Kennst du die Perle, die Perle Tirols? Das Städtchen Kufstein, das kennst du wohl? Umrahmt von Bergen, so friedlich und still. Ja, das ist Kufstein – dort am grünen Inn.
(Translation: Do you know the pearl, the pearl of Tyrol? The town of Kufstein, you must know it. Surrounded by mountains, so peaceful and quiet. Yes, that’s Kufstein, at the green Inn.) Can you sing along to the song lyrics and sway happily from left to right? If not, then you can listen to the song here – catchy tune guaranteed!
Kufstein is a small town with more than 20.000 inhabitants in the province of Tyrol in the west of Austria.
The area around Kufstein was already populated 30,000 (!) years ago, as bone finds in a cave – the Tischofer Cave – near Kufstein showed. The bones are also exhibited in a museum in Kufstein, which is located on the fortress. A good keyword, because Kufstein is known for its medieval fortress. Therefore Kufstein is often called a fortress town. The fortress Kufstein was the scene of many warlike conflicts between Bavaria and Tyrol. In 1504 the fortress came into the possession of the Habsburgs under Emperor Maximilian I. In 1810 Napoleon I. besieged the whole of Tyrol and so Kufstein became part of Bavaria again. Four years later Tyrol belonged to Austria again. After the First World War the Republic of Austria sold the fortress to the city of Kufstein. Today the fortress is very popular with tourists and locals alike to visit the famous Heroes’ Organ (the largest open-air organ in the world!) and let its sound work on you, daily at 12.00 noon. Did you know that there is the so-called “deep well” on the fortress? This is a 70-meter deep well shaft that was driven into the mountain from the fortress to bring groundwater up to the fortress.
The coat of arms of Kufstein shows a silver salt barrel with golden fittings, which stands on three mountains. The salt barrel stands for the enormous importance that salt had for the city, since the “white gold” was shipped across the Inn. The Three Mountains stand for the three small mountains that are in the city area, the Zeller Berg, the Kalvarienberg and the Festungsberg.
Watch out all sports lovers: In Kufstein there is not only the fortress and the center to visit, but also a beautiful green mountain landscape. From Kufstein you have the possibility to make one of the most beautiful hikes through the Kaisertal. The Kaisertal is located between the Zahmen and Wilder Kaiser and is a valley incision of the Tyrolean Kaisergebirge. Since the year 1963 the Kaisertal has been a nature reserve. Well known and also very popular is the Kaiser ascent (Kaiseraufstieg), which takes you past very inviting alpine huts with traditional Tyrolean home cooking and fantastic nature. If you are one of the less sporty people, you don’t have to give up this pleasure and can simply take the Kaiserlift up the mountain and admire the nature from there.
Would you like to learn more exciting information about Kufstein? The sewing machine was invented here! Isn’t that cool?! Josef Madersperger, a native of Kufstein, is considered the inventor of the sewing machine, which he presented in 1814. Unfortunately, no one recognized the usefulness of the sewing machine at that time and so he had to donate it to the k.k. polytechnic institute in Vienna. Hard to believe, isn’t it?
The Madersperger Museum offers great insights into the life of the master tailor, the development of the sewing machine and the transformation of clothing from luxury to mass production. The museum is located in the birthplace of Josef Madeersperger.
Now things are getting exciting, because a new Crime-Trail has just been opened in Kufstein. If you don’t know yet what a Crime-Trail is, you can read more about it here.
The following case happened in Kufstein: On Monday, shortly after 6:30 pm a unique exhibit was stolen from papier + bücher ögg. It is a special fountain pen from the 18th century worth more than€ 500.000. Who was responsible for the theft? Now, Kufstein needs your help! Slip into the role of investigators and try to clear up the theft. All you need to do is downloading the crime file here and you can start at any time without prior notice. Can you solve the case?
The fortress town welcomes everyone and looks forward to meeting many investigators.
As we say here in Tyrol: Es gibt so vieles bei uns in Tirol! Holara… Bei uns in Tirol! (Translation: There are so many things here in Tyrol! Holara… Here in Tyrol!)
