Kössen is a municipality in the
Kitzbühel district in the Austrian state of
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
located 24 km north of
Kitzbühel as well as 15.50 km north of
Sankt Johann in Tirol
St. Johann in Tirol is a market town in Tyrol, Austria, in the Kitzbühel district. In the regional ductus, the last syllable of the name is stressed as "Sankt yo-Hahn'".
History
St. Johann is situated in the Leukental, which extends from Jo ...
at the
Kitzbühler Ache near the border to Germany.
Geography
Kössen is located in a broad basin between the
Chiemgauer
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
in the north and the Kaiser Mountains in the south of the confluence of
Großache river, the ''Kohlenbach'' and the ''Weißenbach''.
Population
Sights
Maria Klobenstein is a pilgrimage church in the community Kössen in Tirol on the border with Bavaria (municipality
Schleching).
Activities
Kössen's topography lends itself to
air sports
The term "air sports" covers a range of aerial activities, including air racing, aerobatics, aeromodelling, hang gliding, human-powered aircraft, parachuting, paragliding and skydiving.
Recognized and regulated air sports
Many air sport ...
in the summer months. The surrounding mountain massifs create great thermals, which are near-perfect for
hang gliding
Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...
and
paragliding
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...
flights, whilst the valley-floor makes safe landing-grounds, as it is broad, flat and mostly meadow-land; furthermore, the winter ski-lifts allow equal access to the summits in their off-season, for the new market of air-sports adventurers.
In hang-gliding, Kössen was the inaugural location for both the World Championships, in 1976, and the European Championships, in 1977. The championships were soon coordinated to be run on alternate years, with a European venue on 'even' years and a global venue on 'odd' years. A new venue is chosen each year for both competitions, but it is a mark of the popularity of Kössen as an air-sports venue, that it is the sole centre, to date, that has been used as a return-venue for each competition, in 1980 and in 1985. Para-gliding is also well-established on the Unterberg.
Neighboring towns
Aschau im Chiemgau
Aschau im Chiemgau is a municipality and a village in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria in Germany.
Transport
Aschau im Chiemgau station is on the Chiemgau Railway.
Personalities
* Hans Clarin (1929-2005), actor and synchronist
* Loca ...
,
Kirchdorf in Tirol,
Reit im Winkl
Reit im Winkl is a small village (locally known as a snow-magnet ) located on the German/Austrian border in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany in the Traunstein district, and was previously an immigration and customs control point (prior t ...
,
Schleching,
Schwendt,
Unterwössen,
Waidring,
Walchsee
Walchsee is a municipality in the Austrian state of Tyrol in the Kufstein district. It is located in the lower Inn valley and belongs to the "Kaiserwinkl" and the "Untere Schranne".
Geography
Walchsee is located 18 km northeast of the city ...
References
External links
Kössen community datafrom Statistik Austria
Cities and towns in Kitzbühel District
Kaiser Mountains
Chiemgau Alps
{{Tyrol-geo-stub