The Zillertal Valley is famous well beyond Tirol for its traditional alpine folk music. Indeed, the most well-known Christmas carol in the world started its journey to fame from the quiet town of Hippach.
It all started in the early 19th century. Back then, the tough living conditions in winter caused many families to leave the valley and ply their trade as travelling peddlers across Europe. Someone then had the idea that it would be easier to sell leather gloves by also bringing a genuine alpine experience with folk music, traditional clothing, singing and yodelling to the bourgeois salons and fine manor houses of the European continent. This was the start of a long tradition which continues today, with many folk musicians such as the “Zillertaler Schürzenjäger” and the “Junge Zillertaler”. However, one group of sisters can rightly claim to have launched what is surely the most well-known Christmas carol in the world: Silent Night. The Strasser sisters performed this song at the Christmas market in Leipzig around 1830 before it became world famous. The girls’ home, the “Strasserhäusl” in the hamlet of Laimach near Hippach, has been maintained in its original condition for over 300 years and today serves as a museum documenting the rise of Silent Night to international fame.
As well as this unique piece of music history, the village of 2,000 inhabitants towards the end of the Zillertal Valley also offers a wide range of hiking trails in summer and ski pistes in winter.
It all started in the early 19th century. Back then, the tough living conditions in winter caused many families to leave the valley and ply their…
