Oetz is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Imst Imst (; Southern Bavarian: ''Imscht'') is a town in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol. It lies on the River Inn in western Tyrol, some west of Innsbruck and at an altitude of above sea level. With a current population (2013) of 9,552, Im ...

district 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 ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, located 11.7 km (7.3 mi) southeast of

at the lower course of the

Ötztaler Ache The Ötztaler Ache is a river in the district of Imst, Tyrol, Austria, a right tributary of the Inn. It flows through the Ötztal valley, a southern branch the Inntal. Including its source rivers and , it is long. The Rofenache is the runoff o ...

in the outer

Ötztal The Ötztal is an alpine valley located in Tyrol, Austria. The Ötztaler Ache river flows through the valley in a northern direction. The Ötztal separates the Stubai Alps in the east from the Ötztal Alps in the west. The valley is long. The no ...

valley at the foot of Acherkogel mountain (3 008 m, 9,869 ft).

History

Settlement of the area around Oetz began around two thousand years ago. The village was mentioned for the first time as ''Ez'' in 1266. The parish church was constructed in the Late Gothic style, with extensions in 1667. Baroque interior alterations were completed in 1744. The church contains a crypt, an

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

with a painting of St. Michael (1683), carvings and statues.

Population

Tourism

Ötz is a bi-seasonal tourist resort with approximately 350,000 overnight stays, and is a popular location for

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

. The town has a local heritage museum and art gallery called the ''Turmmuseum Ötz'' (formerly the ''Galerie zum alten Ötztal''). Nearby attractions include Lake Piburg, the Auer Klamm ( gorge), the Stuibenfall (

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

), and the waterfall on the Tumpenbach (stream). The municipality has 2,265 inhabitants.

Town partnerships

Ötz fosters partnerships with the following places:Oetz-Hargesheim partnership
/ref> * Hargesheim,

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

References

External links

Oetz

Ötztal
Cities and towns in Imst District {{Tyrol-geo-stub