Virgen

The title of this article is ambiguous. For Mexican volleyball and beach volleyball players, see Juan Virgen .

Virgen
coat of arms	Austria map
Basic data
Country:	Austria
State :	Tyrol
Political District :	Lienz
License plate :	LZ
Surface:	88.78 km²
Coordinates :	47 ° 0 '  N , 12 ° 27'  E Coordinates: 47 ° 0 '12 "  N , 12 ° 27' 29"  E
Height :	1194  m above sea level A.
Residents :	2,200 (January 1, 2020)
Postal code :	9972
Area code :	04874
Community code :	7 07 34
Address of the municipal administration:	Virgen 38 9972 Virgen
Website:	www.virgen.at
politics
Mayor :	Dietmar Ruggenthaler
Municipal Council : (2010) (15 members)	15 For Virgen - Independent Community List
Location of Virgen in the Lienz district
The main town of Virgen with the late Gothic parish church
Source: Municipal data from Statistics Austria

Virgen [ ˈfɪrɡn̩ ] is a municipality in the Austrian state of Tyrol , district of Lienz (East Tyrol). It comprises parts of the Virgental in the Venediger group , extensive parts of the municipality are also located in the Hohe Tauern National Park . The settlement history of Virgen goes back to around 500 BC, with copper mining playing a major role. After the end of the Roman era, Slavs settled in the Virgen Valley, which were gradually assimilated by Bavarian settlers from the 8th century . The Christianization that began at the same time led to the establishment of one of the first parishes in the region. In the Middle Ages, Virgen was part of Carinthia and the county of Gorizia , in 1500 it was annexed to Tyrol. With 2200 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020), Virgen is now the fifth largest municipality in East Tyrol in terms of population. Economically, agriculture and tourism play an important role in the municipality, with a lack of jobs and structural problems leading to a very high commuter rate . Virgen has received several awards as the most beautiful municipality in Tyrol.

geography

location

Virgen is located in northern East Tyrol and, with an area of ​​88.8  km², is the sixth largest municipality in the Lienz district. With a share of around 42 km² in the Hohe Tauern National Park, almost half of the municipality is under nature protection. Virgen comprises the eastern Virgental , through which the Isel flows , from the Isel gorge to the village (fraction) Mitteldorf . Since the Isel is pushed by the Virger alluvial cone to the right side of the valley, all settlements, with the exception of Welzelach , are on the left side of the valley. The highest point is the Hohe Eichham ( 3371  m ) in the Venediger group. The highest mountain in the Lasörling group , the Lasörling ( 3,098  m ), is also located on the border of the municipality.

Community structure

Population distribution (as of January 1, 2020)
Göriach	132
Mellitz	90
Mitteldorf	210
Lower walls	214
Upper walls	331
Virgen	1129
Welzelach	94

Virgen consists of seven fractions and seven hamlets . If you enter the municipality from the east along the state road, you first reach the Mitteldorf district ( 1089  m ) with the hamlet of Bach. If you follow the main road, you will come to the Virgen-Dorf fraction ( 1194  m ), the main town of the municipality, with the hamlet of Weite. To the northeast of the main town, below the Obersonnberg, lies the Mellitz district on the stream of the same name , and Göriach with the hamlet of Marin to the northwest on the Virger Bach . However, Göriach and Mellitz have already partially merged with the main town. West of the main town is the Obermauern fraction ( 1303  m ) on the Nillbach, and the Niedermauern fraction south of Obermauern with the hamlets of Gries and Rain. The westernmost fraction is Welzelach ( 1189  m ) with the hamlets of Berg and March. In addition to the fractions and hamlets, the community also has high-altitude individual farms such as Sonnberg (1,487 meters) above Mellitz and Budam ( 1,563  m ) east of Obermauern.

Matrei, with the second highest population in the Lienz district and its function as the economic, social and medical center of northern East Tyrol, is of particular importance for the Virg population.

Neighboring communities

The municipality of Virgen is separated in the south by the Lasörling group from the municipalities of St. Jakob , St. Veit and Hopfgarten (from west to east) in the Defereggental . In the west of Virgen lies the community of Prägraten , in the north and east the market town of Matrei in East Tyrol .

Land use

Large parts of the municipality of Virgen cannot be used due to its high alpine location and the large proportion of the Hohe Tauern . Around 41% of the municipality is therefore wasteland . In second place are alpine pastures and mountain meadows , which take up 29% of the municipal area. Forests also play an important role in Virgen. With just over 20%, this type of use is in third place. All other types of area are proportionally subordinate. Meadows still make up 9%, while arable land and gardens together make up less than 1% of the municipal area.

View into the Virgen Valley on the Virgen-Dorf fraction

geology

The northern part of the municipality, the Virger Nordkette , is geologically assigned to the alpine slate shell. This slate shell, which lies over a gneiss core , consists of an upper and a lower slate layer. The upper slate shell consists of limestone mica slate and limestone phyllites , which can be recognized by pale yellow and lead-gray colors as well as by characteristic panels or boards (Virger board wall). Under the upper slate shell, the lower slate shell, which consists of flat-structured green rocks ( prasinites ) , connects . Due to the favorable hillside location and the susceptibility to erosion, fertile soils formed above the slate cover, which are suitable for alpine farming. The south of the municipal area with the Lasörling group belongs to the old crystalline zone. This zone consists of mica , gneiss and light mica schist . Partly come here grenade , mica quartzite and small insertions of limestone and dolomites ago. In the east of the municipality are small parts of the Matreier Zone , which consists of numerous, mixed rocks (phylites, quartzites, gypsum , light dolomites and dark limestone, greywacke and green slate ) of various origins. The Matreier Zone runs in a narrow band from Mitteldorf to Berger Törl.

Mountains

Virgen lies within the Venediger group between the so-called Virger Nordkette in the north and the Lasörling group in the south, the main ridges of which form the municipal boundaries in the north and south. As a result, several mountains over three thousand meters lie directly on the municipality boundary of Virgens. The highest mountains of the Virger Nordkette in the municipality are the Hohe Eicham ( 3371  m ), the Säulkopf ( 3209  m ) and the Ochsenbug (Kristallkopf) ( 3007  m ). The most important peaks of the Lasörling group on the Virger municipality are the Lasörling ( 3098  m ), the Berger Kogel ( 2656  m ) and the Donnerstein ( 2725  m ).

Panorama from Lasörling over the Virgental to the Venediger group

Rivers and bodies of water

The Isel near Mitteldorf

The most important river in the municipality of Virgen is the Isel , which enters the municipality through the Isel Gorge in the west and flows through it towards the east. The Isel is pushed to the right side of the valley by the Virger alluvial cone , which means that there is hardly any settlement space on the right bank of the Isel. In its course through the municipality of Virgen, the Isel receives a total of ten streams. The left tributaries, fed by the Virger Nordkette, are the Nillbach , Virger Bach , Mellitzbach and Mitteldorfer Bach , on the right bank the Isel takes up the Berger Bach , Mullitzbach , Steinkasbach , Fratnikbach , Saumitzbach and Arnitzbach from the slopes of the Lasörling group . There are also several small mountain lakes in the municipality, the Berger See and the Zupalsee being among the most famous.

climate

Virgen is climatically favored by its location between the Virger Nordkette and the Lasörling group. The place name Virgen, derived from Slavic, with the meaning of sunny place , already indicates this ( → name history ). The reason for the sunny location of Virgen, which is marketed as "Merano East Tyrol", is the course of the Virgental, which follows the Sonnenbahn . As a result, Virgen only loses a third of the possible sunshine duration in December and only a seventh in June. In the Ötztal the loss is comparatively high two or one third. The Venediger Group in the north (Virger Nordkette) protects Virgen from the cold Tauern wind , which hits neighboring Matrei without protection. Since cold air can flow down the Isel, hardly any cold lakes form in Virgen. The greatest amounts of precipitation fall in Virgen in June and July. The average rainfall in Virgen is 900 mm per year, with the amount of rainfall increasing sharply at higher altitudes. Virgen has relatively little snow in terms of the height and the consistency of the snowpack (around 110 days). January and February are among the driest months. The average annual temperature between 2000 and 2002 was 6.8 ° C, with the month of January being the coldest at −2.9 ° C and the month of August being the warmest at 15.9 ° C.

history

Virgen before the first attribution

Individual finds from the Neolithic period attest to the early presence of people in what is now the municipality. However, the flint scrapers discovered in Obermauern and Welzelach do not attest to any permanent settlements. At the end of the 19th century a cremation grave with grave goods made of bronze and iron was discovered during field work in the hamlet of Berg of the Welzelach fraction . Systematic excavations under Alexander Schernthaner uncovered a cemetery with a total of 56 stone box graves from 1889 to 1891 . The Welzelach finds are dated to the 6th or 5th century BC, whereby the existence of the settlement can only be traced back to an important copper mining . The graves of the cemetery consisted of about 30 cm long, rectangular to square depressions, which were bordered with rough stone slabs and a cover plate. In the cremation graves, the archaeologists found numerous iron weapons (lance tips, knives, axes, hatchets), bronze jewelry (rings, bracelets, brooches ) and pottery shards. The most important find is the " Situla von Welzelach", a bronze bucket in which the ashes of the deceased were buried. The remains of the bronze bucket are richly decorated and show, among other things, hunting scenes, men with musical instruments, and depictions of animals and plants.

The Obermauern fraction with the Burg excavation site in the background

There was also a prehistoric settlement on the opposite hill called Burg. In 1970/71 on the 1416  m high hill in the middle of the Virgental, excavations by university professor Andreas Lippert proved the existence of a settlement from the La Tène period around 400 BC. The settlement was fortified by a 1.7 meter wide wall made of boulders and housed several log buildings with a floor area of ​​around four by five meters. The finds of copper slag and animal bones, mostly of young animals (especially goats, sheep and cattle), show that the settlement lived primarily from mining and that livestock was used for meat production. However, there are no traces of agriculture at all.

After the Celtic settled area fell peacefully to the Roman Empire , the Virgen Valley retained an important role through local copper mining. A first Christianization took place from the bishopric in Aguntum . After the fall of the Roman Empire and the Battle of Aguntum in 610 between Bavaria and Slavs , the Slavs invaded the valleys of East Tyrol and settled in the Virgen Valley. Numerous place and field names still bear witness to this today. For example, the field names on -ach (Göriach, Welzelach, Haslach) and -itz (Mellitz, Mullitz, Frosnitz) are of Slavic origin. After the loss of Slavic supremacy over the Bavarians, Christianization began again in 769 with the foundation of the San Candido monastery . In 811 Charlemagne established the Drava as the diocesan border. Virgen thereby fell into the ecclesiastical sphere of influence of Salzburg. Despite a creeping Germanization , the Slavic language only gradually disappeared .

Name story

The name Virgen was first mentioned in a document from 1158–1169 as "Virge" in a traditional note from the prince- provost of Berchtesgaden . There are several possible interpretations of the name. The most common derivation comes from Slavic and means "sunny place". The basis for this interpretation are numerous Slavic field and place names in the municipality as well as the mild climate, despite the high altitude, which gave Virgen the nickname "Merano East Tyrol". The names Welzelach (Großdorf) and Göriach (mountain village) are also derived from Slavonic. Other researchers derive the name Virgens from the Salzburg Archbishop Virgilius (745-784). However, since this was only canonized in 1233, he could not have come to altar honors before. Therefore the name is partly derived from the Bishop Vigilius of Trient (around 380 AD), whereby the Christianization by the Patriarchate of Aquileja or via South Tyrol ( Säben Abbey ) could be derived. The Augustinian canons of Neustift near Brixen were also wealthy in Virgen in the 12th century.

Virgen in the High and Late Middle Ages

View of the Rabenstein castle ruins

In the 11th century, the Duchy of Carinthia split into four districts. The westernmost, called Lurngau , also included the Virgental and was subordinate to the Counts of Lurngau ( Meinhardiner ), who called themselves Counts of Görz from 1120 onwards. Virgen itself is one of the oldest parishes in East Tyrol and is likely to have been founded in the Carolingian era. A pastor is mentioned for the first time in 1165, whose parish association also included Prägraten and Sankt Jakob in Defereggen until 1891. In order to secure their possessions, the Gorizians founded Virgen Castle in the 12th century , which was first mentioned in 1182 or 1183.

The Gorizia Count Meinhard I. was through the marriage of the daughter of Count Albert III. allied with Tyrol. Meinhard I, who wanted to conquer the supremacy of Carinthia, failed in his project in the Battle of Greifenburg , in which he and his father-in-law were defeated and captured by Duke Bernhard of Carinthia and his son Philipp von Spanheim , Elekt of Salzburg . For their release, Meinhard and Albert had to cede, among other things, Virgen Castle to Salzburg. The loss of the castle was confirmed in the Lieserhofen Peace Treaty in 1252 . Meinhard von Görz inherited Tyrol from his father-in-law in 1253 and united it with his lands. After Meinhard's death, however, the property was again divided between his sons in 1271. The possessions in Friuli , Istria , Carinthia and in the Pustertal fell to Albert I , who divided his property into regional courts. The district court of the Lurngau was set up in Lienz , whereby the district court was divided into the additional courts of Virgen, Kals and Lienzer Klause for further administrative division . As in the entire Lienz rule, the free pen law applied in Virgen , which gave the liege lords extensive rights and exposed the peasants to heavy tax pressure.

In 1308 the castle was given back to the Gorizia. In economic terms, mining remained an important source of income in Virgen alongside agriculture. The industry, which has been in operation since antiquity, is only documented from the late Gorizia period. Copper and iron in particular, and to a lesser extent silver and gold, were mined in tunnels. The most productive ore deposits were in the innermost Mullitztal (Glauret), where mining reached its heyday around 1600. Today remains in this area as well as the "silver mine" near Mitteldorf, which was made accessible again in 1922, testify to mining in Virgen. The construction of the Gothic church of Obermauern also fell in the late Gorizia period.

Virgen in the early modern period

Maximilian I united Virgen with the state of Tyrol

Memorial to the victims of the coalition wars 1809/10

As early as 1462, Count Leonhard von Görz had signed an inheritance contract with the Prince of Tyrol and Upper Austria , Archduke Siegmund . After the childless Görzer's death, numerous courts in the Pustertal and neighboring areas, including the Lienz and Virgen district court, fell to Siegmund's successor Maximilian I in 1500. In February 1501, the Virgen district court was part of the County of Tyrol. For lack of money, Maximilian sold the city of Lienz as well as the district court and the assigned offices to Baron Michael von Wolkenstein-Rodenegg on August 10, 1501 . He himself only reserved the sovereignty. Due to the sale of the area, the planned conversion of the free pen property into the hereditary series failed. For the Virgens farmers this meant a continuation of the heavy loads. In 1564 and 1635 plague epidemics broke out in the Virgen Valley. The multiple deaths were followed by strong population growth, as a result of which the farms were no longer viable due to the division of inheritance. As a result, the forest was cleared and the alpine pastures were greatly expanded. Other Virgers tried their luck as craftsmen and emigrated to the neighboring Pinzgau and Zillertal . After the bankruptcy of the Selva counties in 1653, the Haller Damenstift bought the former Gorizia possessions for 142,000 guilders. However, the farmers' hopes of relief from the religious women were disappointed, and high taxes had to be paid even in the event of poor harvests. In 1704 the peasants refused all taxes, drove the nurse away and occupied the nursing home. However, when the government threatened military execution, the population gave in again. With the abolition of the ladies' convent in 1783 by Emperor Joseph II , there was partial relief. Large parts of the debt were canceled and the annual taxes reduced.

Virgen in the 19th century

After the defeat of the Austrian troops in the Battle of Austerlitz , Austria had to cede Tyrol to Bavaria . After Napoleon's victory over Austria in the autumn of 1809 Austria, Salzburg and neighboring Matrei fell to Bavaria. Due to the increased pressure from Tyrol and Salzburg, the Matreier rifle leaders Anton Wallner and Johann Panzl organized the resistance in the Iseltal . The Virger Schützen were led by master locksmith Franz Frandl from Mitteldorf. After Andreas Hofer inflicted a defeat on the French on November 2 at Bergisel , French troops began to occupy the Isel valley. Due to the threat posed by around 900 Iseltal riflemen, the French concluded a brief armistice in Unterpeischlach on November 9th . However, after a victory by the Tyrolean riflemen at Ainet on December 8, the resistance of the East Tyrolean collapsed. The French division general Broussier had the rifle leaders and the clergy involved in the uprising arrested. The Virger Schützenführer was executed on December 28, 1809. The Virger cooperator Martin Unterkircher and his pastor Damaszen Siegmund were shot on February 2, 1810 in Lienz. The houses of the leaders were demolished, and the population suffered from the obligation to provide for the French soldiers. Virgen was subsequently added to the three newly created Illyrian provinces , but was freed from the occupation of the French as early as 1813.

The Virger's most pressing problem subsequently remained the tax burden from the free pen law. The Bruneck district chief Theodor von Kern succeeded in removing half of all taxes in 1835 and the revolution of 1848 led to the final liberation of the peasants and basic relief. The legally stipulated compensation for the landlords was only possible to a limited extent for the partially highly indebted population. In contrast to the neighboring communities of Prägraten and Matrei, Virgen hardly benefited from tourism because there is no direct access to Großvenediger . The lack of income opportunities led to numerous emigrations to the United States in the second half of the 19th century .

Virgen between 1914 and 1945

After the beginning of the First World War , the conscripts served mainly in the Kaiserjäger regiments , with 42 men perishing as soldiers. Economically, the collapse of Austria-Hungary hit the rural population less hard than the urban population due to the possibility of self-sufficiency. Virgen was only connected to the public road network via the municipality of Matrei in 1928. After the state of Tyrol and the federal government had promised 60% of the financing in 1924, the dispute over the route prevented the start of construction until 1926. The street, which was only three meters wide, was opened in 1928, and a private company took over the bus service . It was not until 19 that Prägraten was connected to Virgen through the increased construction of tunnels. After a brief economic boom, the global economic crisis also affected Virgen. Livestock prices fell to a low point and numerous farmers went bankrupt. The thousand-mark barrier imposed in 1933, however, hardly damaged the modest tourism, since the small proportion of Reich Germans could be compensated by holidaymakers from Austria or Czechoslovakia. Politically, the majority of the population was close to the conservative, Christian-social camp due to the rural structure . Many returnees from the war were organized in the riflemen and in the Home Guard . A home guard group from Virgen also took part in the suppression of the Nazi uprising in Carinthia. The National Socialists succeeded in strengthening their following through organized advertising and secret gatherings in the community of Virgen. Illegal members were found in Mitteldorf in particular. Arson in the years 1933 and 1934 in Mitteldorf are likely to have been connected to these events. After Austria was " annexed " to the German Reich , Virgen was also fully harmonized and the population was integrated into the National Socialist sub-organizations. More than 60 Virgers never returned from being called up for military service. Virgen himself was spared direct war events. Although hundreds of bombers flew over the valley almost every day in the last year of the war, there were no emergency drops over the community. After the end of the war, 20 British soldiers were quartered in Virgen to secure the restricted border area, but withdrew to Lienz after only twelve weeks.

Virgen from 1945

View over the redesigned village square to the parish church

Shortly after the end of the Second World War , the Nillbach devastated its surroundings with a mudslide and destroyed all bridges and mills up to Niedermauern and Gries. Several other buildings were also destroyed, a woman and three children died. In 1965 mudslides caused similar devastation, but the torrent barriers that began in the late 1940s led to increased protection of the population. In economic terms, the increasing number of tourists in particular led to an upswing. In 1953 there were 13,880 overnight stays per year, but by 1973 this figure had risen to around 160,000. The trend was supported by the rapid economic growth in Austria and the opening of the Felbertauernstrasse in 1967, which opened East Tyrol to the state of Salzburg and made the region more accessible. Since the 1970s, however, the number of overnight stays has fallen continuously, at the same time many farmers gave up farming or switched their businesses to part-time business . These foundations and the small number of jobs in the community lead to a very high commuter rate . The community itself has invested large sums in infrastructure since the 1950s. After the primary school building erected in 1954, the secondary school followed in 1969 and the new primary school in 1974. In addition, the community invested in the expansion of leisure facilities, with a swimming pool opened in 1969, the soccer field in 1975, and tennis courts in 1980 and 1998. As the last major investment, the village center of Virgens was renewed between 1994 and 1997. In addition to a multi-purpose building and a new fire station , the village square was redesigned. Despite the structural problems of the municipality, Virgen is recording a steady population growth. The resulting urban sprawl was tried to counteract by building three residential complexes (1987, 1994 and 1996).

population

Population development
data according to Statistics Austria (2001 census)

Population structure

In 2005, 2,131 people lived in the municipality of Virgen. According to the 2001 census, 97.7% of the population had Austrian citizenship. 98.3% of the population committed to the Roman Catholic Church , only 0.4% were without religious belief. In 2001, the age structure of Virgen was significantly younger than the average for the province of Tyrol. In 2001, 23.4% of the inhabitants of Virgen were younger than 15 years (total Tyrol: 18.4%) and 61.1% between 15 and 59 years old (total Tyrol: 63.0%). The proportion of residents over 59 years of age was 15.3%, below the national average of 18.6%.

Population development

In the second half of the 19th century, numerous young men who had neither a farm nor a workshop emigrated, particularly to America. Men and women went overseas from almost every farm. The emigrants took on various jobs in the cities or settled in North and South Dakota, where they had been given land to set up farms. The population decline continued into the 1920s, only afterwards there was slight growth again. The population has grown steadily since the end of World War II and has increased by around two thirds since 1951.

politics

The Virger municipal office

The municipal council as the highest body of the municipality has 15 seats and is elected every six years in the course of Tyrol-wide municipal council elections. Simultaneously the mayor in a direct-dial determines which is the absence of an absolute majority for one candidate in a runoff election is coming. Acting mayor has been Dietmar Ruggenthaler since 1992.

The sole force in community politics is the List For Virgen - Independent Community List For Virgen . In 2004 the list was the only nomination for the municipal council election, which is why it received all 15 seats. With a turnout of only 61.71%, the number of invalid votes was 16.79%. The list We Together - For our fellow citizens , which in 1998 still had 31.39% of the vote, did not run in the 2004 elections. In the municipal council elections in 2010 , the list Für Virgen - Independent Community List Für Virgen was again the only candidate for the municipal council election, which is why a suspension of the election was briefly discussed. In the end, the election was carried out. The turnout subsequently fell to 53.5%, and the number of invalid votes was 13.3%. Ruggenthaler ran again as the only candidate in the direct mayor election, whereby 7.2% of the votes were invalid in his election. The ÖVP is deeply rooted in Virgen and received 55.0% of the vote in the 2008 state elections .

coat of arms

Blazon :

The coat of arms shows a black shield with three silver diamonds (crystals) arranged in the shape of an arrow .

The coat of arms symbolizes the once profitable mining as well as the mineral wealth of the community. The arrangement of the crystals is based on a representation that can be found in the portal arch of the church in Obermauern.

The municipal coat of arms was awarded in 1972.

Economy and Infrastructure

Workplaces and employees

The census of workplaces carried out as part of the census in 2001 revealed 66 workplaces with 211 employees (excluding agriculture) in Virgen, 77% of which were employed. Compared to 1991, the number of workplaces had increased by 14 units (plus 26.9%). The number of employees had increased to a much lesser extent between 1991 and 2001 by 9.9%. The most important branch of the economy in the municipality is the hotel and restaurant sector, which in 2001 comprised around 40% of the businesses and 22% of the employees in the municipality. Measured in terms of the number of employees, this is followed by education (secondary school, elementary school, kindergarten), construction and material goods production. However, the sizes of businesses in trade and commerce in the municipality of Virgen are very small. In 2001 there was not a single company with 20 or more employees. Due to the strong preponderance of summer tourism over winter tourism and the large number of people employed in the construction industry, winter unemployment in the municipality of Virgen has increased significantly. The low employment opportunities also result in a high commuter rate . With 53 commuters in 2001, 684 Virgen residents were employed outside their home municipality. Around 56% of the out-commuters found work in the Lienz district, primarily in the neighboring municipality of Matrei and in the district capital Lienz. Another 24% commuted to North Tyrol or Salzburg , around 11% even went abroad, especially Bavaria .

Agriculture

Livestock between 1952 and 2006
Livestock	1952	1983	2000	2006
Pet owners	196	120	103
Horses	105	13	14th	21st
Bovine	1,332	1,322	1,346	1,465
Pigs	500	275	97	124
Sheep	512	562	612	549
Goats	285	38	91	170

In 1999 there were 145 agricultural and forestry holdings in Virgen, cultivating a total of 9,349 hectares. 39 farms were run as full-time business and 87 farms as part-time business . 18 companies were owned by legal entities. Compared with 1995, the number of farms continued to decline, particularly in the field of part-time farmers, while the number of farms in full-time employment increased by one. Overall, the number of agricultural holdings decreased by 15% between 1995 and 1999, while the cultivated area remained almost unchanged. By 2006 the number of farms fell again slightly. However, the abandoned businesses were closed mainly due to their small size or health conditions. Today Virgen is one of the most agriculturally active communities in the Lienz district, but also in Tyrol. Since the lease prices in the Heimgut area (area around a courtyard) are among the highest in the district, no greater decline in the number of businesses is currently expected.

The most important source of income for the Virg farmers is cattle breeding, with 74 alpine pastures being used for cattle breeding in the summer. In addition to cattle breeding, sheep breeding plays an important role, and in recent years there has also been an increased trend towards goat husbandry. The farmer's shop, which opened in 1993 and is located in the center of the Virgen-Dorf fraction, also contributed to this.

tourism

Since Virgen does not have direct access to the Großvenediger , tourism in Virgen developed later than in the neighboring communities of Matrei and Prägraten, where alpinism already reached a broader base in the 19th century. The beginnings of tourism in Virgen go back to the 1920s, with Virgen initially being a holiday destination for the urban population ( summer vacation ). Virgen only became of interest to alpinists from the construction of the Bonn-Matreier Hut in 1932/33 and the Großvenediger-Höhenweg. In 1932 the Virgen Tourist Association, the first tourism association, was founded. While the number of overnight stays in the summer of 1934 was 6,500, this number increased to 11,500 in the next year. During the Second World War, however, refugees from the bombed cities found refuge in Virgen. After the Second World War , the number of overnight stays in 1953 was 13,830. Tourism grew rapidly until the 1970s, so that 159,814 overnight stays could be counted in 1973. Tourism was particularly favored by the economic miracle and the construction of the Felbertauernstrasse , which made East Tyrol easier to reach.

Berger See Hut

Since the 1970s, the number of overnight stays in Virgen has fallen by around 50%. In addition to the general decline in alpine summer tourism, Virgen suffers from the low number of businesses in the higher categories. In the summer of 2005, there were 62,756 overnight stays in Virgen, with an average of seven days. 80.7% of the summer guests came from abroad, with 59.2% of the total overnight stays by guests from Germany and 10.5% by guests from the Netherlands . In the summer of 2000, 72,645 overnight stays were still booked in Virgen (−15.8%). In 2005/06 winter tourism, Virgen was able to increase by 24.8% to 17,187 overnight stays compared to the 1999/2000 winter season, with overnight stays falling continuously since the 2003/04 winter season. In 2005, Virgen had 1,159 guest beds.

Today, the municipality of Virgen, together with the East Tyrolean national park municipalities, is part of the Hohe Tauern National Park Tourist Association. The main attraction is the hiking network with the Venediger Höhenweg . There are five refuges in the municipality, the Bonn-Matreier Hütte in the Virger Nordkette and Lasörlinghütte , Wetterkreuzhütte, Berger-See-Hütte and Zupalseehütte in the Lasörlinggruppe. There are also seven managed alpine pastures in Virgen.

Transport and infrastructure

The municipality of Virgen is accessed by the Virgentalstraße L 24, which runs from the municipality of Matrei to Virgen and on to Prägraten. The Virgentalstraße leads through the Virg districts of Mitteldorf, Virgen and Obermauern and has a connection to the Felbertauernstraße B 108 in Matrei. Virgen can be reached by public transport using the ÖBB-Postbus GmbH buses . Line 951 connects the community up to twelve times a day to the district capital Lienz (journey time: 45 minutes). The line runs from the Lienz train station via Matrei to the neighboring community of Prägraten. The closest connection to the rail network is also in Lienz, around 30 kilometers to the south-east as the crow flies.

The responsibility for the drinking and extinguishing water supply is shared in the municipality of Virgen. While the community takes over the supply of Niedermauern, Haslach, Mellitz, parts of Mitteldorf and the center of Virgens, Mitteldorf, Göriach, Marin, Obermauern and Welzelach are supplied by the respective water cooperatives. Modern sewage disposal was implemented from the late 1970s. Step by step, the districts were connected to the public sewer network, with all of Virgen's buildings except for a few individual courtyards being connected to the sewer network and Virgen thus achieving the highest level of disposal in the district. In 1992, Virgen merged with several neighboring communities to form the “Abwasserverband Hohe Tauern Süd”, which cleans the wastewater from the member communities in the 1999 opened sewage treatment plant in Huben . The waste that arises in the community is disposed of by the Waste Management Association of East Tyrol (AWVO). The community advertised as the sun village of Virgen has more than 2,300 m² of collector surface for thermal solar systems. With a solar system density of around 1.01 m² / inhabitant, Virgen is at the top in Austria. In addition to a small hydropower plant on the Virgenerbach, the Virgental biogas plant is also used to generate electricity. The community was honored with the “European Energy Award” in 2003 and 2015 for their efforts.

education

The primary school building, which opened in 1978, has housed between seven and eight classes in recent years. The school, whose school district encompasses the entire municipality, is attended by around 150 students. The catchment area of ​​the secondary school, which only opened in 1969, includes the municipality of Virgen and the neighboring municipality of Prägraten. The eight-grade school is attended by an average of around 220 students. Between 1968 and 1983 there was also a special school class in Virgen and, for a short time, a polytechnic course. Both types of schools are now in the neighboring community of Matrei.

Security and Healthcare

Today Virgen no longer has its own police station, although the area of ​​responsibility of the former gendarmerie post was attached to the Matrei police station. Today the local museum is set up in the former gendarmerie post. The volunteer fire brigade was founded in 1896 and has more than a hundred members. In addition to the main building in Virgen, which was reopened in 1996, the volunteer fire brigade has smaller outposts with independent fire fighting groups in the Mitteldorf and Obermauern fractions. A local branch of the Austrian Mountain Rescue Service was set up in Virgen to rescue mountain victims . A general practitioner is available in the community for health care. To visit a specialist, however, you have to go to the neighboring Matrei or the district capital Lienz with the district hospital.

energy

Virgen is one of the 24 municipalities in Austria (as of 2019) that were awarded the highest award of the e5 municipal energy project. The e5 community project aims to promote the implementation of a modern energy and climate policy at community level.

Culture and sights

Attractions

See also:  List of listed objects in Virgen

Gasthof Neuwirt

Fresco in the pilgrimage church Obermauern

The center of the village, Virgen-Dorf, is well preserved. The center is the late Gothic parish church with the surrounding parish cemetery and the memorial to the victims of the French wars . In the immediate vicinity of the church is the ancient "Gasthaus Neuwirth" with a bay tower and hipped roof, as well as the monastery of the tertiary sisters. The monastery has its own house chapel with a small bell tower. The village of Obermauern with the pilgrimage church and the surrounding old farmhouses is also worth seeing. Originally the houses of the farmers were made entirely of wood, only wealthy farmers could afford a brick-built ground floor. The dominant form of courtyard in Virgen is the Paarhof (separate living and feeding house), only in favorable locations one can find Einhöfe .

The most important sights in the municipality of Virgen include the numerous churches and chapels, which are located in all fractions, but also in some hamlets and individual farms. The late Gothic pilgrimage church to Our Lady Maria-Schnee in Obermauern is known beyond the municipality . The branch church of the parish church Virgen was built around 1456, but also contains early Gothic and possibly even older parts of a previous church. The pilgrimage church is best known for its rich, Gothic fresco decorations with the Passion cycle of Jesus of Nazareth . Further frescoes show the childhood story of Jesus, scenes from the life of his mother Mary and the martyrdom of St. Sebastian . The Virg parish church was also built in the late Gothic period, but dates back to a building from the Romanesque period, as evidenced by a round arch that was uncovered during restoration work in the 1930s. The third church in the parish is in the Mitteldorf fraction. The small building with a gable roof was built around 1650 and belonged to the Matrei parish until 1782 . The oldest sacred building in the community and in the entire Iseltal is the All Saints Chapel in the hamlet of Marin. According to tradition, services were celebrated at their location during the Slavic invasion. The chapel is likely to date from the Romanesque period and can be reached via a steep crossroad.

The Rabenstein Castle in the fraction Mellitz was founded in the 12th century and until the early 18th century, the court seat and the curator of Virgen. Originally in the possession of the Gorizia, the complex came to the Archdiocese of Salzburg in the 13th century, which gave the castle as a fief until the 18th century. After the keeper moved out of the castle in 1703, the gradual deterioration of the complex continued. It was not until the 1960s that measures were taken to preserve the ruins. A special feature of the ruin is the so-called Pfaffenstöckl, whose richly decorated frescoes have been partially preserved.

Arts and Culture

Virgens' best known artist is the sculptor and wood carver Alois Lang , who worked mainly in New York and Japan and took part in the Expo in Osaka. The sculptor and nativity scene carver Friedl Fuetsch († 1981), honorary citizen of the municipality of Virgen, created, among other things, the memorial for those killed in World War II and the altar in the marine chapel. The Rabenstein theater group goes back to theater groups whose passion plays (“Virgen Rosary Play”) are first documented in 1675. The pieces performed up until the 18th century were revived in the 1930s in a new version by the local poet Fanny Wibmer-Pedit . In 1980, following tradition, the Rabenstein theater group was founded, which performs a play every year.

regional customs

The Virger Aries Parade takes place annually on the first Saturday after Easter . Its origin can be traced back to the time of the Thirty Years' War , when the plague broke out in the Virgen Valley. In gratitude for the end of the epidemic, the population promised to make a pilgrimage to Lavant with a white ram . It is possible that the custom dates back to the 14th century and was renewed in the 17th century. Since there were "unholy transgressions" during the pilgrimages to Lavant, a pastor abolished the pilgrimage to Lavant, and the procession has been to Obermauern ever since. The ram is provided every year by a district of Virgen or Prägraten, with the animal spending the high mass near the altar. The ram will then be auctioned, and the proceeds will benefit the pilgrimage church.

Another custom is plowing the leaves . Here Saint Nicholas goes from house to house with his angels and distributes nuts, cookies and sweets. He is accompanied by Lotter and the Litterin, a begging couple and musicians. The "Kleibeife", dark, shaggy figures with masks and bells accompany the train.

Association

There are 33 clubs registered in Virgen (2019). The oldest club in Virgen is the shooting club , which was founded in 1796 as a veteran's club. The Virgens band was founded around 1820 and performs in the Virger Pavilion in summer. The volunteer fire brigade , the rifle guild , the local history association and the mountain rescue service are also worth mentioning.

Sports

The community has a leisure facility built in 1999 with a swimming pool and spaces for football, tennis, beach ball, skateboards and rollerblades. Sport in the municipality of Virgen is supported by the Virgen Sports Union . The club, founded in 1956, operates five summer sports, soccer, paragliding, tennis, running and roller tobogganing, as well as five winter sports, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, triathlon (touring, tobogganing, cross-country skiing) and tobogganing.

The local football club SPG Virgental currently plays in the Austrian league (1st class A). In 2019, a game community was set up with the neighboring village of Prägraten, the SPG Virgental.

In addition to the sports union, there is an ice hockey club, EC Virgen (the wolves), which has two senior teams. EC Virgen 1 plays in the AHC Division 2 West and EC Virgen 2 in the Carinthian Lower League West. The next generation of ice hockey players is formed together with Huben and Prägraten.

literature

• Catholic Tyrolean Teachers' Association (Ed.): District Studies East Tyrol . Innsbruck 2001, ISBN 3-7066-2267-X .
• Simon Kurzthaler: History - Art - Culture. Encounters in the Hohe Tauern National Park region. Innsbruck 1997, ISBN 3-7066-2148-7 .
• Louis Oberwalder : Virgen in the Hohe Tauern National Park . Edition Löwenzahn, Innsbruck 1999, ISBN 3-7066-2197-5
• Meinrad Pizzinini: East Tyrol. The Lienz district. His works of art, historical forms of life and settlement. Verlag St. Peter, Salzburg 1974, ISBN 3-900173-17-6 (Austrian Art Monographs, Vol. VII)

Web links

Commons : Virgen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry on Virgen in the Austria Forum  (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
• Tyrol Atlas
• History-Tyrol: Virgen

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mersiha Kasupovic: Virgen community awarded as best e5 community. In: kleinezeitung.at. October 30, 2013, accessed September 1, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 42
3. ↑ Statistics Austria: Population on January 1st, 2020 by locality (area status on January 1st, 2020) , ( CSV )
4. ↑ ^{a b c d} District Studies East Tyrol , pp. 405–408
5. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 25 ff.
6. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 30 f.
7. ↑ Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Klagenfurt Weather Service: Climate data evaluation Virgen (1198 meters above sea level)
8. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 261 f. Kurzthaler: History - Art - Culture , p. 107
9. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 261 f. Kurzthaler: History - Art - Culture , p. 13
10. ↑ Martin Bitschnau , Hannes Obermair : Tiroler Urkundenbuch, II. Department: The documents on the history of the Inn, Eisack and Pustertal valleys. Volume 2: 1140-1200 . Universitätsverlag Wagner, Innsbruck 2012, ISBN 978-3-7030-0485-8 , p. 118, no. 529 .
11. ↑ Kurzthaler: History - Art - Culture , p. 105
12. ↑ Martin Bitschnau, Hannes Obermair: Tiroler Urkundenbuch, II. Department: The documents on the history of the Inn, Eisack and Pustertal valleys. Volume 2: 1140-1200 . Universitätsverlag Wagner, Innsbruck 2012, ISBN 978-3-7030-0485-8 , p. 255-258, No. 724 .
13. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 187. Pizzinini: Osttirol , p. 319
14. ↑ The year is given differently in different publications. See Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 67 (1182), information board at the castle (1183)
15. ↑ Oberwalder: Kals , p. 106. Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 258 f.
16. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 258 f.
17. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 256 f .; Oberwalder: Kals , p. 110
18. ↑ ^{a b} Oberwalder: Virgen , pp. 252-256
19. ↑ Martin Kofler: East Tyrol. From the First World War to the present . Innsbruck 2005, ISBN 3-7065-1876-7 , p. 53
20. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , pp. 240–246
21. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 238 f .; Regional studies East Tyrol , p. 408
22. ↑ ^{a b c} municipality data Virgen VZ 2001 Statistics Austria
23. ↑ http://www.statistik.at/gz/vz_tab3.shtml (link not available)
24. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 251
25. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 153
26. ↑ In Virgen they will vote ( memento from September 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) In: Kleine Zeitung , February 26, 2010
27. ↑ Land Tirol (election service) ( memento from October 1, 2007 in the internet archive ) Land Tirol (election service) ( memento from October 1, 2007 in the internet archive ) Land Tirol (election service) ( memento from October 1, 2007 in the internet archive ) Land Tyrol (election service) ( Memento from October 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
28. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 98
29. ↑ ^{a b} Written communication from the Lienz Chamber of Agriculture
30. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 107 f.
31. ↑ Regional studies of East Tyrol , p. 40
32. ^ Office of the Tyrolean Provincial Government, Provincial Statistics Tyrol tirol.gv.at (PDF; 827 kB), tirol.gv.at (PDF; 343 kB), tirol.gv.at (PDF; 423 kB), tirol.gv.at ( PDF; 283 kB)
33. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 165 f; State of Tyrol, sewage disposal in the Lienz district
34. ↑ 2015: Highest energy award for the sunny village of Virgen
35. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , p. 207 (figures from around 1999)
36. ↑ e5 communities in Austria as of March 2019
37. ↑ Pizzinini: Osttirol , pp. 319–328
38. ↑ Oberwalder: Virgen , pp. 196-202, 221 ff; Theater group Rabensteiner ( Memento from April 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
39. ↑ Municipality of Virgen ( Memento of December 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
40. ^ Municipality of Virgen ( Memento from December 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on May 14, 2007 in this version .