Tyrol (; german: Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a
state (''Land'') in western
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 ...
. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical
Princely County 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 ...
. It is a constituent part of the present-day
Euroregion Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino (together with
South Tyrol
it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol
, settlement_type = Autonomous province
, image_skyline =
, image_alt ...
and
Trentino
Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
). The capital of Tyrol is
Innsbruck.
Geography
The state of Tyrol is separated into two parts, divided by a strip. The larger territory is called
North Tyrol (''Nordtirol'') and the smaller area is called
East Tyrol (''Osttirol''). The neighbouring Austrian state of
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
stands to the east, while on the south Tyrol has a border with the
Italian province of
South Tyrol
it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol
, settlement_type = Autonomous province
, image_skyline =
, image_alt ...
(
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
it, Trentino (man) it, Trentina (woman) or it, Altoatesino (man) it, Altoatesina (woman) or it, Sudtirolesegerman: Südtiroler (man)german: Südtirolerin (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title = Official ...
) which was part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire before the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. With a land area of , Tyrol is the third-largest state in Austria.
Tyrol shares its borders with the federal state of Salzburg in the east and
Vorarlberg in the west. In the north, it adjoins to the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
state of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
; in the south, it shares borders with the
Italian province of
South Tyrol
it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol
, settlement_type = Autonomous province
, image_skyline =
, image_alt ...
and the
Swiss canton of
Graubünden. East Tyrol also shares its borders with the federal state of
Carinthia to the east and Italy's
Province of Belluno (
Veneto) to the south.
The state's territory is located entirely within the
Eastern Alps at the
Brenner Pass. The highest mountain in the state is the
Großglockner, part of the
Hohe Tauern
The High Tauern ( pl.; german: Hohe Tauern, it, Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of ...
range on the border with Carinthia. It has a height of 3,797 m (12,457.35 ft), making it the highest mountain in Austria.
Lakes
*
Buchsee (Bezirk Kufstein)
History
In
ancient times, the region was split between the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
provinces of
Raetia (west of the Inn River) and
Noricum. From the mid-6th century, it was resettled by Germanic
Bavarii
The Baiuvarii or Bavarians (german: Bajuwaren) were a Germanic people. The Baiuvarii had settled modern-day Bavaria (which is named after them), Austria, and South Tyrol by the 6th century AD, and are considered the ancestors of modern-day Bavar ...
tribes. In the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
it formed the southern part of the German
stem duchy of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
, until the
Counts of Tyrol, former ''
Vogt
During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...
'' officials of the
Trent and
Brixen
Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano.
Geography
First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic an ...
prince-bishops at
Tyrol Castle, achieved
imperial immediacy after the deposition of the Bavarian duke
Henry the Proud in 1138, and their possessions formed a
state of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
in its own right.
When the Counts of Tyrol died out in 1253, their estates were inherited by the
Meinhardiner Counts of
Görz
Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label=Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Goritz ...
. In 1271, the Tyrolean possessions were divided between Count
Meinhard II of Görz and his younger brother
Albert I, who took the lands of East Tyrol around Lienz and attached it (as "outer county") to his committal possessions around
Gorizia ("inner county").
The last Tyrolean countess of the Meinhardiner Dynasty,
Margaret, bequeathed her assets to the
Habsburg duke
Rudolph IV of Austria in 1363. In 1420, the committal residence was relocated from
Merano
Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and '' comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeie ...
to Innsbruck. The Tyrolean lands were reunited when the Habsburgs inherited the estates of the extinct Counts of Görz in 1500.
In the course of the
German mediatization in 1803, the
prince-bishoprics of
Trent and
Brixen
Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano.
Geography
First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic an ...
were
secularized and merged into the County of Tyrol (which in the next year became a constituent land of 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, ...
), but Tyrol was ceded to the
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...
in 1805.
Andreas Hofer led the
Tyrolean Rebellion against the French and Bavarian occupiers. Later, South Tyrol was ceded to the
Kingdom of Italy, a client state of the First French Empire, by Bavaria in 1810. After Napoleon's defeat, the whole of Tyrol was returned to Austria in 1814.
Tyrol was a
Cisleithanian ''Kronland'' (royal territory) of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
from 1867. The County of Tyrol then extended beyond the boundaries of today's state, including North Tyrol and East Tyrol; South Tyrol and
Trentino
Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...
(''Welschtirol'') as well as three municipalities, which today are part of the adjacent Province of Belluno. After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...
, these lands became part of the
Kingdom of Italy according to the 1915
London Pact and the provisions of the
Treaty of Saint Germain
The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (french: Traité de Saint-Germain-en-Laye) was signed on 10 September 1919 by the victorious Allies of World War I on the one hand and by the Republic of German-Austria on the other. Like the Treaty of Tr ...
. From November 1918, it was occupied by 20,000–22,000 soldiers of the Italian Army.
Tyrol was the center of an important resistance group against Nazi Germany around Walter Caldonazzi, which united with the group around the priest
Heinrich Maier and the Tyrolean Franz Josef Messner. The Catholic resistance group very successfully passed on plans and production facilities for
V-1 rocket V1, V01 or V-1 can refer to version one (for anything) (e.g., see version control)
V1, V01 or V-1 may also refer to:
In aircraft
* V-1 flying bomb, a World War II German weapon
* V1 speed, the maximum speed at which an aircraft pilot may abort ...
s,
V-2 rockets,
Tiger tanks,
Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet and other aircraft to the Allies, with which they could target German production facilities. Maier and his group informed the American secret service OSS very early on about the mass murder of Jews in Auschwitz. For after the war they planned an Austria united with South Tyrol and Bavaria.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, North Tyrol was governed by
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and East Tyrol was part of the British Zone of occupation until
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 ...
regained independence in 1955.
Towns
The capital, Innsbruck, is known for its university, and especially for its medicine. Tyrol is popular for its famous
ski resorts, which include
Kitzbühel,
Ischgl and
St. Anton. The 15 largest towns in Tyrol are:
Demographics
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Colors=
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id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7)
id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1)
ImageSize = width:400 height:auto barincrement:28
PlotArea = left:35 bottom:40 top:20 right:10
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:800
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
AlignBars = late
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:50 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
PlotData=
color:skyblue width:22 shift:(-55,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till
bar:1869 from:0 till:236 text:236,426
bar:1880 from:0 till:245 text:244,736
bar:1890 from:0 till:250 text:249,984
bar:1900 from:0 till:266 text:266,374
bar:1910 from:0 till:305 text:304,713
bar:1923 from:0 till:314 text:313,888
bar:1934 from:0 till:349 text:349,098
bar:1939 from:0 till:364 text:363,959
bar:1951 from:0 till:427 text:427,465
bar:1961 from:0 till:463 text:462,899
bar:1971 from:0 till:544 text:544,483
bar:1981 from:0 till:587 text:586,663
bar:1991 from:0 till:631 text:631,410
bar:2001 from:0 till:674 text:673,504
bar:2011 from:0 till:710 text:710,048
bar:2021 from:0 till:760 text:760,105
TextData=
fontsize:M pos:(35,20)
text:"Source: Statistik Austria"
Economy
The
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is of ...
(GDP) of the state was 34.6 billion euro in 2018, accounting for 9% of the Austria's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 40,900 euro or 136% of the EU27 average in the same year.
Transport
Tyrol has long been a central hub for European long-distance routes and thus a transit land for trans-European trade over the Alps. As early as the 1st century B.C. Tyrol had one of the most important north–south links of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
, the
Via Claudia Augusta
The Via Claudia Augusta is an ancient Roman road, which linked the valley of the Po River with Rhaetia (encompassing parts of modern Eastern Switzerland, Northern Italy, Western Austria, Southern Germany and all of Liechtenstein) across the Al ...
. Roman roads crossed the Tyrol from the Po Plain in present-day Italy, following the course of the Etsch and Eisack in present South Tyrol over the Brenner and then following the northern
Wipp valley to Hall. From there roads branched along the
River Inn. The
Via Raetia
Via or VIA may refer to the following:
Science and technology
* MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter
* ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae
* Via (electronics), a through-connection
* VIA Technologies, a Taiwan ...
went westwards and up onto the
Seefeld Plateau, where it crossed into
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
where Scharnitz is today. The
Porta Claudia, built in the early 17th century is a fortification that underlines the importance of the road in the Early Modern Period.
Today Tyrol has international road, rail and air connections.
Innsbruck Airport is Tyrol's international airport. In addition there are several smaller airports in various places such as
St. Johann in Tirol,
Höfen in the
Außerfern or
Langkampfen. Many
public transit
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...
companies operate a common tariff scheme as part of the
Tyrol Transport Association.
Administrative divisions
The state is divided into nine
districts (''
Bezirke''); one of them, Innsbruck, is a
statutory city. The districts and their administrative centres, from west to east and north to south, are:
; North Tyrol:
*
Landeck District
The Bezirk Landeck ( it, Distretto di Landeck) is an administrative district ('' Bezirk'') in Tyrol, Austria. It borders the district Reutte in the north, the district Imst in the east, South Tyrol (Italy) and Graubünden (Switzerland) in the ...
, (capital:
Landeck
Landeck () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the capital of the district of Landeck.
Geography
Landeck is located in the Tyrolean Oberland in the west of the state at an elevation of about . The town is situated in the valley of the In ...
)
*
Reutte District, (
Reutte)
*
Imst District, (
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, I ...
)
*
Innsbruck-Land, (
Innsbruck, not part of the district)
*
Innsbruck Stadt
*
Schwaz District, (
Schwaz)
*
Kufstein District, (
Kufstein)
*
Kitzbühel District
The Bezirk Kitzbühel is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in Tyrol, Austria. It borders Bavaria ( Germany) in the north, the Kufstein and Schwaz districts in the west, and the Pinzgau region ( Salzburg) in the east and south.
Area of the d ...
, (
Kitzbühel)
; East Tyrol:
*
Lienz District
The Bezirk Lienz ( it, Distretto di Lienz) is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in Tyrol, Austria. It is the only district in East Tyrol. The district borders the Pinzgau ( Salzburg) in the north, the districts Spittal an der Drau and Her ...
, (
Lienz
Lienz (; Southern Bavarian: ''Lianz'') is a medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality also includes the cadastral subdivision of '' ...
)
Sister relationships
*
Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Culture
The traditional form of
mural art known as
Lüftlmalerei
Lüftlmalerei (also spelt ''Lüftelmalerei'') is a form of mural art that is native to villages and towns of southern Germany and Austria, especially in Upper Bavaria ( Werdenfelser Land) and in the Tyrol.
Style
The origin of the term is dispu ...
is typical of Tyrolean villages and towns.
Kletzenbrot is a
sweet bread made with dried fruits and nuts for the
Advent season. Because it is associated with Tyrol it is also known as "Tyrolean Dried Fruit Bread".
Identity
The question of which regional unit was the bearer of primary identification was raised in the 1987 Austrian Consciousness Survey.
The possible answers were: the hometown (local patriotism), one's own province (regional patriotism), (Central) Europe (European consciousness), the world (cosmopolitanism).
A research project led by Peter Diem
[Integrative Phänomene, Diem Peter, 1988] offers a thoroughly comparable picture: In Vienna and Lower Austria, Austria patriotism dominated (1988) over territorial consciousness. In Upper Austria, Salzburg and Styria, national patriotism slightly outweighed state patriotism. In Carinthia, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, national patriotism clearly dominated. When asked to rate their own national patriotism on a ten-point scale, 83% of Carinthians, 69% of Tyroleans, 63% of Vorarlbergers, Burgenlanders and Styrians, 59% of Upper Austrians, 55% of Lower Austrians, 47% of Viennese and 43% of Salzburgers gave it the highest value.
The results of this study underline the assumption of a highly developed sense of national identity in most Austrian provinces. Peculiarly, the federal provinces are also largely "endogamous" in relation to other provinces, i.e. they correspond to what ethnologists would call a gentile association, a "tribe".
It is therefore also permissible to identify the inhabitants of the Austrian provinces as the "tribes" that a book published in London would like to portray. (The Times Guide to the Peoples of Europe, London 19
The Times guide to the peoples of Europe
See also
*
Tyrol
*
East Tyrol
*
Euroregion Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino
*
Grünausee
*
History of Tyrol
*
Längentalspeicher
*
North Tyrol
*
Reither See
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrol (State)
NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union
States of Austria