Small historic Towns

If you come to Mittersill on Friday mornings like me, you're in luck, because the Mittersill weekly market takes place on the town square. Bacon, cheese and all sorts of other regional specialties can be bought here, and the atmosphere on the threshold to the weekend is correspondingly exuberant. But there's always something going on here anyway: whether it's the honey festival, the three-day Mittersill town festival or the strudel festival - people know how to celebrate in Mittersill. If that's not enough, there's also the Streetfood Market, plenty of concerts by local folk music bands or the regular Moonlight Shopping, where the stores are not only open until 10 p.m., but there's also plenty of culinary delights on offer. The fact that there is so much going on here has a long tradition, as Mittersill was already a crossroads for the “mule trade” centuries ago. Wine, spices and oranges were brought over the Tauern from the south. Salt, the “white gold” to which the town owes its development, went in the opposite direction. More on this later.

At Mittersill Plus Tourismus (responsible for Mittersill, Hollerbach and Stuhlfelden) I am provided with really good guide books right at the start of my tour. There is a separate guide for gravel bike tours plus a map, the same for hikes and a special guide for huts and mountain pastures with lots of tips for hikes from gentle to tough. Sixty marked hiking routes can be discovered around Mittersill, and you can also register for guided tours here. The hiking shuttle picks you up from the hiking hotel and takes you back to the hotel after your hike. Practical.
Hikes on specific themes are also offered, e.g. animal watching with a national park ranger.

I quickly realize that this is no “Halligalli destination”. Gentle tourism is practised here with skiing, cross-country skiing, hiking and biking. Speaking of skiing: Mittersill is the southernmost access point to the fantastic ski area of the Kitzbühel Alps. This means you can live here more cheaply than in the famous World Cup resort, but ski in the same ski area.

My first route then takes me to Mittersill Castle, which is situated on a hill just above the town. Built in 1150 by the Counts of Lechsgemünd, it was intended to protect the population at this strategically important point (for the north-south connection between Tyrol, Salzburg and East Tyrol). It was once owned by the powerful prince archbishops, who exercised civil administration, police power and penal authority here. The so-called “Pfleger”, a kind of stadtholder, looked after the fortress and held court. In 1526, the castle was stormed and set on fire during the last major farmers' uprising. After the uprisings were put down by the archbishop, the farmers were - ironically - forced to rebuild it themselves as punishment for the firebombing. The date of this rebuilding can still be seen above the entrance gate today.

There used to be a pub here too, as the petitioners had to wait somewhere. It was popularly known as the “Neidhäusl” because the innkeepers down in the town were soon envious of the turnover generated up here. Today, the castle houses a four-star superior hotel, and I feel a certain envy when I look at the photographs on the wall to see who has stayed here: Cary Grant and Rita Hayworth, for example. How did this come about? At the end of the 19th century, the court moved down to Mittersill and the castle changed hands many times until it was bought by Baron Hubert von Pantz in 1935 as the location for his sports and shooting club. Pantz then had to flee from the Nazis to the USA in 1938, but returned after years of war, bringing with him a host of glamorous friends and Hollywood stars. Just one example: Coco Chanel is said to have been inspired to create her world-famous Chanel jacket right here. In the rooms - in the lounge or in the historic hunting room with wall paneling - the glamour of times gone by can still be felt today. The chapel, the watchtower and the wine cellar, which was once a dungeon, are also a must-see. If you are looking for a very special location, we recommend the witches' room.
The in-house restaurant holds two Falstaff forks and I vow to return for a dinner on the panoramic terrace with spectacular views of the Hohe Tauern and then enjoy the atmosphere of luxurious seclusion over a digestif in the lounge. But enough raving, because my hotel is also impressive: The Heitzmann am Stadtplatz is centrally located and the in-house restaurant specializes in steaks. It also serves home-brewed beer from the neighboring Bräurup, which is affiliated with the Heitzmann. What more could you want? The history of the Bräurup also goes way back to the year 1350.

But the Felberturm is even older. Dating back to the 12th century, it is not only the oldest building in the town, but in the entire region. It houses a lovingly curated regional museum that sheds light on the life of the “Säumer” - the name given to the daring “crossers” who used to walk the trade route over the Tauern mountains, risking their lives in the process. For a long time, the market town of Mittersill had a salt privilege that entitled every citizen and house owner to 45 cartloads of around 115 pounds or 65 kg of salt each - a right that was preserved for a long time and brought in good income through trade over the Felbertauern. Just imagine: Around 1600, the Hallein salt works produced around 30,000 tons of salt per year. Around a third of this was exported south on the mule tracks to be exchanged for pepper, cinnamon, tropical fruit, olive oil, soap, glass and other goods. Wine and brandy were also in high demand. Carters brought the salt on sledges in winter, while mule drivers and Krax carriers delivered it further south over the Tauern mountains. A few Kraxes, which you can lift on site to get a feel for their weight, are very impressive. How they got over an Alpine pass on foot in ice and snow is a mystery to me. They were tough dogs back then, risking their lives for a few guilders, as many a man fell victim to a sudden spell of bad weather and never made it back home safely. People are beginning to appreciate products that we take for granted today because they come to us through the Felbertauern tunnel, among other things.
On the upper floor, the last Mittersill witch trial from 1575 is highlighted in an impressive film. The priest's cook was suspected of casting a spell on the weather. The curate had his doubts, but someone had to be to blame for the bad weather and so she and the priest were tortured until they both confessed and were executed. A textbook example of how public opinion, fueled by misbelief, can influence the justice system and lead to wrongful convictions.
Special exhibitions are held at the very top of the tower. During my visit, contemporary artists from the surrounding area were showing their very different works - from traditional woodcuts to abstract sculpture - under the title “Moved into the Light”. The venue also serves as a special wedding location.
Back outside, the movie with the witch trial is still having an effect, so it's fitting that I can ground myself again when I visit a traditional Pinzgau farmhouse. The house was demolished in 1968 and rebuilt here, right next to the tower. It is a very impressive example of life in the Oberpinzgau region.

Afterwards, Hannes Wartbichler, a former town archivist with a profound knowledge of local history, guides me through the heart of the town with an almost infectious enthusiasm. We begin our tour of the town at the market square, the lowest point in the town, where Mittersill was built to supply the counts. This location has repeatedly caused flooding in the past. It's quite simple, says Wartbichler: “When it gets hot, the snow on the glaciers melts. If a cold front then announces itself, a lot of water comes.” Sometimes too much. A drainage channel was only built two hundred years ago. Before that, it was sometimes impossible to bury the dead because the rising groundwater would have washed the coffins upwards.
From the market square, you can see St. Anna's Church, where the famous composer Anton von Webern was laid to rest in 1945. The Mittersill Composers' Forum, founded in 1996 to mark the 50th anniversary of his death, sees itself as a kind of laboratory for contemporary composers. The Anton Webern theme trail is based on his initiative. On the trail with stations commemorating his life and work, you can listen to the composer's story.

The Annakirche is just one of three churches in the town alongside the Felberkirche and the parish church. I visit the last of these, a magnificent baroque building, immediately afterwards. In 1746, Wartbichler tells me, an unbelievable disaster befell Mittersill. The market and parish church were almost completely destroyed by a major fire. Only fifteen of the 52 houses were spared. In the rebuilt houses, St. Florian often hangs under the ridge. In the traditional Bräurup inn, an inscription above the front door bears witness to the catastrophe: “May God protect us from fire and the dangers of water” it reads. Whether it was divine blessing or coincidence, the traditional inn has been spared since then, much to my delight, as this is where I have dinner on the recommendation of my guide.
At the entrance, large iron hooks bear witness to the fact that slaughtering once took place here. The brewing activity here dates back to the 16th century. In the beginning, it was bakers who brewed a little beer on the side. Today, the brewery is lovingly run by landlords Matthias and Leni. Brewer Josef Schweiger scored a coup in 1866 when he acquired the fishing rights along the Salzach from Krimml to Niedernsill, and since then people have been enjoying char and trout from their own fishing grounds here. Including me. But first I have to taste the beer: the fruity, fresh, almost lemony Märzen and the unusually good Weizen. Finally, the trout is one of the best fish dishes I have ever eaten. A really good day draws to a close and as I look through the bike guide, I am filled with energy for the next day. At the regulars' table, there is evidence that fishermen regularly meet here to tie flies.

After a delicious breakfast - freshly scrambled eggs are prepared at the Heitzmann - I set off on the Hintersee-gravel route towards Felbertauern. The pass road of the same name, built in 1967, only roars alongside me for a while, then I climb comfortably up to the mountain lake away from the noise on cycle paths. Although the loop is short, it takes me to one of the most beautiful places in the region. Just the thing if you have plans for later. Like many other destinations, Hintersee can of course also be easily reached by e-bike. The gravel sections prove to be borderline for racing bikes, but after just a few kilometers a magnificent panorama opens up, the Tauern window. The lake is picturesquely nestled between rock faces and its water is refreshingly cool. I cycle a little further along the lake to the end of the valley and then back to the town. On the way back, I stop for refreshments at the Gasthof Haidbach, as the National Park Worlds await me.

The largest national park in the Alpine region has its own adventure world, which was recently refurbished and brought up to date. Here you can marvel at everything there is to see in the national park, divided into themed worlds. A 3D film, for example, makes the formation of the Hohe Tauern tangible. Many a successful effect makes me cringe. And a successful animation about the development of the Pasterze since the last ice age illustrates how the glacier has changed over the course of time. I am impressed.

What follows is the obligatory shopping tour in various sports stores (hiking equipment), Zirbenwelt (cushions) and the health food store (marmot lotion). Finally, at Augenoptik Maurer, I get my sunglasses adjusted for the way home. Free of charge. With so much friendliness, it's easy for me to plan my next trip to Mittersill. I want to delve even deeper into the world of the mule drivers and climb up one of the old paths to one of the Tauern houses that used to serve them. In any case, next time I'll come with an off-road bike to seek happiness off the beaten track, because the bike route guide has made my mouth water. First with the gravel bike to the Resterhöhe or to the Krimml waterfalls, which are only a good twenty kilometers away? Either way, there will be a reunion.