Sölden 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
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 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 ...
.
Geography
At c. , it is the largest municipality in the country. The population of 3,449 (as of 2003) is outnumbered by tourists, of which 15,000 can be accommodated. With tourist bed nights running at over two million per year, the municipality is third only to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
as an Austrian tourist destination. Sölden has lost some of its former small village charm, but other attractions have been enhanced in recent years.
The main village of Sölden is at an
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
of
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
, and the upper village of
Hochsölden at has 5 four-star hotels. The highest peak is the
Wildspitze
Wildspitze () is the highest mountain in the Ötztal Alps and in North Tyrol, as well as the second highest mountain in Austria after the Großglockner and in terms of prominence (2261 m) is the fourth summit of the Alps and the fifteenth of Eur ...
, at , the second highest mountain in Austria, after the
Großglockner
The Grossglockner (german: Großglockner ; or just ''Glockner'') is, at 3,798 metres above the Adriatic (12,461 ft), the highest mountain in Austria and the highest mountain in the Alps east of the Brenner Pass. It is part of the larger Gloc ...
.
The
Ötztal Glacier Road
The Ötztal Glacier Road, (german: Ötztaler Gletscherstraße), at 2,830 m (9,285 ft), is the second highest paved road in Europe. It is the access road from Sölden to the Rettenbach glacier and Tiefenbachferner glacier in the Ötztal Alps. It ...
is the second
highest paved road in Europe. It is the access road from Sölden to the
Rettenbach glacier
The Rettenbach glacier (german: ''Rettenbachferner'' or. ''Rettenbachgletscher'') is a glacier in Europe, located near Sölden in the Ötztal Alps of Tyrol, Austria.
During the winter, the glacier is accessible by cable car and from spring time ...
and Tiefenbachferner glaciers in the
Ötztal Alps
The Ötztal Alps ( it, Alpi Venoste, german: Ötztaler Alpen) are a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps, in the State of Tyrol in western Austria and the Province of South Tyrol in northern Italy.
Geography
The Ötztal Alps are arrayed ...
.
The English spelling of the town is "Soelden". One may come across websites and directions using this spelling of the town.
History
Population
Settlement
![Berghof soelden 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Berghof_soelden_2016.jpg)
Primitive tools found near present-day Sölden suggest that the region has been settled for thousands of years.
Ötzi
Ötzi, also called the Iceman, is the natural mummy of a man who lived some time between 3350 and 3105 BC, discovered in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps (hence the nickname "Ötzi") on the border between Austria and Italy.
Ötzi is believed to ...
, a famously well-preserved mummy of a man who lived between 3400 and 3100 BC, was found in the Ötztal Alps near Sölden.
Sölden as we know it today grew out of 20 buildings in the 13th century AD. One of these buildings which still exists today is the
Berghof.
A building on the site of the
Berghof was first mentioned in 1370. In 1588, the Berghof was listed in the records of St. Petersberg Castle as one of the original farmsteads. The house is now used as accommodation for guests.
Ski resort
Sölden is also a popular
ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...
and regularly hosts the first
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
races of the season; a
giant slalom for both men and women is usually scheduled for late October on the
Rettenbach glacier
The Rettenbach glacier (german: ''Rettenbachferner'' or. ''Rettenbachgletscher'') is a glacier in Europe, located near Sölden in the Ötztal Alps of Tyrol, Austria.
During the winter, the glacier is accessible by cable car and from spring time ...
. The races in October
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
started at and finished at , a vertical drop of .
* Elevation: (Sölden village) -
* Lifts: 33
Sölden Lift plan
Lift numbers
* Terrain: total - ( red, blue, black, Skiroute).
References
External links
Soelden.com
- official tourist site
Ski-Austria - Soelden Skiing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solden
Cities and towns in Imst District
Ski areas and resorts in Austria