2024-03-09 06:38:50
The region in Austria
If you look at a map of Austria, East Tyrol is a curious affair, as the region (black on the map) lies without any land connection to the rest of Tyrol (dark gray). The reason for this is the outcome of the First World War: the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria-Hungary had collapsed, and the division of Tyrol was decided in the Treaty of St. Germain in 1919.
South Tyrol and Trentino (marked with dashed lines) fell to Italy, the rest, consisting of two parts, remained with Austria. Since then, East Tyrol has been geographically separated from the Tyrolean motherland by the main Alpine ridge, which belongs to the Salzburger Land, and by South Tyrol.
The region is also often called Mountain Tyrol. That’s fitting, after all, there are a lot of high peaks here. This includes Austria’s highest mountain, the 3,798 meter high Großglockner, which East Tyrol shares with Carinthia. This top position is also thanks to the division, because Austria’s previously highest peak, the 3,905 meter high Ortler, has been in South Tyrol, i.e. in Italy, since 1919.
Source: Infographic WELT
East Tyrol is a tourist destination: in addition to the Lienz Dolomites, the Defereggental, the East Tyrolean part of the Hohe Tauern National Park including the Großglockner, the Hochpustertal and the Villgratental attract visitors. The latter is a side valley of the East Tyrolean Puster Valley and is one of the most pristine natural and cultural landscapes in the Alpine region. Here you can vacation beyond any civilization – even without electricity or water connections.
James Bond’s crash landing in Obertilliach
007 was here. In his role as James Bond for “Spectre” in 2015, Daniel Craig spent three days of filming in and around Obertilliach, where he flew a propeller plane through a mountain farmer’s barn and to Klump and, fortunately, stopped the getaway cars of his evil opponents. Unfortunately, nothing can be seen from the action-packed filming in the East Tyrolean mountain village – the barn, called the Bond House, that was built specifically for the film has been demolished.
During filming for “Spectre”, Daniel Craig, in his role as James Bond, flew a propeller plane through a mountain farm
Quelle: Columbia Pictures/ZUMAPRESS.com/picture alliance
James Bond fans can visit the “007 Elements Adventure World” in Sölden/Tyrol, where “Spectre” was also filmed. While they are capitalizing on the Bond filming there, Obertilliach has completely returned to the tranquil everyday life and gentle nature tourism typical of the village. However, there is one house in the town of 670 that has at least an indirect connection to the film: the „Gasthof Unterwöger“. Daniel Craig didn’t spend the night there, but at least he warmed up and used the toilet during filming.
Quieter than other places in the Alps
East Tyrol is committed to gentle tourism. Here everything is a little smaller, more original and more familiar than in other Alpine resorts that are more focused on Halligalli and crowds of visitors. The advertising slogan “Come to us, we have nothing” fits perfectly. The location on the south side of the Alps promises many sunny days and heavy snowfall, and the ski areas attract children with tariffs up to their 18th birthday.
There are around 30 toboggan runs in East Tyrol
Source: TVB Osttirol/Berg in the picture
Beyond the few pistes, there are primarily quiet winter sports options, from snowshoeing to ice climbing to sleigh rides. There are around 30 toboggan runs in East Tyrol. Most are between one and three kilometers long, many are winding, some are lit at night.
More tips for East Tyrol:
Sillian offers a really long toboggan run when there is good snow: it is exactly 7.2 kilometers from the Leckfeldalm down into the valley, with an altitude difference of 770 meters. However, there is no lift to the starting point – before you can have sledding fun you have to trudge up to the Alm for two and a half hours.
The donuts almost slide into your mouth on their own
Potatoes and pasta combined in one dish: this is what the East Tyrolean Schlipfkrapfen offer. These are crescent-shaped pasta pockets filled with potatoes, herbs and spices.
Schlipfkrapfen are served with melted butter
Quelle: picture alliance/imageBROKER/Christian Peters
In Tyrol, donuts generally stand for anything filled – whether sweet or savory. In High German, Schlipfen means something like slipping or sliding – and the finished dumplings, which are served with melted butter, actually slide from the fork into the mouth almost by themselves.
The stone pine feels at home in East Tyrol
The stone pine, also known as Swiss stone pine, can withstand minus 40 degrees. The conifer, which is widespread in East Tyrol, prefers to grow at altitudes of 1,300 to 2,850 meters, is up to 25 meters high and up to 1,000 years old. Due to the extreme climatic conditions in the high mountains, the stone pine is particularly resilient and its wood is in demand. Carpenters use it for furniture that smells of mountain forest for years to come thanks to the essential oils it contains.
A stream babbles through the Patscher Valley in East Tyrol’s Defereggental
Source: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-ZB/Patrick Pleul
We recommend a walk through the Oberhauser pine forest in the Defereggental valley: on the nature and cultural trail set up there, hikers can inhale pine oil and enjoy a wide Eastern Alpine panorama from the Oberhaus observation tower.
The quote
„Bittschian ruck an Orsch vo“
In the East Tyrolean dialect of the Alta Pusteria, you ask someone to make some space, literally: “to move your ass forward”. The robust expression is typical of the country; from a linguistic point of view, the dialect belongs to South Bavarian. The term “Bavarian” does not refer to the Free State of Bavaria, but to the old Bavarian tribe, who were also at home in what is now East Tyrol.
There, a local dialect with its own flavor is spoken in each valley, with formulations that often sound strange to High German ears. The East Tyroleans sum up the situation with “desch a Tschatsch,” which means something like: “It’s complicated.”
Bizarre, record-breaking, typical: You can find further parts of our regional studies series here.
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