Things You Didn't Know About Tirol

Or that Austria’s top beer-consuming bar is Mooserwirt in St. Anton and that the world’s first gondola `wheel’ lift opens in the same resort this winter? Or that the world’s steepest and most visited racing course is the "Streif" in Kitzbuehel? For information about these and more, top facts about the Tirol, read on!

? - …the steepest piste in the Tirol is the "Harakiri piste" in Mayrhofen with a gradient of 78 % . Even the piste grooming has to be done by a powerful piste basher tethered by a cable. www.mayrhofner-bergbahnen.com

? …St. Anton’s famous Mooserwirt (www.mooserwirt.com) apres ski bar takes the gold medal when it comes to beer consumption, being Austria’s most prolific, taking into account the space.

? …the Kristallhuette in the Zillertal valley www.kristallhuette.at is fast becoming the hottest place to be, with just 8 rooms, exquisite service and cuisine, it’s been named best ski chalet by Skiresort Service International (www.skiresort.de), among others.

? …a world first and the Alps’most spectacular new gondola construction is the new gondola in St. Anton, the "Galzigbahn”, which employs a giant wheel to bring gondolas up from ground level (www.galzigbahn.at).

? …the steepest and most visited ski racing course in the world is in the "Streif" in Kitzbuhel, which attracts thousands of skiing addicts to the famous Hahnenkamm races every year. (www.kitzbuehel.com)

? ...the parallel turn was invented in the Tirol. Toni Seelos of Seefeld, one of the most successful racing skiers in the Thirties, revolutionized skiing with this new technique (www.seefeld.com).

? ...around 60 per cent of the world’s production of ski edges comes from the Tirol. Located in Innsbruck, the "Friedrich Deutsch" metal works produce 2,000 tons of ski edges of top-quality steel every year, ensuring that skiers come to grips with the pistes.

? ...there are 64 schnapps distilleries in the Tirolean, Upper Inn Valley village of Stanz. The distiller's craft has long traditions here and the "distilling village" is known for its "Stanzer Zwetschke". (www.tirolwest.at)

? …the highest 2-toque restaurant in the world is located in the Tirol. The Verwallstube at the top stage of the Gallzigbahn in St. Anton am Arlberg is situated at 2,185 metres above sea level. Russia's President Putin, Caroline of Monaco and other celebrities have eaten here. The restaurant is only open during the winter season. (www.stantonamarlberg.com)

? …Europe's only village underground railway is in the Tirolean winter sports resort of Serfaus. To alleviate traffic in the 1980s an underground railway was constructed beneath the main road. A hovercraft runs noiselessly and vibration-free from the entrance to the village to the cableway, a distance of 1.3 kilometres. Four stations provide easy access for guests who leave their cars. (www.serfaus-fiss-ladis.at)

? …The SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser Brixental is the largest connected skiing area in Austria and is located in the Tirol. 250 km of runs (160 km with snowmaking equipment) and over 90 state-of-the-art lifts guarantee pure pleasure in the snow. (www.skiwelt.at)

? …Austria's highest winter sports resort is situated in the Tirol. K?htai in the Sellraintal, south of Innsbruck, is 2,020 metres above sea level and offers an absolute snow guarantee from early December until well into spring. (www.schneegarantie.at)

? …Austria's most up to date spa centre is in the Tirol. The 50,000 sq.m. "Aqua Dome" site at the entrance to the ?tztal mixes the primeval power of warm thermal water with the imposing ?tztal mountains for a new kind of thermal experience. (www.aqua-dome.at)

24 October 2006