Strass im Zillertal is a village with 825 residents. It lies at the point where the Ziller flows into the Inn and the northern rockface of the Larchkopf mountain juts high into the sky above.
Until the 16th century the Zillertal Valley officially belonged not to Tirol but to the neighbouring province of Salzburg, with Strass serving as a border town. In 1576, Archduke Ferdinand I ordered the construction of Thurneck Castle in nearby Rotholz. This mighty fortress is today still the largest and most impressive building in the municipality – especially when compared with the tiny Maria Brettfall church, a former hermitage perched high on the Brettfallfelsen rock above Strass. Below the church, now a place of pilgrimage, runs a tunnel carved through the mountain in the 1990s to divert traffic away from the village. A more picturesque way of getting around is the Zillertalbahn, a nostalgic railway running the length of the Zillertal Valley. From nearby Jenbach there is also a rack-and-pinion railway leading up to Lake Achensee, the largest lake in Tirol. Cyclists will enjoy exploring the Inn Cycle Path and the Zillertal Cycle Path. In winter it is not far to the ski resorts of Spieljoch, Alpbachtal-Wildschönau and Hochzillertal-Hochfügen. The latter is served by a ski bus leaving from Strass.
Until the 16th century the Zillertal Valley officially belonged not to Tirol but to the neighbouring province of Salzburg, with Strass serving as a…
