James Bond 007 Spectre: The filming locations

"Spectre" was supposed to top its predecessor "Skyfall" and co-producer Gregg Wilson wanted to deliver a "completely insane sequence", as he said on set. And after the work was done at 3,048 metres above sea level, he enthused: "It will be spectacular. Tirol had everything we needed to shoot sequences like this." Dennis Gassner, production designer and location scout, was delighted to be able to continue the tradition of the typical, exciting Bond scenes: "And what could be more exciting than being at the top of the world?"

The fact that Agent 007 came to the Gaislachkogel is thanks in part to the commitment of mountain railway boss Jakob Falkner. He had heard at an event in April 2014 that the production company was considering Sölden as a filming location. From then on, Falkner's very personal 007 mission began: to bring the 24th Bond film to the local mountains.

The assignment: strictest secrecy

He made contact with the production company via the Austrian film commission "Location Austria", the contact point for international film productions and filming in Austria. And travelled - on behalf of his tourism colleagues - to London. The task: "To signal our definite interest to those responsible by coming to them." His arguments: "The location is easily accessible, the logistics are excellent, the panorama is marvellous".

Falkner had already travelled to London as a schoolboy for a language trip, and even then his trip had something to do with 007: he had valuable tickets for a cinema premiere. However, there was an "incredibly long queue" outside the cinema, as he recalls. Together with his friends, he turned back - and then saw the film a few days later.

This time, everything seemed to go well in London right from the start. The plan for a possible collaboration with the producers was quickly forged and Falkner returned to the Ötztal "with a good feeling in his stomach". Now the Bond makers wanted to drive up the hairpin bends of the glacier road to the Rettenbachferner at 2,829 metres as soon as possible. Gondola up to the futuristic middle station and test the summit plateau with the recently built gourmet restaurant "Ice Q" for suitability for action and accessibility.

However, there was one imponderable that had to be taken into account: The glacier road is normally closed in winter. Danger of avalanches. No tourists would be exposed to this danger, including Daniel Craig.

And action

Back in Sölden, Falkner gathered a small team around him, nobody else was allowed to know about the mission. A short time later, it was officially announced what the media had already been speculating about: Sölden would become a Bond location. In December 2014, the film crew took test shots. Falkner only had one condition to fulfil: "Safety first!" But the road could be opened. In January, the "first unit" was shot with lead actor Daniel Craig, Bond girl Léa Seydoux and "Mr Hinx" Dave Bautista, and filming continued with stuntmen in February.

Some of the action scenes from the original location were completed in London - in a replica Ice Q. Falkner flew to London especially to see the replica. "That was quite something." The Ice Q was enlarged using 3D animations; in the film, the replica, digital extension and original are indistinguishable from one another.

After three weeks of filming, car chases and shoot-outs against the backdrop of the white summit were in the can. It was clear to Falkner from the outset that the Ötztal community and the British secret agent were a dream team. "Bond is action. Sölden is action!", he says and once again took the initiative: just a few metres away from the Ice Q and planned by Tyrolean architect Johann Obermoser, the James Bond Adventure World 008 Elements was created. It not only stages the filming of "Spectre", but also allows visitors to immerse themselves in the world of James Bond.

Of course, the glacier panorama needs no staging and the gondolas of the Gaislachkogel lift are just as futuristic as in the film. Skiing or snowboarding down the piste from the mountain station brings back even more memories of "Spectre". The glacier road, on which 45 Range Rovers and two Britain Norman Islander aeroplanes engaged in a wild chase, runs right next to the piste.

"A six in the lottery"

However, if you are looking for the location where this chase ends, you will not find it in Sölden, but should rather make your way to Obertilliach. The film crew travelled to the small East Tyrolean community in a sports plane and a barn from Styria. The film editing then made it possible for the take-off, chase and (crash) landing to follow each other seamlessly.

The inhabitants of Obertilliach - the Tillga - christened the barn the "Bond House". It was dismantled in Styria and rebuilt at the top of a piste in the Golzentipp ski area. Filming for "Spectre" took place at a total of four locations in Obertilliach. Daniel Craig was also on location for three days for the scenes in and around the "Bond House" and on the associated ski slope. A little anecdote in passing: two calves were born on the first day of filming in East Tyrol. The farmer spontaneously decided to name the newborn animals "Daniel" and "Léa" after the main actors.

Another location is the listed village centre of Obertilliach. "The film crew came to us because of the historic village centre," explains Mayor Matthias Scherer. He had known since March 2014 that Obertilliach was on the shortlist. It soon became clear that if the municipality agreed, the production company would no longer have to look for alternatives. Scherer seized the opportunity: "I realised straight away - I had to go for it. A film shoot like this is like winning the lottery for our tourist resort," Scherer agrees with Falkner. The preparatory work began at the beginning of September 2014, and extra snow was added to make the village centre appear deep in winter.

A community of 687 plus a secret agent

Filming took place on the piste in mid-January 2015, for which the lift had to be closed for two days. Things were also spectacular in a wooded area next to the Golzentipp ski area. The sports plane was chased through there. "The winter before, an aisle was cut in order to lay the power lines in the ground, which kept failing due to the snow load," says village manager Scherer about the preparatory work - which was not planned for the shoot, but was very practical in hindsight.

Scherer draws a similar conclusion to those responsible in Sölden: The work was very pleasant and much less complicated and, above all, less formal than they had imagined. Initial concerns on the part of the village community were soon dispelled, emphasises the mayor. "The production company went to great lengths to accommodate the neighbours. It was all very professional," says Scherer enthusiastically. The owners of a house in the immediate vicinity of the Bond-Stadl appreciated this and even provided the film crew and security team with home-made delicacies and invited the main actors into their parlour to warm up. Invitation accepted, thought villain "Mr Hinx" Dave Bautista. And because it was so cosy, he promptly fell asleep on the sofa.

When His Majesty's secret agent leaves, peace returns and East Tyrol returns to gentle and natural tourism: once Bautista, Craig, Seydoux and the other actors had left and the filming with the stuntmen had finished, Obertilliach was transformed back into an idyllic holiday and farming village. With its biathlon centre, the municipality is just as popular as a training and competition venue for cross-country skiers and biathletes as it is as a skiing and hiking region. Apart from a small hut, the film buildings have been dismantled and the forest aisle through which the plane crashed has been reforested.