The Leukental is a valley in

North Tyrol North Tyrol, rarely North Tirol (german: Nordtirol), is the main part of the Austrian state of Tyrol, located in the western part of the country. The other part of the state is East Tyrol, which also belongs to Austria, but does not share a borde ...

in the district of

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbühel district (). Kitzbühel ...

in Austria. The Leukental runs north to south from the

Thurn Pass Thurn Pass (el. 1274 m.) is a high mountain pass in Austria, in the Kitzbühel Alps. It connects Kitzbühel in Tyrol with Mittersill in Salzburg. The Jochberger Ache has its source near the pass. A series of peatland mires in the pass have bee ...

to the Bavarian border, but is not just defined as the main valley but includes several smaller side valleys. The river flowing through the Leukental is known as the ''Jochberger Ache'' from its source at the Thurn Pass to Kitzbühel, then as the '' Kitzbühler Ache'' from Kitzbühel to St. Johann in Tirol and, from its confluence with the ''Fieberbrunner Ache'' near St. Johann in Tirol, as the ''Großache''. After leaving the Leukentals and Tyrol the river is known in Bavaria as the ''Tiroler Ache'' until it discharges into the

Chiemsee Chiemsee () is a freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany, near Rosenheim. It is often called "the Bavarian Sea". The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien flow into the lake from the south, and the river Alz flows out towards the north. The Alz flows in ...

lake, and its valley is known as the Achental. The parishes in the Leukental are: Jochberg, Aurach bei Kitzbühel,

Oberndorf in Tirol Oberndorf () is a municipality in Kitzbühel district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is located in the Leukental valley, on the Kitzbühler Ache stream, halfway between St. Johann in Tirol and Kitzbühel. The municipality consists of a mai ...

, St. Johann in Tirol, Kirchdorf and

Kössen Kössen is a municipality in the Kitzbühel district in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 24 km north of Kitzbühel as well as 15.50 km north of Sankt Johann in Tirol at the Kitzbühler Ache near the border to Germany. Geography K ...

. The name "Leukental" might almost have been forgotten by the 20th century because, from the middle of the 19th century the name "Großachental" had become common. This was mainly because it was a time when the imperial and royal monarchy wanted to survey all crown lands precisely and the state surveyors, who were mostly from Bohemia, did not often quite understand Alpine dialects and many names were entered on the maps without being researched. LeukentalRiNord

For example, the erroneous change of the name of the valley to the name of the river could be explained because the state surveyor may have asked the name of the river and would have been told ''"that is the große Ache."'' As a result, even today the name "Großachental" appears in most of the maps. During the 20th century the incorrect belief also arose that the Leukental ran from the Inn valley near Wörgl via Söll and Ellmau to St. Johann, so that the station near Bruckhäusl (in the town of

Wörgl Wörgl () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, in the Kufstein district. It is from the international border with Bavaria, Germany. Population Transport Wörgl is an important railway junction between the line from Innsbruck to Munich, and ...

) was called "Söll-Leukental" until a few years ago. In 1875, when the station was built, it was thought that you could get off at this station and continue your journey to Söll and then via Ellmau and Going enter the Leukental. Over the decades the error was perpetuated that the Leukental ran from Wörgl via Söll, Scheffau, Ellmau and Going to St. Johann. The local Kitzühel historian, Peter Brandstätter, who died in November 2008, gave the Leukental its name back by raising the awareness of the issue with the public authorities through letters and publications. He even managed to persuade the

Austrian Federal Railways Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

to change the name of the station from "Söll-Leukental" to "Bruckhäusl".

External links

Entry in the Tyrol Atlas
{{coord, 47, 32, 45, N, 12, 26, 37, E, region:AT-7_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Valleys of Tyrol (state) Kitzbühel Alps Kitzbühel District Chiemgau Alps