Schwaz () is a city in the

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 ...

n 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 ...

. It is the administrative center of the

Schwaz Schwaz () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative center of the Schwaz district. Schwaz is located in the lower Inn valley. Location Schwaz lies in the middle of the Lower Inn Valley at the foot of the Kellerjoch a ...

district. Schwaz is located in the lower

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

valley.

Location

Schwaz lies in the middle of the

Lower Inn Valley The Lower Inn Valley (german: Unterinntal) is that part of the Inntal valley through which the Inn (river), Inn river flows from a point a few kilometres west of Innsbruck near its confluence with the Melach downstream to a few kilometres before R ...

at the foot of the

Kellerjoch The Kellerjoch is a 2,344 m-high mountain above the Inn valley near Schwaz in 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 ...

and Eiblschrofen mountains. It is located approximately east of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

. The city covers an area of . Neighbouring communities include:

Buch bei Jenbach Buch in Tirol is a municipality in the Schwaz 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 hi ...

Fügenberg Fügenberg is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Tourism St. Pancras Church, built from 1494 to 1497 in the Gothic style, is worth visiting. The Fügen-Fügenberg Region has two ski regions: the Spieljoch and H ...

Gallzein Gallzein is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Gallzein lies on a terrace of the Lower Inn Valley in the foothills of the Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . a ...

Pill Pill or The Pill may refer to: Drugs * Pill (pharmacy), referring to anything small for a specific dose of medicine * "The Pill", a general nickname for the combined oral contraceptive pill Film and television * ''The Pill'' (film), a 2011 fil ...

Stans Stans () is the capital of the canton of Nidwalden (Nidwald) in Switzerland. The official language of Stans is German (spoken there in the variety of Swiss Standard German), but the main language is the local variant of Alemannic Swiss German. ...

, and

Vomp Vomp is a municipality in the Schwaz 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 historicall ...

History

The

Counts of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised p ...

guarded Schwaz from nearby

Burg Freundsberg Burg Freundsberg is a castle in Tyrol, Austria, that was constructed in the year of 1150 by the lords of Freundsberg. Burg Freundsberg is above sea level. Originally the castle consisted out of a single keep, which is still intact up to this date. ...

. At the town's height during the 15th and 16th centuries, it was an important

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

mining center, providing mineral wealth for both the Fugger banking family and, through them, for the Austrian emperors. During this period, its population of about 20,000 inhabitants made it the second largest city in the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, after

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

.Chizzali. Tyrol: Impressions of Tyrol. (Innsbruck: Alpina Printers and Publishers), p. 28 Schwaz received its

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1898 by Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...

Population

Personalities

Schwaz is the birthplace of 16th-century

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

Georg Scherer Georg Scherer (1540 – 30 November 1605) was a Roman Catholic pulpit orator and controversialist. Born at Schwaz, in Tyrol, Scherer entered the Society of Jesus in 1559. Even before his ordination he was famed for his preaching powers. For over ...

and 20th-century

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Hans Köchler Hans Köchler (born 18 October 1948) is a retired professor of philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and president of the International Progress Organization, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Na ...

. It is also the birthplace of the 20th c. Austrian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and a Roman Catholic priest, Johannes Messner.

Economy

Three large industrial companies have their headquarters in Schwaz: *

Tyrolit Tyrolit is an Austrian company that develops, manufactures and markets abrasive products as well as concrete sawing and drilling equipment. With 29 production locations on 5 continents, the TYROLIT group belongs to the world’s largest producers ...

– a globally active producer of bonded abrasives * Adler Lacke – a family-run producer of coating systems * DAKA – a regional waste management company

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Schwaz is twinned with:

Gallery

File:Schwaz, Tyrol, Austria.jpg, Aerial view File:Eiblschrofen near Schwaz b 2007.jpg, Eiblschrofen near Schwaz, seen from N. File:Schwaz (Tyrol) from NE closer.jpg, Schwaz seen from NE, closer File:Schwaz-Parish Church.jpg, Schwaz, Parish Church, consecrated in 1502 File:Schwaz, der Friedhofsturm Dm10410 met buste Ludwig Penz foto5 2012-08-09 14.02.jpg, Tower (der Friedhofsturm) and bust from Ludwig Penz File:Schwaz, straatzicht foto1 2012-08-09 13.44.jpg, View to a street

References

External links

Web site of the municipality of Schwaz
(German)
Schwaz Silver Mine
(German)
official tourism information of Schwaz
(English) Cities and towns in Schwaz District {{Tyrol-geo-stub