völs
promoted the installation of electrical heating systems to avoid
increased emissions.
The historical "Völser See" was in the
west of the village. It was artificially created in the 15th
century, had an area of about 30 hectares and was used for hunting
and fishing. The lake was abandoned around 1800 and is silted up
today. Plans to build a new “Völser See” in the first half of the
20th century were not implemented. Today the much smaller “Völser
Teich”, which was built in 1983, is used for local recreation for
the population and as a habitat for many animal and plant species.
Although Völs is inhabited by many commuters who work in Innsbruck, many trading companies have set up shop in the Völs industrial park, especially in the area of the Cyta. The Cyta represents the counterpart to the DEZ shopping center in the east of Innsbruck, even if it has had competition with the West shopping center in Hötting. In addition, the MPreis headquarters are a large company based in Völs.
Völs is home to many sports clubs such as the local football club SV Völs. In addition to the "first", the combat team, there are also various junior teams. The sports field in Völs is well equipped with a grass field, an artificial turf field, an athletics track, a basketball court and a recently built beach volleyball court. In winter, the artificial turf field is converted into an ice rink. There is also a free skate park not far from the sports field.
The results of the last local council election in 2022 were as
follows:
List of Mayors Erich Ruetz – RUETZ 38.73% (8 mandates)
SPÖ 21.92% (4)
FPÖ 7.69% (1)
Green 13.80% (3)
Wir für Völs –
Team Peter Ties – WFV 17.86% (3)
1986-2009 Josef Vantsch (ÖVP)
2009-2022 Erich Ruetz (ÖVP)
since
2022 Peter Lobenwein (SPÖ), since the previous mayor Erich Ruetz waived
the run-off election that had become necessary after the 2022 municipal
council election.
European elections 2019
In the 2019 European
elections on May 26, 2019, 5117 citizens were eligible to vote. 50.99%
(2,609 votes) of these took part in the vote. Of which accounted for:
ÖVP 36.34% (939 votes)
SPÖ 17.80% (460)
Green 18.96% (490)
Freedom Party 16.10% (416)
Neo's 8.71% (225)
Europe 1.32% (34)
KPO 0.77% (20)
25 invalid votes were cast.
Blazon: In a silver shield, a red half horse leaping to the right
with a golden bridle.
The municipal coat of arms, awarded in
1954, is based on the seal of the nobles from Völs, whose castle stood
on the Blasienberg and who also called themselves Knights of
Blasienberg.