holiday, resort, holiday village, holiday resorts, holiday tourism

Kufstein is an old Tirolese border town in the lower Inn valley, situated at the point where the river cuts its way through the Alps between the Kaisergebirge in the east and the truncated cone of Pendling in the southwest. Possession of the town was much disputed during the Middle Ages, and the imposing stronghold of Feste Kufstein was built

here. Kufstein is now a popular holiday resort, with attractive lake scenery in the surrounding area as well as good walking and climbing in the Kaisergebirge. It plays an important part in trade and traffic between Bavaria and Tirol.

A stroll through the town is very rewarding. Parts still remain of the old town walls, including the moated bastion. Römerhofgasse is a delightful part of the old town of Kufstein. From there the lively Unterer Stadtplatz, with the Marienbrunnen (fountain with a statue of Our Lady), extends over the River Inn. Near the Unterer Stadtplatz stand the Rathaus and the parish church of St Vitus, a Late Gothic hall-church built in 1400 on the site of an earlier Gothic church. Not far from the Rathaus will be found a Planetarium, the only one in Tirol.

Klagenfurt, capital of Carinthia, lies on the edge of the wide Klagenfurt basin, which is bounded on the south by the wooded ridge of the Sassnitz range, with the Karawanken rearing up behind. Although Klagenfurt is an important traffic junction and a busy industrial and commercial town, it has an attractive old quarter with picturesque little
lanes and historic old buildings. It is also now a university town. Founded about 1161 as a market village, Klagenfurt was granted its municipal charter in 1252. The old town was destroyed by fire in 1514, whereupon the provincial Estates of Carinthia petitioned the Emperor Maximilian I to grant them possession of the now impoverished little town. It was duly transferred to them in 1518, and Klagenfurt then displaced St Veit an der Glan as capital of the province and began to expand. Between 1527 and 1558 a canal was constructed to supply water for the moat surrounding the town, and this still links Klagenfurt with the Wörther See. The line of the old fortifications is marked by a circuit of streets, the Ring, around the old part of the town, which today has many parks and gardens. Klagenfurt is the birthplace of Robert Musil (1880-1942), who became world-famous for his novel "The Man without Qualities", and of Ingeborg Bachmann (1926-73), well known for her lyric writings. A literary competition is held every year in Klagenfurt.

Kitzbühel, one of the largest and best-known winter sports resorts in Austria, lies in a wide basin in the valley of the Kitzbüheler Ache, at the foot of the Kitzbüheler Horn, on the busy road from St Johann to the Thurn Pass. Kitzbühel rose to prosperity in the 16th and 17th C., thanks to its copper and silver mines. It is now a fashionable
resort ("Kitz") catering to an international public. Kitzbühel and the surrounding countryside are excellent for skiing, and there are also tennis courts and three golf courses. Various events are held every year, including the International Hahnenkamm Ski Races in January.

The old core of the town, built on a long ridge of hill, consists of two streets with handsome old gabled houses, the Vorderstadt and the Hinterstadt. Many of the houses and other buildings are in the typical style of the Lower Inn valley.

Innsbruck, the old provincial capital of Tirol, lies in the wide Inn valley at the intersection of two important traffic routes, between Germany and Italy and between Vienna and Switzerland. From all over the city there are vistas of the ring of mountains which rear up above the gentler terraces of lower ground on which it lies. To the north

rise the jagged peaks of the Nordkette (North Chain), in the Karwendel range; to the south, above the wooded Bergisel ridge, the Saile (2,403m/7,887ft) and the Serles group (2,718m/8,920ft); and to the southeast, above the Lanser Köpfe, the rounded summit of the Patscherkofel (2,247m/7,375ft), so popular with skiers. Innsbruck still preserves its medieval core, the historic old town with its narrow, twisting streets and tall houses in Late Gothic style, many of them with handsome oriel windows and fine doorways. The newer parts of the town lie outside this central nucleus, particularly to the east and north. New sports facilities were built for the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympic Games, and these are now the scene every year of national and international sporting contests. Innsbruck is a university town and the see of a bishop, but also has a variety of industry and holds regular trade fairs. Thanks to the mountains which shelter it from the north winds it benefits from a mild climate and is the major tourist center of Tirol. Bronze Age remains found here point to the establishment of human settlement on the site at a very early stage. Evidence has also been found of later occupation by the Illyrians and the Romans. Soon after the beginning of the Christian era a small Roman fort (Veldidena) was established in the plain bordering the river, but this was later destroyed. The site was occupied in the 12th C. by a monastery of Premonstratensian Canons, which took over the Roman name in the form Wilten. The real foundation of the town dates from 1180, when the Count of Andechs established a market settlement at a bridge over the river (Innspruke, "Inn bridge"). In 1239 Innsbruck was granted the status of a town, and thereafter it was surrounded by walls and towers. In 1363 it passed to a junior branch of the Habsburgs, and from 1420 to 1665 was a ducal residence. Under the Emperor Maximilian I (1490-1519) it became an administrative capital and a focal point for art and culture. At the first population census in 1567 it numbered 5,050 citizens. The university was founded in 1669. In 1703 the Bavarians tried unsuccessfully to take Innsbruck and the whole of Tirol, but under pressure from Napoleon Tirol was ceded to Bavaria in 1806. Later, in spite of a successful war of liberation and victories in battles on the Bergisel (1809, under the leadership of Andreas Hofer), Tirol was again returned to Bavaria. The Congress of Vienna (1814-15), however, assigned it to Austria, and Innsbruck now became capital of the province of Tirol. The construction of the Brenner railroad (1867) marked the beginning of a period of industrialization and steady growth

Imst, an ancient little town beautifully situated on a terrace above the Inn at the mouth of the Gurgl valley, is the most important road junction on the Innsbruck-Landeck route and a good base for the Ötztal and Pitztal. The "Schemenlaufen", an interesting and picturesque Shrovetide folk festival, is held every four years. In the old world

Gloggnitz (442m/1,450ft; pop. 6,300) nestles in the Schwarza valley northeast of the Semmering pass. This little town is a popular summer resort, the starting point of the road and railroad over the Semmering and a good base for exploring the Raxalpe and Wechsel area, a mountain range rich in forests and pastureland, which forms the boundary

between Lower Austria and Styria. On the Schlossberg stands Schloss Gloggnitz, a former Benedictine abbey (1084-1803), with remains of 16th C. defensive walls. The Gothic church was remodeled in Baroque style in the 18th C. and given a stucco flat ceiling; also to be seen are a statue of the Virgin (14th C.) and wall paintings from 1597. There is also a modern church, designed by Clement Holzmeister, the Christkönigkirche (Christ the King, 1933)

Feldkirch, the old district capital in Vorarlberg, the most westerly town in Austria, lies some 35km/22mi south of Bregenz, where the Ill carves its way through a rocky gorge from the Wallgau into the Rhine valley. Divided into the districts of Tisis, Tosters and Nofels, it adjoins the Principality of Liechtenstein. Feldkirch is an international