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'Kitzbühel' is a medieval city in Tyrol, Austria, situated along the river Kitzbühler Ache. It is the administrative center of the district (''Bezirk'') Kitzbühel.

Contents

History

People

Tourism

Transport

Twin towns

External links

History

The first known settlers, who surfaced between 1100 BC and 800 BC were Illyrians mining copper in the hills near Kitzbühel.
Around 15 BC the Roman Emperor Augustus occupied the Alps and proclaimed the province Noricum. After the fall of the western Roman Empire, Bavarii settled in the Kitzbühel region around 800 and started clearing forests.
In the twelfth century the name ''Chizbuhel'' is mentioned for the first time in a document of the Chiemsee monastery. ''Chizzo'' relates to a Bavarii clan, ''Bühel'' describes the location of the settlement upon a hill.
Kitzbühel became part of Upper Bavaria in 1255. Louis II, Duke of Bavaria granted Kitzbühel the rights of a city on June 6 1271, and it was fortified with mighty city walls. During the next centuries the city became a center of trade, grew steadily and never was affected by wars. So the city walls were razed at the level of the first floor and used for building new houses.
When Margarete Maultasch married Bavarii Duke Louis V the Brandenburger in 1342, Kitzbühel became part of Tyrol. After the Peace of Schärding (1369) it was given back to Bavaria. On June 30 1504 Kitzbühel became part of Tyrol again when Austrian Emperor Maximilian conquered Kitzbühel and Kufstein.
Maximilian took mortgage on Kitzbühel, and so at the end of sixteenth century it came under the rule of the Counts of Lamberg. On May 1 1840 Kitzbühel was given to the state of Austria in a ceremony.
The wars of the 18. and nineteenth century didn't reach the city, whereas some inhabitants participated in the Tyrolean rebellion against Napoleon. Kitzbühel once more became part of Bavaria after the Treaty of Pressburg, but was reunited with Tyrol after the fall of Napoleon, at the Congress of Vienna.
When Emperor Franz Joseph finally resolved the remaining constitutional uncertainties, and furthermore railway construction of the Salzburg-Tiroler-Bahn was finished in 1875, the city's trade and industry flourished. Also during World War I and World War II Kitzbühel remained far from the areas of war.

People

★ Peter Aufschnaiter (1899-1973), mountaineer and geographer

★ Markus Gandler (born 1966), cross-country skier

★ Christl Haas (1943-2001), alpine skier

★ Ernst Hinterseer (born 1932), alpine skier

★ Hansi Hinterseer (1954), alpine skier and singer

★ Georg Hochfilzer (born 1937), Famous International Hotel Director of the Hotel Bristol in Vienna

★ Jörg Jaksche (born 1976), profesional bicycle racer

★ Hias Leitner (born 1935), alpine skier

★ Anderl Molterer (born 1931), alpine skier

★ Toni Sailer (born 1935), alpine skier

★ Klaus Sulzenbacher (born 1965), Nordic skier

★ Alfons Walde (1891-1958), expressionist painter and architect

Tourism

Kitzbühel is one of Austria's best known and fanciest winter sport resorts, situated between the mountains ''Hahnenkamm'' (1,712 m) and Kitzbühler Horn (1,996 m). The Hahnenkamm is home of the annual world cup ski races, including the circuit's most important event, the downhill race on the famous ''Streif'' slope. During summer time Kitzbühel also hosts an ATP tennis tournament on clay, the Generali Open.
The ''Kitzbüheler Alpenrallye'' is an annual festival of historic automobiles. It was first held in 1988. The first trip of the ''United Buddy Bears'' was 2004 to Kitzbühel, following by the first trip into the "big wide world" - when they went to Hong Kong.
The city is also home to the historic Grand Hotel Kitzbühel, a private resort, training and conference facility led by the worldwide management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Access to the Grand Hotel is generally limited to members and alumni of the firm and their families.
A further sight is the 3S Aerial Tramway, the aerial tramway with the highest span in the world.

Transport

Highway B161, which connects St. Johann in Tirol with Mittersill, passes through Kitzbühel, intersecting here with highway B170 to Wörgl. ''Kitzbühel Hauptbahnhof'', ''Kitzbühel Hahnenkamm'', and ''Kitzbühel Schwarzsee'' are train stops at the Salzburg-Tiroler-Bahn.

Twin towns

Kitzbühel is twinned with

★ Greenwich, Connecticut, United States, since 1961

★ Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan, since 1963

★ Sun Valley, United States, since 1967

★ Sterzing-Vipiteno, Italy, since 1971

★ Rueil-Malmaison, France, since 1979

★ Bad Soden am Taunus, Germany, since 1984

External links

★ Tourist office Kitzbühel

★ Kitzbühel Ski Slopes Photo Gallery

★ Blogs about a 2006 visit to Kitzbuhel

★ Bergbahn Kitzbühel