!!!Tirol
Tyrol (Tirol): area 12,648 km%%sup 2/%; pop. 631,410;
population (1991) density: 50 per km%%sup 2/%; capital: Innsbruck;
number of houses: 138,537; 1 statutory town, 8 political districts, 15
court districts, 279 municipalities (11 towns and 18 market towns),
supreme provincial court in Innsbruck.
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''Geographical position:'' Tirol originated as a family name, derived
from a castle near Merano; it is bordered by the provinces Salzburg
and Carinthia on the east, by South Tirol/Alto Adige (Italy) on the
south, by Switzerland (the Grisons) and Voralberg on the west and by
Germany (Bavaria) on the north. Since the Treaty of Saint-Germain
(1919) it has consisted of North Tyrol (10.628 km%%sup 2/%, pop.
583,072) and East Tyrol (2020 km%%sup 2/%, pop. 48,338);
these two parts, however, are separated from each other by South
Tyrol (Bozen/Bolzano), connected by corridor traffic from Innsbruck
via Franzensfeste to Lienz which was established in the Paris
Agreement with Italy in 1946. A peculiar feature until Austria´s
accession to the European Union in 1995 was the customs exclave of
Jungholz at the north-western tip of Tirol, which is surrounded by
Bavarian territory.
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''Landscape:'' In the Early Middle Ages Tirol was called "land in
the mountains" which is a perfect description of the geographical
position of this Alpine country with its many mountain passes.
Tirol´s political and geographical importance has always been
determined by the accessibility of its Alpine passes. The lowest
passes of the Eastern Alps (Brenner Pass (1,370 m) and Reschen
Pass (1,504 m)) have been used as traffic links between Central
Europe and the Mediterranean since Roman times. Tirol also served as
the most important traffic link between the Eastern and the Western
hereditary lands of the Habsburgs.
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North Tirol is situated between the Northern and the Central Alps and
is traversed from southwest to northeast by the River Inn. The North
Tirolean limestone chains (Lechtal Alps, Mieming Mountains, Karwendel
Mountains, Rofan Mountains and the Kaisergebirge Mountains) are up to
3,000 m high, only thinly populated and characterized by abundant
pastures, woods and game. Between these limestone chains there are
three passes (Fern Pass (1,216 m), Seefelder Sattel Pass
(1,185 m) and Achen Pass (940 m)), which lead from the Inn
Valley down to the Bavarian Alpine foreland. The Ausserfern and the
Lech Valley are situated to the west of the Fern Pass. The main
railway lines and roads go from Kufstein to the Brenner and Arlberg
passes (1,793 m). In the south the Silvretta mountain (more than
3,000 m), the Oetztal Alps, the Stubai Alps and the Zillertal
Alps form the massive mountain chains of the Central Alps (gneiss,
slate): These are higher and more massive than the Northern Limestone
Alps and many of them have glaciers and are rich in woods and
pastures. The ranges of the Central Alps are often broken up by wide,
more densely populated lateral valleys, which were formed in the
glacial age and contain large tracts of arable land. These lateral
valleys are: the uppermost part of the Inn Valley, the Oetz Valley,
the Wipp Valley, the Ziller Valley and the valley of the Kitzbueheler
Ache river. Lake Achensee is Tirol´s largest and deepest lake,
the Gepatsch Glacier is the largest glacier in Tirol and the second
largest (17 km%%sup 2/%) and longest glacier (9.2 km) of the
Eastern Alps. East Tirol is situated in southwest Austria to the south
of the massive Alpine spur and takes in the uppermost reaches of the
Drau valley, the Isel valley and the Lienz basin. In the north the
fissured hanging glaciers of the massive mountain range of the Hohe
Tauern (composed of gneiss and slate) and the Venediger Mountains and
the Grossglockner Mountain (3,798 m) form a natural boundary with
the province of Salzburg. The Defereggen Mountains and the Schober
Mountains rise to the north of Lienz and to the south of the
Grossglockner Mountains area. The wooded Defereggen Mountains are
smaller than the peaks of the Hohe Tauern range. To the south of the
Drau valley and the fertile Lienz basin rise the imposing peaks and
the great rock walls of the Lienz Dolomites and the long straggling
chain of the Carnic Alps composed of slate.
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''Climate:'' North Tirol has a temperate climate, consistent with its
position to the north of the Central Alps at the western edge of
Central Europe with the Mediterranean to its south. The climate in the
Northern Limestone Alps is cool with a high precipitation level. The
Inn Valley and its lateral valleys are characterized by an Alpine
climate with lower precipitation levels and warm Foehn winds that
come from the south, in winter the climate is sometimes influenced by
Inversion. East Tirol has long and colder winters than North Tirol but
the summers are warmer with a higher level of precipitation.
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''Population:'' With a share of 8.1 per cent of Austria´s
population Tirol is the country´s fifth largest province.
Between 1981 and 1991 the population increased by 7.6 per cent
(which is the third highest population growth after Salzburg and
Voralberg); the population increase between 1971-1991 amounted to
87,000. Tirol has the second largest proportion of children in the
population (19.3 %, the average for all the 9 provinces is
17.4 %). The most densely populated area is the district of
Innsbruck-Land (141,334 people, 22.4 %). The areas with the
lowest population density are the districts of Landeck (40,207) and
Reutte (29,140). 87 % of the people in Tirol are Roman Catholics,
the largest percentage of Catholics in all the 9 provinces (about
78 % of Austria´s total population are Catholics); about
15,200 (2.4 %) people are Protestant and about 14,800
(2.3 %) are Muslims; about 13,400 (2.1 %) are members of
other churches (mainly of East and Southeast European Orthodox
churches); about 3 % do not belong to any denomination.
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Folk culture and folk art are richly represented in Tirol. The various
traditions and customs of all the peoples that came into the country
on the one hand and distinct cultural developments in many of Tirol's
secluded valleys on the other led to a great variety of influence in
art and culture and especially in folk art. A special position in
Tirolean architecture is occupied by the farmhouse or farmstead: the
prevailing type of farmstead is the single-building farmstead (Einhof)
which can be subdivided into two main forms and various transitional
forms. The largest area in which almost only Einhof farmsteads are
found is the middle Inn Valley ("Mittertennhof") and the
lower Inn Valley ("Unterlaender Einhof"). The Einhof
farmstead is also very common in the upper Inn Valley up to Landeck,
the Ausserfern, the lower parts of the side valleys and the Kitzbuehel
area. The style of Zwiehof farmsteads, which are predominant in East
Tirol and in the westernmost part of Tirol (in the district of
Landeck), is strongly influenced by the Rhaeto-Romanic building
tradition. Even more important differences are revealed if the
comparison is not confined to farmstead and living area ground plans
but also considers the use of different building materials and rules
of succession; in this respect the Inn Valley can be divided into an
eastern and a western part, the boundary being the area in which the
Ziller Valley enters the Inn Valley. The farmsteads in the western
part are stone structures with oriels, further east the prevailing
types are buildings built of brick at least up to the gable and a
ground plan with a lateral hall, they are rather small due to the
rules of succession, which required the property to be shared equally
among the children; the farmsteads in the eastern parts are wooden
structures, sometimes with a ground floor built of brick; all of them
have carved wooden balconies and balustrades and have a ground plan
with a central hall separating the kitchen from a rural type of
parlour (Stube). In this region the succession rules provided that the
farm estate should be not divided but left to one of the offspring,
accordingly these farmsteads are often large-scale holdings.
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''Agriculture:'' Tirol was originally a land of peasants. Today,
however, industry and trade, tourism and the energy sector play a
major role. Agriculture and forestry have always been determined by a
large proportion of non-arable land (26.6 %), large areas of wood
(36.4 %), pastures and meadows (34.5 %), Alpine Pasture
Husbandry) and by a small share of arable fields (1.0 %). In 1998
Tirol had 13,559 mountain farmers; 22 % of these mountain farmers
in the second, 36 % in the third and 23 % in the fourth
handicapped zone (EU classification). The most prominent breeds of
cattle are the Brown Swiss and the Simmental cattle.
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''Economy:'' Tirolean industries make a major contribution to the
gross domestic product of the country, their share is higher than that
of trade and tourism. In 1997 a production value of more than
51 billion ATS was reached by 505 companies with 32,189
employees in various industrial branches. The glass and chemical
industry had the biggest share (24.9 %), followed by the iron and
metal working industry (17 %), the food, beverages and tobacco
industry (9.6 %) and the textile and clothing industry
(6.2 %). In some branches substantial structural changes have
been made in the last thirty years: Between 1964 and 1993 there were
no major changes in the wood working industry and the food, beverages
and tobacco industry. Production values did, however, increase greatly
in the glass and chemical industries (1964-1997 from 15 % to
24 %) and substantially decreased in various other industries: in
the textile and clothing industry from 21 % to 6 %
(1964-1997) and in mining and the stone industry from 14 % to
7 %. In the mid 1990s the share of exports was more than
60 % of the production value. In 1995 the highest percentages in
exports were those of the iron and steel working industry (40 %),
followed by the glass and chemical industry (31 %). The district
with the highest real net output is Innsbruck-Land, followed by
Kufstein, Reutte, Schwaz and Lienz. The most important areas with iron
and steel working industries are Fulpmes, Schwaz, Stans, Hall, Anras,
Imst, Innsbruck, Kufstein and Abfaltersbach. Mechanical and structural
steel engineering is situated in Innsbruck, Vils, Lechaschau,
Kufstein, Kirchbichl, Telfs and Lienz; the Jenbacher Werke AG is one
of Tirol´s biggest producers, it produces locomotives, railways
carriages, motors and electrical units. The Tiroler Roehren- und
Metallwerke AG situated at Hall is Austria´s largest foundry.
One of the largest private entrepreneurs in Austria is the Plansee
Group in Reutte. Important chemical industries are situated in Kundl,
Fieberbrunn, Absam, Schaftenau, Innsbruck, Voels, Erpfendorf, Schwaz
and Kufstein; the company Biochemie GmbH in Kundl is Austria´s
largest producer of antibiotics. Donau Chemie AG in Landeck produces
acetyline stones and the Simmerwerke W. Simmer
GmbH & Co KG in Kufstein produce radial packing rings,
conical nipples, packing collars and high-grade rubber-metal
connections. The food, beverages and tobacco industries play an
important role in the province´s economy; and the biggest
companies in this branch are in Innsbruck, Schwaz, Hall, Kufstein,
Oberhofen and Stans. The most important companies in the paper and
wood working industries are: Papierfabrik Wattens GmbH (one of the
world´s biggest producers of cigarette paper), and the Fritz
Egger GmbH (largest producer of chipboards in Central Europe) situated
in St. Johann in Tirol. Tirol´s biggest company is
Swarovski & Co. (glass industry), consisting of
TYROLIT-Schleifmittelwerke in Schwaz, a glass grinding factory in
Wattens and an optical factory in Absam. The main mineral resources
found in Tirol are magnesite (Fieberbrunn), oil shale
(Karwendelgebirge Mountains), copper (Brixlegg), lime (Inn Valley) and
cement (Kirchbichl, Vils and Eiberg). Tirol relies mostly on its
abundant water power resources and there are many hydro-electric power
stations; Tirol´s main power suppliers are TIWAG (44 power
stations with a total capacity of 1,504 MW in 1998),
Tauernkraftwerke AG (TKW) in the Ziller Valley (subsidiary of
Verbundgesellschaft, 8 power stations with a capacity of 1,056 MW
in 1998), and a large number of communal and private suppliers. In
1997 Tirol had 320 power stations with a total capacity of
2,722 MW. The largest power stations are: the storage power
stations Silz (500 MW) and Kauner Valley (392 MW) owned by
TIWAG and Mayrhofen (345 MW), owned by TKW; also the pump-fed
power stations Haeusling (360 MW) and Rosshag (230 MW) of
TKW and Kuehtai (289 MW), owned by TIWAG.
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''Tourism:'' Tourism plays a major role in almost all Tirolean
villages and towns. Tirol has by far the highest number of overnight
stays of all Austrian provinces (in 1997: about 38 million, the
province of Salzburg being second with 20 million overnight
stays). In 1997 the tourist resorts with the highest numbers of
overnight stays were Soelden (1,726.935), followed by Mayrhofen
(1,191.597), Seefeld (1,162.785), Innsbruck (1,089.435), Ischgl
(960,289) and Neustift im Stubaital (938,829). Other important tourist
resorts are St. Anton, Eben, Kitzbuehel and Wildschoenau. There
are numerous hotels and boarding houses as well as private B&Bs. Five
glaciered regions in the Kauner, Pitz, Oetz, Stubai and Ziller Valleys
offer summer skiing as a special attraction. Some quite extensive
areas of East Tirol form part of the Nationalpark Hohe Tauern. Tirol
is a paradise for climbing and hiking enthusiasts and has about
3,500 km of hiking trails and about 1,500 km alpine mountain
paths.
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''Transport and Communications:'' Tirol is Austria´s transit
country. Not only the trade route from north to south across the Alps
passes through Tirol (Brenner motorway A 13 with the
Europabruecke across the Wipp Valley) but also the west- east traffic
route (along the Inn Valley, Inntal motorway A 12) runs through
Tirol. As far as goods traffic is concerned, the Brenner and the
Inntal motorways are the most used roads in north-south transit
traffic: 75-80 % of the goods traffic in Austria (1997
23.4 million tonnes) use the Brenner pass road, which leads to
major environmental problems in the area (noise, pollution). The
A 12 and A 13 motorways form an axis for European tourist
traffic. Corridor traffic between Salzburg and Tirol cuts across a
stretch of German territory (Berchtesgaden; "kleines deutsches
Eck" - "small German corner"); travellers from
Innsbruck to East Tirol reach their destination via South Tirol
(Italy). The Felbertauern road connects North Tirol (Kitzbuehel) via
the Pinzgau region (Mittersill) with East Tirol (Matrei, Lienz). Tirol
has a large number of mountain railways, ski-lifts and chair-lifts;
the regional airport is at Innsbruck-Kranebitten.
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''Culture:'' Apart form several castles and palaces and the
residential buildings in Innsbruck most buildings of architectural
significance were commissioned by the church. Important pre-Romanesque
architecture (St. Proculus at Naturns, St. Benedict at Mals)
and outstanding Romanesque buildings (Tirol Castle, the castles of
Hocheppan and Sonnenburg, collegiate church at Innichen) are situated
in South Tirol. In North Tirol the collegiate churches and the city
churches in St. Georgenberg-Fiecht, Wilten, Stams and Innsbruck
have been altered in Baroque style. Tirolean art was flourishing in
the late Gothic period: at first in South Tirol (parish churches in
Bolzano and Merano, secular wall paintings in Runkelstein and
Lichtenberg), later in North Tirol (the parish churches in Schwaz,
Imst, Landeck, Hall in Tirol and Kitzbuehel as well as the church near
Kundl (St. Leonhard) are in almost pure Gothic style).
Picturesque town buildings have been preserved in Kitzbuehel,
Rattenberg, Schwaz and Hall in Tirol. One of the most important
artists of the late 15%%sup th/% century was M. Pacher. Italian
architecture had a major influence on Renaissance buildings in Tirol,
e.g. the Goldenes Dachl and the Court Church in Innsbruck and the
castles of Ambras and Tratzberg. At the beginning of the 16%%sup th/%
century Innsbruck became an imperial residence and was made a
focal point for art and culture by Emperor Maximilian I (e.g.
outstanding armourers´ works, as made by the Seusenhofer
family). The finest examples of Baroque architecture in Tirol are the
parish church (Karlskirche) of Volders, the Servite Church in
Rattenberg and the Imperial Castle (Hofburg) in Innsbruck; Rococo
buildings are the basilica in Wilten and the parish church of
Goetzens. The most significant family of architects who shaped the
Baroque architecture of Innsbruck was the family Gump. Tirolean
Baroque painters like P. Troger, A. Zoller, J. J. and
F. A. Zeiller, M. Knoller, J. Schoepf and the Unterperger
family (two brothers) were famous all over Europe. Outstanding
Classicist artists were the sculptor F. A. Zauner, who mainly
worked in Vienna and the landscape painter J. A. Koch (working
in Rome); the leading genre painter of the 19%%sup th/% century
was F. Defregger, who greatly influenced A. Egger-Lienz. Today the
Tirolean association of artists ("Tiroler Kuenstlerschaft")
has about 380 members. The most important architects of the
20%%sup th/% century are L. Welzenbacher and C. Holzmeister;
outstanding painters are M. Weiler and P. Flora. A graphic arts
competition has been organised in Innsbruck every two years since
1952. The abundant variety of folk art is an important contribution to
Tirolean art: wood carvings, frescoes, shrines, waycrosses, engraved
plates in Tirolean guesthouses Rustic furniture (Alpbach, Ziller
Valley), masks and models of Nativity Scenes.
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The famous medieval poets Walther von der Vogelweide, Oswald von
Wolkenstein and several other poets and writers of later periods had
their roots in Tirol: A. Pichler, C. Dallago, F. Kranewitter, K.
Schoenherr, S. Rieger, known as Reimmichl, J. Leitgeb and the
literary circle around L. Ficker, who published the cultural journal
"Der Brenner". F. Mitterer is one the most important
contemporary authors in Tirol and his plays are very popular in
Germany as well as in Austria.
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Among the literary documents that originated in Tirol were the
Abrogans (the oldest Latin-German dictionary), the Ambraser
Heldenbuch, the epics about Dietrich von Bern (Theoderic the Great) (
Dietrich Epics), the legends around King Laurin and many medieval
Easter plays, Passion Plays and Fastnachtsspiele (Carnival Plays),
some of which are still performed today: the Passionsspiele in
Thiersee and Erl, open-air performances in Rattenberg, Kufstein and
Elbigenalp; the tradition of folk plays is still alive at Telfs and
was long influenced by the Exl-Buehne theatre.
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Sacred and secular music was already cultivated in the Middle Ages at
the Court in Innsbruck and in Tirolean monastery schools. The Baroque
tradition of music and opera in Innsbruck has been revived by two
festivals: the "Ambraser Schlosskonzerte"( regular concerts
at Ambras Castle) founded in 1963 and the "Festwochen der Alten
Musik" (Festival of Early Music) founded in 1977. Today there are
180 choirs (with more than 8,000 members) and several folk song groups
often consisting of members of one family. Some of these choirs
("Walther von der Vogelweide") and folk music groups
("Volkssaengergruppen") are internationally famous and also
perform in other countries. A competition of folk music
("Alpenlaendischer Volksmusikwettbewerb") has been organised
in Innsbruck every two years since 1974. In villages more than 300
brass bands, 255 Schuetzenkompanien militia bands and 107 folk
tradition associations contribute to the cultural programmes offered
on church and public feast days. There are still a great variety of
traditional customs in Tirol: Schemenlaufen in Imst, Schellerlaufen
in Nassereith, Schleicherlaufen in Telfs, Blochziehen in Fiss,
Antlassritt in the Brixen Valley, pre-Lenten palm processions and crib
exhibitions.
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The centre of cultural life and scientific development has always been
the provincial capital Innsbruck. Innsbruck is home to the
university, the Tirolean Provincial Museum Ferdinandeum, the Museum
of Tirolean Folk Art and the provincial theatre. The Europaeisches
Forum Alpbach is held in Alpbach every year. Since the seventies there
have been a large number of cultural initiatives which have continued
many aspects of the former Jugendkulturwochen (youth festival) and
which focus on contemporary and alternative art.
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''History:'' Several archeological finds (e.g. "Oetzi"), urn
graves and names for areas, villages and fields deriving from
pre-Roman times suggest that at least the larger Tirolean valleys had
already been settled in pre-historic times. After the Roman Conquest
in 15 B.C., the area to the south of Thinnebach stream near
Klausen/Saeben (Chinsa all´ Isarco) in the Eisack Valley and
south of the Toell river near Merano in the Adige valley belonged to
the Italian Municipium Tridentum (Trento); the Puster Valley (Val
Pusteria) to the east of the Muehlbach Klause together with the
Municipium Aguntum (to the east of Lienz) was made part of interior
Noricum; the area to the east of the mouth of the Ziller stream
belonged to Noricum Ripense and the area to the west and to the north
of the Thinnebach stream and to the north of the Toell stream became
part of Vindelicia and Raetia ( Roman Era). After the collapse of the
Roman Empire and the end of the migration of the Germanic peoples the
Bavarians, who invaded the area from the north in the 6%%sup th/%
century forced back the Slavs, who came from the southeast, up
to the Lienz Gorge; the Bavarians had already claimed the territory up
to Salurn/Salorno from the Romanized Lombard kingdom. However, in some
valleys (in the upper Vintschgau/Val Venosta, in the Engadin and the
valleys in the Dolomites) the speakers of Rhaeto-Romanic and Ladin
dialects managed to retain their lands, Tirol came under Frankish
rule, when both the Lombard kingdom (in 773/774) and the Bavarian
duchy (788) were conquered by Charlemagne.
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The first period of Christianisation began in the 5%%sup th/%
century, it spread from the south and Trento and was related
with the founding of the first bishop´s see at Saeben Castle,
The second period of Christianisation was introduced by the Bavarians:
In 769 Duke Tassilo III founded the monastery in Innichen/San
Candido as a base from which to convert the Slavs. With the renewal of
the Holy Roman Empire by Charlemagne (in 800) and by Otto I (in
962) and their intensified campaigns and advances towards Rome, the
Tirolean lands and especially the passes, were again of great
political interest: In 1004 and 1027 the counties of Trient/Trento,
Bozen/Bolzano and Vintschgau/Val Venosta were granted to the Bishop of
Trent; in 1027 the county Norital, from the Thinnebach stream across
the Brenner pass to the Ziller stream, and in 1091 the county of the
Puster Valley (Val Pusteria) were granted to the Bishop of
Brixen/Bressanone; the old system of churches directly subordinated to
the Emperor (which was in force up to the Investiture controversy)
still prevailed and the investiture of bishops loyal to the Empire was
intended to help the Emperor to keep free access to the most important
passes. The bishops needed secular authorities (advocati or landvogts)
to be responsible for defending the territories and for carrying out
justice and interpreting the law. The high nobility of Tirol was
entrusted with this hereditary authority. After many, sometimes
violent, conflicts Albert III, the last of the Tirolean Counts
(d. 1253), was able to unite the duchies of Trent and Brixen and
thus give an extensive territory his name and coat of arms (1248).
After Albert´s death the possessions were divided into two parts
and given to his sons-in-law, but this division did not last long:
Meinhard II of Goerz (1259-1295) re-united the territories and
even enlarged his domains mainly to the northwest ( Meinhardiner).
Meinhard II established a new administrative system and divided the
country into judicial districts (in the context of a systematic policy
of founding towns), which have continued to this day. In 1271 he had
to share the inherited territories in Tirol and Goerz with his brother
Albert and divided them along the Muehlbach Klause at the Western end
of the Puster Valley. After the death of Meinhard´s three sons
his granddaughter Margarete Maultasch inherited the county of Tirol.
After the death of her second husband, Ludwig of the House of
Wittelsbach (d. 1361), and her son Meinhard III
(d. January, 1363), Margaret made over the county of Tirol
to her Habsburg cousins Rudolf IV, Albrecht III and
Leopold III; the transfer document was witnessed by one
representative of the churches, one of the burghers and 12 noblemen,
the first evidence of the growing influence of the Estates, who were
to become an important element in provincial politics by the first
half of the 15%%sup th/% century. Duke Frederick IV
("with empty pockets") (1406-1439) abolished serfdom and the
peasants began to form the fourth Estate. He moved his seat from
Merano to Innsbruck and although Merano remained the formal capital up
to 1848, Innsbruck became the ducal residence and administrative
centre of Tirol. Under the rule of Maximillian I (in Tirol from
1490-1519) Tirolean territories were further expanded by inheritance,
which led to the addition of part of the territory of Goerz (Puster
Valley, district of Lienz), by the incorporation of the Bavarian
judicial districts of Rattenberg, Kufstein and Kitzbuehel in the war
of the Bavarian Succession (1504-1505) and by the conquested areas
called the "welsche Confinen" to the south of Trento and
Cortina d´Ampezzo at the end of the Venetian War (1516). After
negotiations with the Tirolean Estates, a decree known as the Tiroler
Landlibell was issued, which provided for the defence of the enlarged
territories, and this remained in force (with some reforms) until
1918. This decree was very important in the wars of 1632, 1703,
1796/1797, 1809 ( Tirol´s Fight for Freedom), 1848, 1859 and in
World War I (1915-1918).
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When the spiritual principalities were secularised in1803, the
principalities of Brixen and Trent, which had only been federated with
Tirol, were made part of its territory. From 1805/1806 to 1814, in the
Napoleonic Wars, Tirol was incorporated in Bavaria, between 1810-1813
the area to the south of Klausen/Chinsa and Merano was ceded to Italy
and the area to the east of the Toblacher Feld plain (Dabbiaco) became
part of the Illyric provinces of France (re-united with Tirol in
1813/1814). The last territorial expansion was in 1816 when the Ziller
Valley, the Itter-Hopfgarten and Windisch-Matrei domains (today Matrei
in East Tirol) were separated from the Principality of Salzburg and
incorporated into Tirol. In the 19%%sup th/% century the Brenner
and the Arlberg railways were built (1856-1884) which gave a major
impetus to the early phase of industrialisation and tourism. Innsbruck
was made the provincial capital in the new provincial Constitution of
1849 and became an international traffic junction and the economic
centre of the area.
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After the First World War, under the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
(1919) Tirolean territory to the south of the Brenner pass was ceded
to Italy and became South Tyrol. Not only the territory but also the
diocese of Brixen/Bressanone was divided and the part remaining in
Austria was changed into an Apostolic Administration; the diocese of
Innsbruck, which encompassed the territory up to the Ziller stream in
the east, was established in 1964, and Voralberg was given its own
diocese (Feldkirch) in1968. In the First Republic the Christian
Socialists were the dominant political party and the Social Democrats
were only of minor importance; of the armed militias, the
Christian-Socialist Heimwehr was the only one of importance;
nevertheless, political strife led to armed conflict at Woergl in
February 1934. Many impoverished mountain farmers emigrated because of
the difficult economic situation ( Dreizehnlinden); growing tourism
was severely handicapped by the German Tausend-Mark-Sperre. The
National Socialist Regime incorporated Voralberg into Tirol and East
Tirol into Carinthia in 1938. The discrimination against Catholic
church (schools were closed) and the fact that South Tirol remained
with Italy led to considerable resistance. At the end of 1943
Innsbruck, Hall and Woergl were attacked by allied bombs. Innsbruck
was occupied by American occupying forces on May 3, 1945.
North Tirol became part of the French occupying zone and East Tirol
part of the British zone.
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According to the Tirolean ''Landesordnung'' (Constitution) of 1989 as
amended in 1998 the legislative organ in Tirol is the Landtag elected
for a period of five years and consisting of 36 members. The
provincial government has five representatives from the People´s
Party and two representatives of the Social Democrats. Tirol has
13 representatives in the Nationalrat and 4 in the Bundesrat. The
current Landeshauptmann is a member of the People´s Party.
!Literature
Tiroler Wirtschaftsstudien. Schriftenreihe der
Jubilaeumsstiftung der Kammer der gewerblichen Wirtschaft fuer Tirol,
1957ff.; Kammer der gewerblichen Wirtschaft fuer Tirol, report,
1967ff.; Oestereichische Kunsttopographie, vol. 38, 1972,
vol. 45, 1981, and vol. 47, 1986; J. W. Deininger, Das
Bauernhaus in Tirol und Voralberg., 1979 (reprint of the edition of
1902); G. Amman (revised edition), Tirol, Dehio-Handbuch - Die
Kunstdenkmaeler Oe., 1980; O. Stolz, Rechtsgeschichte des
Bauernstandes und der Landwirtschaft in Tirol und Voralberg, 1985; J.
Fontana et al., Geschichte des Landes Tirol, 5 vols.,
1985-1988; F. Achleitner, Oesterreichische Architektur im
20. Jahrhundert, vol. 1: Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Tirol,
Voralberg, 1986; J. Riedmann, Geschichte T., %%sup 2/%1988; Die
Industrie als bedeutender Wirtschaftsfaktor Tirols, ed. by Sektion
Industrie der Tiroler Handelskammer, 1989; F.-H. Hye, Grundzuege der
Tiroler Landesgeschichte, 1989; idem, Das Tiroler Landeswappen, 1989;
G. Kindl, Wirtschaft und Univ. in Tirol, 1991; G. Bodini, Ein Gang
durchs Jahr. Riten und Brauchtum im alten Tirol, 1992; Schaetze des
Tiroler Volkskunstmuseums, 1992; Tiroler Wirtschaftschronik, 1992;
Tirols Industrie 1993, Jahresbericht der Sektion Industrie, ed. by
Kammer der gewerblichen Wirtschaft fuer Tirol, 1994; H. Schreiber,
Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte der Nazizeit in Tirol, 1994; E.
Schubert, Die Gotik in Tirol, 1994; idem, Barock in Tirol, 1994.
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