Kufstein

Kufstein
Kufstein
Location within Kufstein district
Country	Austria
State	Tyrol
District	Kufstein
Mayor	Martin Krumschnabel (Parteifreie)
Area	39.37 km2 (15 sq mi)
Elevation	499 m  (1637 ft)
Population	17,388 (1 January 2011)
- Density	442 /km2 (1,144 /sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	KU
Postal codes	6330-6333
Area code	05372
Website	www.kufstein.at

Kufstein is a city in Tyrol, Austria, located along the river Inn, in the lower Inn valley, near the border with Bavaria, Germany, and is the site of a post World War II French sector United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Displaced Persons camp.

Kufstein is the second largest city in Tyrol and capital of the district (Bezirk) Kufstein.

The greatest landmark of Kufstein is the Kufstein Fortress, which was first mentioned in the 13th century.

People

• Josef Madersperger (1768-1850), tailor and inventor of the sewing machine
• Christian Pravda (1927-94), alpine skier
• Joseph Berkmann (b. 1931), restauranteur and wine merchant
• Franz Schuler (b. 1962), biathlete
• Manfred Linzmaier (b. 1962), soccer player and team manager
• Markus Kronthaler (1967-2006), mountaineer and climber
• Karl Wendlinger (b. 1968), racecar and Formula One driver
• Claus Dalpiaz (b. 1971), ice hockey goaltender

Economy

Panorama View over Kufstein

Glass manufacturer Riedel, gunmaker Voere, and ski and tennis racket manufacturer Kneissl are based in Kufstein.

Sights

Kufstein Fortress

Wasserbastion, a part of the medieval wall.

Saint Vitus Church.

Due to its long history, the city of Kufstein has various sights to offer:

• The Fortress (Festung) is built on a rock the height of which amounts to 90 m. Sometimes erroneously called Schloss Garoldseck, the fortress was mentioned as Castrum Caofstein in a document for the first time in 1205. It was enlarged several times. The most important tower, the round and impressive Kaiserturm, was built from 1518-22. Several times in its history, the fortress was used as a prison. Today it is famous for its large organ (Heldenorgel).

• The old city center (Altstadt) with several pinturesque lanes the most famous of which is Römerhofgasse.

• The sightworthy City Hall (Rathaus) is on a square called Stadtplatz.

• Saint Vitus Church is the oldest church of Kufstein. It was built from 1390-1420 in a typical Gothic style. Later, it was converted into a baroque church from 1660-61.

• A part of the medieval city wall is well-preserved and worth a visit. The sightworthy Wasserbastei is in the Northern part of the old city center on the river Inn. In the Southern part of the wall, a former gate called Auracher Löchl can be seen.

Transport

Annual Almabtrieb cow train in Kufstein

Kufstein has two exits along the A12 motorway (autobahn) from Innsbruck to Rosenheim.

Kufstein railway station, opened in 1876, forms part of the Lower Inn Valley railway section of the Brenner-axis from Munich to Verona.

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Austria

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kufstein is twinned with

• Frauenfeld, Switzerland
• Rovereto in Italy

Media and the Arts

Film and television

Locations in and around Kufstein have been used for a number of films and television programmes: Schicksal (1942), Bergkristal, (1949), Blaubart (1951), Weisse Schatten (1951), Das letzte Aufgebot (1953), Das fliegende Klassenzimmer (1954), Graf Porno und die liebesdurstigen Töchter (1969), Vanessa (1977), Sachrang (1978), TV documentary series Bilderbuch Deutschland (1996), Da wo das Glück beginnt (2006), Da wo es noch Treue gibt (2006), and Da wo die Freundschaft zahlt (2007). For further information see the Internet Movie Database.

External links

• Official website (German)
• Kufstein Gigapixel Panorama (15.000 Megapixel)
• Kufstein webcam
• Kufstein Tourist Board
• www.heimat-kufstein.at: Historical pictures of Kufstein