Untertauern is a municipality in the district of
St. Johann im Pongau 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
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 ...
.
Geography
Untertauern is situated in the Salzburg Pongau region in the valley of the
Northern Taurach, a right tributary of the
Enns river, about south of
Radstadt
Radstadt (Central Bavarian: ''Rodstoud'' or ''Rodstod'') is a historic town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian state of Salzburg.
Geography
The town is part of the Salzburg Pongau region. It is located in the valley of the ...
. The parallel road runs up to
Radstädter Tauern Pass
Radstädter Tauern Pass (el. 1,738 m or 5,702 ft) is a high mountain pass in the Austrian state of Salzburg, connecting the town of Radstadt in the Pongau region with Mauterndorf in Lungau.
Geography
The pass separates the Radstadt Tauern ...
, separating the
Radstadt Tauern
The Radstadt Tauern (german: Radstädter Tauern) are a subrange of the Central Eastern Alps in Austria. Together with the Schladming Tauern, the Rottenmann and Wölz Tauern and the Seckau Tauern the Radstadt Tauern form the major range of mount ...
range in the west from the
Schladming Tauern in the east. Here the
Obertauern ski resort stretches to neighbouring
Tweng in the Salzburg
Lungau
Bezirk Tamsweg is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria. It is congruent with the Lungau region (). The administrative centre of the district is Tamsweg.
Geography
The area of the Lungau plateau is 1,0 ...
region.
History
The road up to Radstädter Tauern Pass was already used by Celtic
Taurisci
The Taurisci were a federation of Celtic tribes who dwelt in today's Carinthia and northern Slovenia (Carniola) before the coming of the Romans (c. 200 BC). According to Pliny the Elder, they are the same as the people known as the Norici.
Etym ...
tribes about 200 BC. Later a
Roman road led across the
Alpine crest, which was rebuilt under the rule of Emperor
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...
(193–211 AD). The cemetery of present-day Obertauern, laid out in the 16th century, probably was the site of a ''
mansio'' stopping place denoted as ''In Alpe'' on ancient maps.
In medieval times, the pass road regained its strategical importance as a connection between the Pongau and Lungau regions of the
Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg
The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (german: Fürsterzbistum Salzburg; Erzstift Salzburg; Erzbistum Salzburg) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of ...
. Since 1975, the main traffic runs on the parallel
Tauern Autobahn
The Tauern Autobahn (A 10) is an autobahn (motorway) in Austria. It starts at the Salzburg junction with the West Autobahn (A1), runs southwards, crosses the Tauern mountain range on the main chain of the Alps and leads to the Süd Autobahn (A2) a ...
through the
Tauern Road Tunnel
The Tauern Road Tunnel is located on the Tauern Autobahn (A10) in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg. The use is subject to a toll. With a length of (4.07 miles), the tunnel ranks as one of the longest frequently-travelled road tunnels in Au ...
.
Politics
Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2014 local elections:
*
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 3
*
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 3
*GFUO (
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
): 3
References
External links
Municipal website
Cities and towns in St. Johann im Pongau District
Radstadt Tauern
{{Salzburg-geo-stub