Zell am See

Zell am See
Zell am See
Country	Austria
State	Salzburg
District	Zell am See
Mayor	Ing. Hermann Kaufmann (ÖVP)
Area	55.17 km2 (21 sq mi)
Elevation	750 m  (2461 ft)
Population	9,568 (1 January 2011)
- Density	173 /km2 (449 /sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	ZE
Postal code	5700
Area code	06542
Website	www.zellamsee.salzburg.at

Zell am See is the capital city of the Zell am See district in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The city has about 10,000 inhabitants.

Zell am See is a tourist destination and a transportation hub for the region. The German name "Zell am See" means "Zell by the lake".

Geography

Location

The valley of Zell is a corridor in the middle of the Austrian Alps between the Saalach and the Salzach rivers. The lake is the 68-metre (223 ft) deep Lake Zell, with Zell am See's "Altstadt" (or Old Town) in the west, and with the villages of Thumersbach to the east, Erlberg to the southeast, and Schüttdorf directly to the south. Zell am See is approximately 100 kilometres to the east of Innsbruck and 30 kilometers the north of Großglockner.

Zell am See cadastral communities

City outline

The city of Zell am See is divided into five districts:

• Bruckberg (residential area)
  • Zellermoos
• Erlberg (includes a nature reserve)
• Schmitten (location of many cableways)
• Thumersbach (noble district, seaside resort and beautiful landscape)
  • Prielau (a summer resort)
• Zell am See
  • Old Town (centre sites)
  • South Zell am See (Schüttdorf)

Landscape

The original Lake Zell reached somewhat further to the north and extended south to the Salzach river. The dimensions of the lake, however, haved changed over time into marsh areas. The lake has the shape of a peanut, with an area of 4.7 square kilometres (1.8 sq mi).

Panoramic view of Lake Zell (town of Zell am See visible on the right)

The mountains of the area form a horseshoe shape and are mainly forested or agricultural fields. The "Hausberg" or home mountain of Zell am See is the Schmittenhöhe(1.965 metres), which is part of the Salzburg Greywacke zone (or slate Alps). The Schmittenhöhe is a popular center for winter sports. The nearby "Hundstein" (or "Dog Stone") at 2,117 metres (6,946 ft) is the highest peak of the Salzburg Grewacke Zone.

History

Zell am See was already populated in Roman times. In 740 AD, by order of the Archbishop Johannes (John) of Salzburg, monks founded the village "Cella in Bisonzio". Zell received the rights of a market town in 1357, and its city rights on January 24, 1928.

Dreifaltigkeitsgasse, Zell am See

Lakeside walk

Timeline

• 1875, 30 July - Railway opening (Giselabahn), start of tourism in the summer months
• 1879, 15 July - Opening of the Hotel "Elisabeth"
• 1881 - Start of steam navigation with boat "Elisabeth" on the lake
• 1885 - Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) visits the Schmittenhöhe (mountain)
• 1887 - The municipality takes over ship navigation on the Lake Zell
• 1893 - Visit of the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef I
• 1894 - The Grand Hotel is built
• 1898 - Business start of the Pinzgau Local Railway (Pinzgauer Lokalbahn)
• 1906 - Foundation of the Skiing Club Zell am See; first winter sports festival
• 1906 and 1910 - Acquisition of electric motor boats, end of steam ship navigation
• 1914 - Railway double tracked
• 1924 - A light plane lands on the sheet of ice of the Lake Zell
• 1928 - Construction of the tennis courts (used for ice-skating and ice-hockey in winter)
• 1928, January 25 - Commissioning of the Schmittenhöhebahn (up to the Schmitten mountain)
• 1928 - Foundation of a chapter of the Austrian Aeronautical Association (Österr. Flugtechnischer Verein)
• 1930 - Opening of the Hauptschule (similar to a UK secondary modern school)
• 1937, February 5 - Academic World Wintergames
• 1945 - City serves as a base for Company "E" of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 101st Airborne Division.
• 1952, May 8 - Opening of the Alpine Gliding School
• 1959, May 15 - Opening of Airport Zell
• 1961 - Zell receives the status of a climatic spa
• 1966 - Serious damage caused by thunderstorms; the River Schmitten overflows its banks
• 1968 - Construction of the Spa and Sport Center and foundation of the Europe Sport Region
• 1973 - Ski-Worldcup (12 to 20 December)
• 1975 - Rosenberg Castle (16th century) becomes the town hall
• 1976 - Opening of the new hospital
• 1977 - Commissioning of the one-rope chairlift "Zeller Bergbahn"
• 1979 - opening of the pedestrian area
• 1979 - Women's Down-hill World Cup
• 1981 - Honorary citizen: Dr.h.c.Ferdinand Porsche
• 1981 - Honorary citizen: Commercial Council Dr.h.c. Louise Piech-Porsche
• 1996 - Opening of the road tunnel (Schmitten Tunnel, 5,110 m)
• 2000 - Award ceremony of the Sydney Olympic winners Steinacher and Hagara (Tornado-Sailing)
• 2004 - Award ceremony of the Athens Olympic winners Steinacher and Hagara (Tornado-Sailing)
• 2005 - Naming of the third ship on the Lake Zell, the "Schmittenhöhe)
• 2008 - World Hockey Tournament: see http://www.worldclass-hockey.com/Austria.htm

(Source: Custos Cav. H. Scholz)

Attractions

St. Hippolyte's Church

Tower of the church

Within St. Hippolyte's Church are the oldest known building remnants of the Pinzgau region. The church is built in a mostly Romanesque style and consists of three naves. Before 1794, the central nave was crowned with a Gothic vault, but in that year it was replaced with another vault, which in turn was replaced by a flat wooden roof in 1898. Four steps lead up to the main altar, but the crypt has been filled in. The narthex and aisles are still Gothic, but some of the other Gothic objects (like the neogothic altars by Josef Bachlehner) were added during the renovation in 1898, when also the baroque furnishings of preceding centuries were removed.

The highpoint of the church is its elevated walkway with its ornate parapet, built in 1514. The walkway rests on four carved columns of precious marble, in between which an intricate net-vault is spun. The three pointed arches are crowned with crockets, and end in pointed towers. Between the arches are Gothic baldachins with cut-out figures of St. Hippolyte and St. Florian, originating from 1520.

St. Hippolyte's Church

The tower is the main focus of the Zell am See skyline. It has a height of 36 metres (118 ft). The strong walls have a limestone exterior.

From 1660 until 1670, the main altar was replaced by a Baroque one, which was removed again in 1760. Almost none of the Baroque furnishings of the church remain apart from some adornments. Two Baroque statues ended up in the church of Prielau. Next to the main altar are two statues dating from 1480: St. Rupert and St. Vigilius. The side altar contains an image of the Virgin Mary from the now non-existent Church of Maria Wald, which dates from 1540. The left nave has a small altar dedicated to St. Sebastian in its apsis.

The Grand Hotel Zell am See is situated in a unique position on a private peninsula right at the shore of Lake Zell - this large chalet is surrounded by water with a panoramic view of the mountains.

Education

In Zell am See there are 3 elementary schools, one high school, one special school, one vocational school, one grammar school, one commercial academy and a commercial school:

• Volksschule Zell am See
• Volksschule Schüttdorf
• Volksschule Thumersbach
• Hauptschule Zell am See
• Allgemeine Sonderschule
• Polytechnische Schule Zell am See
• Landesberufsschule Zell am See
• Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Zell am See
• Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule

Film shootings in Zell am See

• 1944/45: Film Ein Mann gehört ins Haus directed by Hubert Marischka.
• 1963: Film Allotria in Zell am See directed by Franz Marischka.
• 2001: Film Band of Brothers (TV miniseries) Part Ten - Points, directed by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

See also

• Salzburgerland
• Salzburg
• Pinzgauer Lokalbahn

External links

• Tourist Board of Zell am See