Königsleiten

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Königsleiten ( village )
locality
Logo of the alpine village and ski area
Template: Infobox community part in Austria / maintenance / coat of arms
Königsleiten (Austria)
Red pog.svg
Basic data
Pole. District , state Zell am See  (ZE), Salzburg
Pole. local community Wald im Pinzgau   ( KG  Hinterwaldberg )
Coordinates 47 ° 14 '56 "  N , 12 ° 7' 17"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 14 '56 "  N , 12 ° 7' 17"  Ef1
height 1602  m above sea level A.
Residents of the village 117 (January 1, 2020)
Post Code 5742f1
prefix + 43/06565f1
Statistical identification
Locality code 17531
Counting district / district Wald im Pinzgau (50626 000)
Height: platform of the observatory
Source: STAT : Directory of places ; BEV : GEONAM ; SAGIS
f0
117

BW

Königsleiten is a pasture village on Gerlospass and location of the community forest in Pinzgau in Salzburg in the district Zell am See in Austria .

geography

The local area is located in the far west of the Oberpinzgau in the Salzburg region. Königsleiten is the westernmost part of the municipality of Wald im Pinzgau and at the same time the westernmost settlement in the state of Salzburg . Further to the west and south, the state of Tyrol joins the municipality of Gerlos .

Neighborhoods:

Kelchsau (municipality of Hopfgarten im Brixental, Tir.)
Gerlos (Tir.) Neighboring communities Forest in Pinzgau
Krimml

The highest point in the municipality is the summit of the Ochsenkopf (2469 m). The local mountain is the Königsleitenspitze (2315 m).

history

View of Königsleiten from the Märchenwaldlift
View of Königsleiten from the Plattenkogel

Planning of the Almdorf

Until the early 1960s, Königsleiten only consisted of a few alpine huts . As early as 1958, Stefan Kruckenhauser , known as the “Ski Pope from Arlberg”, stated “that the area around the Gerlos Pass would be extremely attractive for winter sports, but unfortunately it was a space without people”. The then mayor of the community of Wald im Pinzgau, Melchior Stöckl, and in charge of the community secretary Alois Hölzl took this as an opportunity and, in close cooperation with the provincial government of Salzburg, created a development plan for a holiday village with an alpine village character . In 1962, the development plan for the Almdorf Königsleiten was drawn up by Helmut Sylvester-Keidl . Originally the conception of the Almdorf was designed for approx. 1500–1800 holiday guests, whereby a tennis court, a mini golf course, a post office, a gendarmerie and even a helicopter landing pad were provided for this in addition to a municipal administration building. The development plan was characterized by loose development, criss-crossed by several ski passages, which should enable a descent with skis to the holiday homes. The residential development was to be located on the southern side of the Königsleitenspitze, in the area of ​​the Kothalpe , which at that time was owned by the mountain farmers Fritz Kröll (Mitterhausbauer) and Andreas Bachmeier (Steigerbauer). The land required for the construction of the ski lifts was owned by the Strasser and Eberharter families.

Structure of the ski area

In order to ensure winter sports development in addition to the structural requirements, the local residents Andreas Bachmeier, Friedl Hölzl, Fritz Kröll, Marianne Scarazzini, Eva Stöckl and Josef Vorreiter founded the Gerlospass-Königsleiten Bergbahnen Gesellschaft mbH in 1965 . The purpose of this company was to build a chair lift up to the Larmachkopf with a length of around 2,600 m. The construction costs for this project were estimated at around ATS  6,000,000. Additional capital was required to start building the chairlift. The owners of the Kothalpe, Mr. Andreas Bachmeier and Mr. Fritz Kröll, have therefore pledged their alpine properties including their farms to the Salzburger Landeshypothekenanstalt at ATS 1,500,000.- each to increase the company's finances. However, in spite of the partially free construction work of the Pinzgau companies, another financial bottleneck arose during the construction phase of the lift system, a material ropeway and an access road, which should again jeopardize the project. At this point in time, the Munich business people Raimund Beil and Erhard Härtl decided to join the ambitious venture. They founded Merkurbau GmbH & Co. KG , Munich, especially for this purpose , and initially provided ATS 2,500,000.

On October 12, 1968, the 1-seater chairlift (today Almdorfbahn ) went into operation in front of the ORF reporters . As part of these celebrations, the summit cross attached to the Königsleitenspitze with the inscription The King of All Worlds was consecrated during a well-attended mountain mass. In the western area of ​​the Almdorf, for example at the location of today's Märchenwald lift, a small T-bar lift (popularly known as the “Depperllift”) was built, which gave beginners the chance to experience the snow for the first time. In December of the same year, the first twelve ski huts were handed over to new citizens of Königsleiten. At that time, Fritz Kröll ran the only catering facility for holiday guests in his lift parlor next to the valley station. In 1969, however, the former alpine hut gave way to the Alpengasthof Kröll , with a few beds for guests. Around Christmas of the same year the first apartment house, the Melchior Stöckl Hochleger , was handed over to 32 new Königsleitner (already fully furnished including dishes, pots and bed linen). Other Pinzgau families have now also settled in Königsleiten. For example, Marianne Scarazzini built a wooden hut from the remains of the guest house of the Wiesbadener Heil- und Kurgesellschaft that burned down years ago , which would later house the Vorderegger family's first Spar supermarket . Furthermore, a sports shop around the mountain guide Toni Hölzl, the Manfred Obermoser ski school and the Gasthof Ursprung around Thomas Hölzl were established.

Aerial photo approx. 1970/71

A little below today's inn, Trudl Strasser turned a holiday home into the Sonneckalm coffeehouse with a small general store , which gave way to a new building in 1971, where the new owner Maria Rottensteiner ran a sporting goods rental business in addition to a restaurant. The Sonneckalm also housed the first public telephone in Königsleiten. The well-known ski book author Walter Pause also bought a ski hut. The Austrian Alpine Club Section Edelweiß from Vienna had already started building its own accommodation house in 1969, the Edelweißhaus ( 1685  m above sea level ), and it was completed in 1970.

Königsleiten grew steadily in the following years, until in the spring of 1972 the real estate traffic commission initially prohibited the acquisition of Austrian land by foreign buyers due to "impending foreign infiltration", and later on November 22nd a foreign exchange ban issued by the Austrian National Bank was a temporary impetus Finished.

Nevertheless, Merkurbau Ges.mbH , now based in Wald / Pinzgau, built the Panoramablick mountain restaurant in 1973 and leased it to the Scarazzini family from Wald. In that year, too, the Scarazzinis began building the Almhof Königsleiten , but financial difficulties stopped the project. The still existing foreign currency import ban delayed the completion of the Almhof (now by the Merkurbau company) and other holiday homes under construction, or the further development of Königsleiten, until 1977. The first one was built in the basement of the Almhof over the years Disco in the village: The Alm-Stadl (later Night-Shift , now a pizzeria), which for a long time remained the only point of contact for the Königsleitner night owls. To the east of today's church, next to a tennis court and children's playground, a fitness trail and a boccia lane were built, which later had to give way to a hut settlement.

The winter sport development went uphill again from then on, further lifts ( 2-seater chairlift , Hochalmkar and Mitterleger tow lift ) were built. The financial means for this were secured in the form that the Neukönigsleitner hut and apartment owners from home and abroad also acquired shares in the Königsleiten Bergbahnen . A practice lift was soon built a little below the valley station of the Almdorflift , operated by the Eberharter family. Since Johann Eberharter was also the mayor of Wald at that time (1966–1993), the lift was named "Mayor's Lift", at least unofficially.

Due to its guaranteed snow and the demanding slopes, ski races of the Austrian Ski Association ( European Cup ) were even held in Königsleiten in the following years . Despite its steadily growing popularity, Königsleiten was still an insider tip among ski enthusiasts. In order to increase the level of awareness, those responsible have started various advertising campaigns. Königsleiten was the travel destination of the Herzblatt helicopter from the ARD dating show of the same name around Rudi Carrell , and the folk music singer Sepp viellechner published the Königsleiten song .

The tourist development in the neighboring town of Gerlos was also progressing and after a few negotiations a consensus was reached and a connection was established with the existing lifts on the Isskogel through the Fussalm and Falschbach tow lifts . The 2-country ski area Gerlos-Königsleiten was born. Strengthened by the joint action, the range of lifts has been significantly expanded. Existing drag lifts ( Larmach, Mitterleger, Falschbach etc.) have been replaced by chair lifts and the range of ski slopes has since offered runs for all interests, from easy to sporty.

Development into an independent town

“A village is only a village when the church is in the village,” said Helmut Keidl in his 1962 development plan. And so, a little more than 20 years later, in 1986, planning for a chapel began. As in the early years of the Almdorf Königsleiten, after the building permit had been granted in 1987, numerous Pinzgau companies were able to be won over for this building project, who performed their construction work free of charge. Thanks to generous donations from Königsleitner vacation rental owners, the Merkurbau company (which provided the property free of charge) and not least through the active contribution of the Königsleitner residents, the Christ the King's Chapel was inaugurated by Auxiliary Bishop Jakob Mayr on September 4th, 1988 .

In the following years, a modern low-rise building was built in the original village center, at the foot of the new church, in which a spacious supermarket and the property management of the numerous apartment buildings have been given their local domicile. The Kröll family also expanded the existing Almgasthof and built the Hotel Alpenrose directly adjacent to it , which was constantly being expanded.

An unusual addition for a tourist area took place in 1996 with the establishment of the Sterngucker complex , which included a hotel and apartment apartments as well as an observatory . This observatory, which also houses the highest located planetarium in Europe, was built by the Potsdam astronomer Heinz Tiersch, through whom the observatory was involved in various worldwide research work. The observatory has now been closed permanently.

Zillertal Arena

In the 1999/2000 winter season, the Zell am Ziller and Gerlos-Königsleiten ski areas merged by means of cable cars and ski slopes on the southern edge of the Wilde Krimml quiet zone . All in all, the ski area was created under the current name of the Zillertal Arena . A further expansion resulted in the merger in 2003 with the Gerlosplatte ski area with a modern chair lift (Plattenkogel X-Press) and a gondola lift (Sonnwendkopfbahn). Since the 2007/2008 ski season, the Kreuzjoch-X-Press has also been in operation, a 6-seater Chairlift that replaces the previous Kreuzjoch double chairlift . Also in 2007, a new kind of special attraction was created with the Arena Coaster - a year-round roller coaster at the Zell am Ziller valley station.

Village logo

Coat of arms Wald im Pinzgau
Logo Königsleiten

The coat of arms of the municipality of Wald im Pinzgau is the official coat of arms . However, an unofficial coat of arms became naturalized early on, a black “K” with a crown on an orange background. The Königsleiten logo was created from the early lettering of the valley station of the Almdorflift, since even then, at the suggestion of Walter Kuchler, the “K” of the “Königsleiten lifts” was adorned with a small crown. Based on this idea, the trained graphic artist and sports columnist for the Munich evening newspaper , Friedl List, designed today's logo on behalf of the company. Initially, stickers with the logo came into circulation, on which "Grand Duchy of Königsleiten" could be read on the arch. The threat of a lawsuit by an actual Grand Duchy forced those responsible to refrain from doing so in the future, and so “Almdorf Königsleiten” found its way into the unofficial coat of arms. From then on, this logo adorned various brochures, leaflets and vehicles. However, since the merger with Bergbahnen Gerlos and the associated change in the common appearance, the logo has been increasingly forgotten. However, "Altkönigsleitner" associate it with the pioneering days of the Almdorf and guard the very rare individual copies of the sticker with the Grand Duchy lettering like a treasure.

Population development

In 1965, strictly speaking, there were no residents in Königsleiten, as the mountain farmers who lived on the alpine pastures only stayed there in summer. Due to tourism , the number of residents rose to currently around 70. In recent years, a large number of new buildings have been built, especially in the southeastern part of the town. The number of guest beds is currently around 5,000.

Economy and Infrastructure

Königsleiten lives from tourism . The majority of sales are achieved in winter (beginning of December to one week after Easter). In summer, the establishments are open roughly from June to September: In recent years, Königsleiten has also become increasingly popular as a summer travel destination.

In the early years, Königsleiten could only be reached via a relatively steep access road (Alte Königsleitner Straße). In winter in particular, this has meant that the Königsleitner who arrive "every Friday" have already "met" in the first bend to put on the snow chains due to the snow conditions. As the population grew, a new, significantly flatter street became necessary, which has since branched off directly from Gerlospassstraße. Like these, however, all streets and paths up to the local area were privately built access roads, which were built in the course of the initial construction activity by the relevant developers in the course of the 1980s. The latter were also responsible for maintenance, clearing and spreading, in cooperation with the lift company. However, due to the subsequent construction activity, these roads soon reached their capacity limits. Not least because of its status as a private access road, there was, however, no purely legal possibility of demanding development contributions from the "Neu-Königsleitners". As a result, some roads have only been built as gravel roads without a corresponding substructure for cost reasons. As a result, the condition of the roads deteriorated. However, in order to secure funds for the maintenance of the traffic safety of these roads in the future, a road cooperative was founded at the beginning of 2000 with the aim of expanding and maintaining all inner-city access roads. After some legal quarrels, most of the street areas were completely renovated in 2003.

The rapid development made it necessary to expand the water supply , as there were often bottlenecks in the water supply, especially at peak times. Therefore, 1996 was a new water supply system with ozone - disinfection commissioned.

Culture and sights

Sports

Summer sports

Winter sports

Others

The minor planet (181824 ) discovered in the Drebach observatory in the Ore Mountains has officially been named Königsleiten since 2012.

Web links

Commons : Königsleiten  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ On the subject: Neighbor Piefke. Der Spiegel, June 25, 1973, accessed on September 28, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Planetarium-Observatory Königskleiten finally closed. May 11, 2016, accessed September 28, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Königsleiten water supply system. Community of Wald-Königsleiten, accessed on September 28, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Breathtaking - Europe's largest waterfalls. ÖAV Warnsdorf / Krimml, accessed on September 28, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Riederklamm via ferrata. Klettersteig.de, October 15, 2014, accessed on September 28, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Riederklamm via ferrata. Bergstieg.com, accessed September 28, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Riederklamm via ferrata (map with entry point). Peakhunter.com, accessed September 28, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Yodelling trail. TVB Wald-Königsleiten, accessed on September 28, 2019 .
  9. ↑ MTB tours in Gerlos. Outdooractive.com, accessed September 28, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Ronachgeier from the Ronachwirt. alpenvereinaktiv.com, July 19, 2016, accessed on September 28, 2019 .
  11. ^ Salzach vultures from the Gerlos pass. Bergstieg.com, December 28, 2013, accessed September 28, 2019 .

Remarks

  1. ↑ The observatory was equipped with a planetarium projector in a dome with a diameter of 7 m, a telescope with an opening width of 10 cm and a Cassegrain telescope with an opening width of 60 cm.
  2. ↑ This so far last merger was already included in the original plans of Mr. Keidl.