Zillertal

The Zillertal is a side valley of the Inn in Tyrol, Austria drained by the River Ziller. It is surrounded by the Zillertaler Alpen, Kitzbüheler Alpen and Tuxer Alpen, many of which are strongly glaciated. The largest settlement is Mayrhofen.

The earliest occupants of the Zillertal were the Illyrians in the 6th Century AD, a tribe from the Balkan Peninsula who were absorbed by the Bavarians (Baiuvarii).

889 The earliest written record of the Zillertal, when Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria granted land to Pilgrim, Archbishop of Salzburg in the "Cilarestal". Ownership of the valley was divided along the River Ziller. Even today this division is visible, as churches on the right bank of the river have green towers and belong to Salzburg Diocese, while churches on the left bank have red towers and belong to Innsbruck Diocese.

1248 - Land west of the Ziller aquired by the Counts of Tyrol

1290 to 1380 - Lands east of the Ziller pledged as security to the Counts of Tyrol by the Lords of Rattenberg

1504 - Zillertal was aquired for the Tyrol by Maximillian 1, in addition to Rattenberg, Kufstein and Kitzbuhel.

1512 - Black Death in the Zillertal.

1781 - Emperor Joseph II abolished serfdom in Austria, and the Toleranzpatent allowed other religions, but was opposed in the Tyrol.

1809 - The "Tyrol Freedom Fight" and Andreas Hofer.

  6 Feb 1809  Bayern troops occupied Zell and Mayrhofen  
  14 May 1809  Battle of the Zillerbrucke  
  Oct 1809  Treaty of Schoenbrunn, Austria sacrifices the Tyrol to Napoleon    
  8 Nov 1809  Andreas Hofer capitulates. The entire Ziller Valley was united with the Tyrol under Bavarian (Napoleonic) rule when was abandoned by Austria.
 

1815 - The Congress of Vienna restored the Tyrol to Austria, but excluded the Zillertal.

1816 - Emperor Francis I decreed that the Zillertal would be ceded to the Tyrol

1817 - Emperor Francis I visited the Zillertal.

1837, 427 inhabitants of Zillertal were deported to Liegnitz (now Legnica in western Poland) because of their opposition to the practice of auricular confession. The event is documented in Felix Mitterer's Play, "Verloren Heimat". While 65 houses were provided for these people, many didn't stay, but moved to other parts of the world. A group subsequently emmigrated to the Lake Llanquihue area of Chile where their decendants continue the Alpine traditions.

Adolph Kolping as a youth hiked the length of the valley and described the trip in his diaries, dated 6 September 1841.

1902 - The Zillertal Bahn was built and is still in continuous use.

1914 - The Furst von Auersperg built the hunting lodge at Ginzling.

1916 - Visited and mentioned by D.H.Lawrence in his book Twilight in Italy.