Sights in the Silberregion Karwendel

Churches, castles and museums – a cultural journey through the Silberregion ored? Just want to have a day off and do a bit of sport? Then there’s only one thing for it: hunt out something from the numerous sights which the Silberregion has to offer A propos ‘Art & Culture’, Silberregion Karwendel has lots to offer. After all the Silberstadt Schwaz was the second largest town in Austria during its heyday in the Middle Ages. Silver mining brought importance and wealth, and with it an abundance of culturally significant credentials of this fruitful time. With thousands of visitors each year the silver mine itself, and also Schloss Tratzberg in Jenbach, show that the Silberregion is a real crowd puller.

Silver Schwaz
No matter where you park yourself in Silberregion Karwendel – everywhere has something to see. The ‘circuit’ which follows will help you make your mind up. It starts in the main town of Schwaz, the centre of the Silberregion in the Karwendel. The epithet ‘Silberstadt’ refers to the mining past of the town. Between 1420 and 1827 no less then 2.5 million kilograms of fine silver were extracted from the silver ore which was mined from the caves in Schwaz. The overall length of the caves in Schwaz was purported to be close to 500 kilometres. Showpiece of great mine are the Sigmund Erbstollen, which have been open as show mines since 1990.

On the back of silver, significant earls, artists and scientists came to Schwaz. Even the Fugger family (of whom the unique architecture of the Fuggerhaus is a reminder) were mine operators.

At 1516 the most significant German doctor of that time, Paracelsus von Hohenheim, lived in this mining town.

Nuremberg man Hans Sachs founded a Meistersinger school; fresco remains from the Meistersinger hall which, was bombed in World War Two, as well as samples by Schwaz artists are there in the Museum of Schwaz Art in Rabalderhaus to be marvelled at.

At that time the Schwaz people could also afford to build the biggest hall church in Tirol – and it remains the biggest today. The altar was created by the famous Veit Stoß, but was – unfortunately – sold when the church became Baroque in style. In addition to the church, Palais Enzenberg houses the municipal gallery. Just a stone’s throw from Fuggerhaus is the Franciscan monastery set up by Emperor Maximilian, where, along with a visit to the monastery church, a visit to the cloister is an absolute must.

The ancestral castle of the Freundsburgers is also located in Schwaz– Schloss Freundsberg, with its integrated castle tavern and a museum, which fills the entire keep. Right opposite the ‘mouth’ of the mine is the planetarium and barely a kilometre to the west you come across St. Martin.

The Baroque church with its frescos by Christoph Anton Mayr along with the ‘Haus der Völker’ are other places worth visiting. The Haus der Völker is the only ethnological museum in western Austria.

A hunting lodge and the gateway to the Karwendel
Right next to the main town Schwaz, the market town of Vomp lies on a steep mountain slope, and Fiecht Monastery is located in this district authority area. A worthwhile photo motif is Schloss Sigmundslust. Archduke Sigismunddem Münzreichen built the former hunting lodge from 1472 to 1473, and it is the emblem of the town.

Incidentally in terms of size, Vomp is one of the biggest districts in Tirol. It stretches from the Inntal to the Bavarian border. The Karwendel group from Hinterriss zu Vomp is also a part of this, and is the only settlement in the Karwendel which is inhabited year-round.

Since last year there has been a new visitor centre there, and this is almost like an architectural entrance gate to Alpenpark Karwendel.

A hike through the solar system
From Vomp to Terfens. The educational planet trail can be ‘hiked’, and you can walk through our solar system in an hour. Sculptures created by the hands of artists, replicas of the planets which are true to scale, show the distances and proportions of the universe. The sun for instance is represented by an arc which has a 14 metre diameter.  Pluto, the smallest planet, measures just 4 cm in diameter.

Anyone who comes to Terfens should definitely visit the Maria Larch pilgrimage chapel too, was founded in 1678 for a Maria figure which shaped from clay which was once attached to a larch tree (‘Larch’). A special tip: the water from the spring at the chapel is purported to have healing powers.

A splendid church and the remains of a knight’s castle
In Terfens you cross the Inn, where the districts of Weer, Kolsass and also – on mid-range mountain terraces – Kolsassberg and Weerberg lie on the other side of the valley. Weer has one of the most beautiful Rococo churches in Tirol. The ceiling paintings are by the well-known Tirol painter Anton Zeiller (1779).

Kolsass and the Kolsassberg are the closest stations, where on the ascent to the Kolsassberg a mighty ruin catches  the eye. The ruin is the remains of Schloss Rettenberg, which was built by Knight Florian Waldauf in the 14th century. Sections of the castlewere removed at the start of the 19th century, and the material was used to build a church in Wattens. The structure is privately owned but you can still visit the surrounding wall with the four corner towers and sections of the great hall.

The ascent to the Weerberg is also possible from Weer. Even from quite a distance the ‘old’ Weerberg church of St. Peter can be seen on its impressive wall. The original gothic church was extended in 1749 by the famous church builder Franz de Paula Penz and changed to Baroque style. From the church on the hill there is a wonderful view to the Karwendel.

Beneath the church is the 16th century Mesnerhaus and Rablhaus, which once served as a home to Franz de Paula Penz. It has a small, yet fine museum which provides an insight into the day-to-day life of farmers of bygone times.

Schnapps and a Senses Path
Don’t return to Weer, rather head to Pill from Weerberg back into the valley. Here a there is high percentage in the Plankenhof – in the schnapps museum. You can access Pillberg via Pill and also from Schwaz thanks to a lift which connects the mountain region Arbeser-Kellerjoch, which provides lots of hiking opportunities. On a ‘Senses Path’ you get to enjoy a pleasurable hike.

Ten chapels and ruins steeped in history
From Schwaz heading east we reach Gallzein and Buch. The eight kilometre long Ten Chapels Route almost spans all towns.

It starts at Schwaz Silver mine and runs along the side roads and shaded forest paths, past ten chapels, which hark back to the hey day of silver mining. In the district area of Buch, in Rotholz, you come across historic wall remains – the Rottenburg Ruins.

In the Middle Ages the Rottenburg was an economic hub and administrative centre in Tirol. The Reconciliation steps in the Rottenburg Ruins are a reminder of the reconciliation of the Rottenburger counts, who had fallen out, by St. Notburga the patron saint of Tirol.

Close to the Rottenburg is the highest spruce in Tirol, which has a nature preservation order. Originating from Bucherwirt, a worthwhile walk to ‘Bucher Waterfall’ is possible from Buch.

One town, three train lines
In Buch we head on a cultural excursion to the other side of the valley to Jenbach. The market community is an important traffic hub and stands out due to one special feature – at the train station trains with three different track gauges meet.  Österreichischen Bundesbahnen which has a standard gauge and two narrow gauge tracks, which steam into the Zillertal and Achensee.

A trip on the old nostalgia trains which are pulled by old steam-powered engines is an experience for the whole family. The steam trains which are more  than one hundred years old have – in the truest sense of the word  – lost none of  their ‘pulling power’. That you can pick flowers during the (slow) ascent, is one of the legends which are woven around these historic trains.

Jenbach also has a museum of local history, which is organised to very different focal points (nature, sport, railway and local history). In Stans the cultural circuit takes you through the cultural sights in the Silberregion Karwendel. And there a special attraction awaits visitors: Schloss Tratzberg.

Visitors get to experience a voyage back in time via an audio guided tour which takes you through a history of the origins of the castle that Emperor Maximilian used as a hunting lodge. Using an audio-visual discovery tour adults and children get an explanation of the historic facts, ideas are explained and the key attractions of the castle are presented. Wearing headphones visitors get acquainted among others with Emperor Maximilian 1st. and Jakob Fugger. The high point of the circuit is a visit to the Habsburger hall. Its walls are adorned with a 46 metre long cycle of frescos – the Habsburg family tree, which comprises 148 descendants of the most famousruling dynasty in Austria.

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