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Curiosities in Tyrol
There are phenomena, artefacts and customs in Tyrol that seem a little strange at first glance. And yet they do exist.
The mighty Triumphal Gate at the southern end of Maria-Theresien-Straße in Innsbruck is impossible to miss. On closer inspection, you will realise that there is a happy and a sad side to it. The gate was built in 1765 to mark the marriage of the Spanish Princess Maria Ludovica to Archduke Leopold, the second son of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. The southern side of the gate is dedicated to this union and shows the wedding couple. The sudden death of the empress's husband during the wedding celebrations greatly dampened the joyous occasion. The north side of the gate was therefore decorated with mourning motifs in memory of the emperor.
The fact that chamois feel very much at home in Tyrol is proven by their numbers. Around 63,000 live in the mountains of Tyrol. A caravan of all Tyrolean chamois would stretch from Innsbruck to at least Kufstein. And if there were a town with Tyrolean chamois, it would be as big as the German town of Rosenheim in terms of population. However, the nimble climbers would never feel as at home there as they do in the mountains; the Tyrolean mountains are their ideal habitat. Chamois are very shy, but also curious, which is why you can always spot some of them while hiking.
You might think so, because the name of this mountain village in the Lechtal Alps is actually "Namlos". This place name is presumably derived from the former coloniser "Amel". The small village has less than 100 inhabitants, but an independent volunteer fire brigade, a mountain rescue service, some accommodation facilities and a band. The landscape in which the village is nestled is extremely attractive and has a lot to offer for those seeking relaxation and sporting activities.
In the centre of Santa Catarina, one of Brazil's federal states, there are Tyrolean-style houses. People yodel, speak Tyrolean and wear traditional Tyrolean costumes on special occasions. In 1933, the former Austrian Minister of Agriculture Andreas Thaler from Wildschönau founded the village of "Dreizehnlinden" in the Brazilian jungle with other emigrants. After many years of hard labour and hardship, "Treze Tilias", as the village is called in Portuguese, developed into an up-and-coming tourist resort. Its approximately 8,000 inhabitants have largely preserved their Tyrolean traditions to this day. The Schuhplattler group "Lindenthal" is known throughout Brazil. Thirteen Linden is economically important, especially for the second largest dairy in Brazil with the well-known name "Tirol Milch".
You take three steps and you have already walked past it without noticing it. This happens often, as the narrowest house in Innsbruck is only 211 cm wide and correspondingly inconspicuous. Until the end of the 19th century, this square was a passageway to a former cemetery behind it.
Pedestrian traffic lights don't have to be boring. In Bremen, the Bremen Town Musicians light up, in Mainz the Mainzelmännchen regulate traffic and there is hardly anyone who doesn't know the famous Berlin Ampelmännchen. Since the International Children's Games in 2016, there have also been unusually decorated pedestrian lights at some junctions in Innsbruck. Snowboarders, skiers, skateboarders and hikers remind pedestrians that there are other ways to get around in Tyrol when you're not at a crossroads in the city.
With just under 440 inhabitants and an area of 0.11 km², Rattenberg is the smallest town in Austria. This corresponds roughly to the area of the Hofgarten in Innsbruck. Rattenberg is only slightly larger than the railway station in Leipzig. A castle ruin towers above Rattenberg, where cultural events take place in summer. In winter, the small town enchants its visitors with an Advent market that takes place entirely without artificial light. Rattenberg is a listed building due to its excellently preserved medieval buildings and is characterised by small craft businesses. It is particularly famous for its glassblowing workshops.
In the small village of Navis in the Tyrolean Wipptal valley, a drag lift crosses the local road. This particular crossing is controlled by a barrier. When the barrier is closed, drivers have to wait until the mostly very young skiers have passed by on the drag lift. These small community lifts, as they are also known, exist in several communities in Tyrol and have a long tradition. Many a Tyrolean ski ace has learnt to ski with the help of such lifts. For the children in these communities, skiing is a daily matter of course and great fun.
In the natural ice palace of the Hintertux Glacier, you can swim through an ice lake. The air and water temperatures inside the glacier cave are around freezing point. The thin air is also a challenge, as the ice lake lies at an altitude of 3,200 metres above sea level. Anyone who has swum the 80 metre length of the up to 30 metre deep basin can rightly call themselves insensitive to the cold. If this is too extreme for you, but you still want to cross the ice lake, you can also try stand-up paddling or a kayak tour. Either way, it's an experience that you won't forget in a hurry.
Jungholz is a Tyrolean municipality, but is located in Bavaria. It can only be reached via German roads. Strictly speaking, other Tyroleans need a pass to visit Jungholz, unless they cross the 1636 metre-high summit of the Sorgschrofen, the only territorial link to Tyrol. To add to the confusion, Jungholz, with its 300 inhabitants and 700 guest beds, also has two postcodes, one Austrian and one German.
