Too steep for football: Surrounded as it is by steep mountain slopes, it is little surprise that Finkenberg has not produced many famous footballers. However, it is home to extreme mountaineer Peter Habeler, Olympic downhill champion Leonhard Stock and Peter Steinlechner, one of the founding members of the well-known band "Die Zillertaler Schürzenjäger".
Finkenberg has a population of less than 1,500, yet this village in the Tuxertal Valley is home to many famous faces known to hundreds of millions throughout Europe and beyond. One well-known resident is extreme mountaineer Peter Habeler, who in 1978 together with Reinhold Messner became the first person to climb Mount Everest without oxygen. Or how about Leonhard Stock, gold medallist in downhill skiing at the 1980 Olympics? Or Peter Steinlechner, lead singer of the popular band “Zillertaler Schürzenjäger”, later known simply as the “Schürzenjäger”, who drew up to 100,000 fans to an open-air concert in Finkenberg?
The houses in this picturesque village at the entrance to the valley cling to the steep mountain slopes thanks to a mix of ancient building expertise and sheer optimism. With so many peaks and so little flat land, it is no wonder that Finkenberg and the surrounding area are not exactly famous for producing great footballers. Instead, children growing up here really have no other choice than to explore the mountains – be it climbing, hiking or skiing.
Finkenberg has a population of less than 1,500, yet this village in the Tuxertal Valley is home to many famous faces known to hundreds of millions…
