Ellmau

Ellmau is a municipality in the district of Kufstein in the Austria region of Sölllandl. It can be found 12 km southeast of Kufstein as well as 9 km west of Sankt Johann in Tirol. It is located at an elevation of 820 m above sea level. Population is 2660 on an area of 36.40 km². It was mentioned for the first time in documents in 1155 and is nowadays part of the Ski Welt area. Ellmau is in very picturesque alpine countryside famed for its proximity to the Wilder Kaiser mountains and the steep wooded and meadowed hills to the south. The village is a very popular vacation resort both in winter and summer. The winter offers many winter sports with ideal pistes. and the summer is ideal for walking, mountain biking and mountain climbing.

Geography

Ellmau is located in the Tyrol region of Austria in the Kaisergebirge alps. The high rocky Wilder Kaiser Mountains are to the north of Ellmau, stretching from the Inn valley Kufstein in the west to Sankt Johann in Tirol in the east. South of Ellmau are steep sided rolling hills which border the Brixental valley about 6 km south. These hills are of mainly grassland and pine forest. The grass in places provides for dairy cattle. The geology is of limestone. However due to the large abundance of pine forest the soil type is likely to be acidic free draining peat, to light grey clay-loam, this allows for wild blueberries. On the Wilder Kaiser side is forest surrounded in places by meadow grasslands. Above tree level on the Wilder Kaiser side is scree giving a habitat to alpine flowers such as Edelweiss.

Ellmau with the Wilder Kaiser mountains in the background.

Climate

Winters often bring snow with temperatures around 0 °C to -8 °C at daytime. Spring is mild and damp due to the melting ice and snow. The summers are often hot and sunny although isolated showers and thunderstorms occur from time to time. Temperatures average max 33 °C.

Facilities in Ellmau

St. Micheal's church, Ellmau

Being a popular tourist resort, there are very many hotels and pensions in and around Ellmau many with their own swimming pools. In the centre is a tourist information centre. The village centre has two well stocked supermarkets, various gift shops, banks and several restaurants and cafes. In the winter are numerous ski/snowboard hire shops which also sell accessories and do ski servicing. The summer provides shops selling cycling, walking and some climbing gear. Tennis courts are located in the village. Subways under the main road lead to the Golf course and to the Kaiserbad water park, which has various slides, tennis courts and play equipment .

Lifts

The adjacent hills to the south of Ellmau have several lifts and a railway ascending them. In the winter several Drag Lifts are in operation for skiers going into the lower stage of hills, in addition to smaller nursery slope lifts. The main lifts are open in both summer and winter. The Astberg is located about 1.5 km east from the village, it is a 4 person chair lift going to the top of the Astberg, where there is a cafe. About 2 km to the west of the Village is the Hartkaiser funicular cable railway which ascends the Hartkaiser taking around 7 minutes. The car has several passenger compartments and travels up and down at 30 minute intervals. At the top of the Hartkaiser is a restaurant and park with various interactive exhibits and wood carvings. About 4 km to the west at Scheffau is the Brandstadl Gondellift, which are 4 person cars suspended by cable. 9 km away is the Hohe salve lift which is also a gondellift. You can then take the lift down the other side of the Hohe Salve to Hopfgarten. Individual tickets for these lifts can be bought at the stations or weekly, fortnightly and season passes from tourist information; these cover most lifts in the Skiwelt area. There are no lifts going up the Wilder Kaiser side except for one located in Kufstein. Taxis are available up to the Wochenbrunn from which you need to walk to ascend further.

Surrounding villages and places

In a clockwise direction from the northwest are the following places.

• Scheffau am Wilden Kaiser. This is a small village in the foothills of the Wilder kaiser, it has a few guest houses a shop and cafe. It is also residential.
• Blaiken a small hamlet adjacent to Scheffau located next to the Bransdadl gondellift.
• Auwald. A mostly residential hamlet.
• Sonnseit.
• Going. A moderate sized village with a church various hotels and pensions, a few shops and restaurants. Going is located near the Asberg chair lift.
• Stanglwirt. Large hotel is located here.
• Prama. Mainly residential and farming.
• Sankt Johann in Tirol. This is a large town on the bottom of Kitzbuhel Horn. There is a large shopping area, with many gift shops and a retail park on outside of town. The town has a railroad station and bus terminus. There is a hospital in the town. There is also a general aviation airfield. The town also has a brewery where Huber beer is made.
• Reith bei Kitzbühel. A small village to the south east of Ellmau. It is visible below from the Asberg.
• Kirchberg in Tirol. A moderately sized village with guesthouses, pensions, and residential.
• Brixen im Thale. A moderate sized village with pensions and schnapps distillery.
• Westendorf. A small resort village in the Brixenthale valley.
• Hopfgarten im Brixental. Village located at southside of hohe salve. Can be reached by chairlift from Söll.
• Söll. Resort village located to west of Ellmau. It has some shops cafes, hotels and is located near the Hohe Salve gondellift, from where you can reach Hopfgarten.

Road Links and Transport

Ellmau is well served by good roads, linking to the European road network. The village is located to the south side of highway B178 which bypasses the village, and travels east toward Sankt Johann in Tirol where it continues north east to Lofer and Salzburg or joins the B170 south to Zell Am See and Carinthia. Highway B178 also goes west to Kufstein and Innsbruck. The nearest Autobahn is located at Kufstein and heads north towards Germany and Munich or south west towards Innsbruck and Italy. The nearest mainline railroad stations are in Sankt Johann in Tirol with services throughout Austria and further. And also Kufstein with services to Germany and Italy. The nearest Airports are Salzburg Airport and Innsbruck Airport which offer both scheduled and holiday charter flights around Europe and also inland flights. Munich Airport offers long haul flights to the United States of America, Asia in addition to European flights.

Ellmau is connected to the local bus network with services to Kufstein and Sankt Johann in Tirol, the west bound bus to Kufstein goes via the village of Söll. In the summer and winter tourist seasons there are special buses going between Going, Stanglwirt, Scheffau am Wilden Kaiser, Blaiken and Söll (Hohe Salve), ideal for skiers or summer hikers.

External links

• Additional information on Ellmau