Bichlbach is a municipality in the district of

Reutte Reutte (; Swabian: ) is a market town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative center of the Reutte district (''Districts of Austria''). Reutte is located on the Lech, and has a population of 6704 (as of 2018). Neighbouring munic ...

in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n state of

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Geography

Bichlbach lies at an elevation of in the Zwischentoren, the valley that links the

Ehrwald Basin Ehrwald is a municipality in the district of Reutte in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Ehrwald lies at the southern base of the Zugspitze (2950 meters above sea level), Germany's highest mountain, but which is shared with Austria. The tow ...

with the

Lech valley The Lechtal is an alpine valley in Austria, the greater part of which belongs to the state of Tyrol and the smaller part to Vorarlberg. The Lech river flows through the valley. Location The valley is bounded geographically by the Lechtal Alps ...

. Over the municipal territory runs the watershed between the

Lech Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Poznań, ...

and

Loisach The Loisach is a river that flows through Tyrol, Austria and Bavaria, Germany. Its name might be Celtic in origin, from Proto-Celtic ''*lawo'' and ''*iskā'', both of which mean "water". The Loisach goes through the great swamp . The Loisach is a ...

. The municipality consists of three villages: the elongated '' Straßendorf'' of ''Bichlbach'' (, population: 550) and the two almost adjacent villages of ''Lähn'' (, pop: 225) and ''Wengle'' (, pop: 76; population figures as at 15 May 2001). Bichlbach is the base for an ascent of the Kohlbergspitze (2,202 m) on a

waymark Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

ed path that takes around 3 hours.

Constituent communities

The municipal area comprises the following three villages (population as of 1 January 2019): *Bichlbach (532) *Lähn (189) *Wengels (60)

History

The settlement took place from the

Allgäu The Allgäu (Standard German: , also Allgovia) is a region in Swabia in southern Germany. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia, southeastern Baden-Württemberg, and parts of Austria. The region stretches from the pre-alpine lands up to the A ...

. The village was first mentioned in 1300 as ''Puechelpach'', which means something like "creek surrounded by beeches". In Bichlbach was operated mining as in

Biberwier Biberwier is a municipality with 612 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2019) in the district of Reutte (district), Reutte in the Austrian state of state of Tyrol, Tyrol. The municipality is located in the district court Reutte. Geography The village ...

. Lead and Galmeierze were mined. The town of ''Mittelwald'' was destroyed by an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

in 1456 and rebuilt as ''Lähn'' (= "avalanche") elsewhere. This place was also destroyed by an avalanche in 1689. Lähn formed until 1816 the diocese boundary between

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

and

Brixen Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic and ...

. Until 1859 Bichlbach was the seat of a masons and carpenters guild, the Great Guild Bichlbach. One of the members was the master builder Joseph Michael Schnöller. in its baroque style, the guild church of Bichlbach is today the only one of its kind in the German-speaking world.

Coat of arms

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

: ''In red a black, double-headed eagle, occupied by a silver post, therein a left-looking, black-robed figure of St. Joseph, holding a silver carpenter's triangle.'' The municipal coat of arms awarded in 1974 is modeled after the guild seal of 1694 and shows St. Joseph as a patron of craftsmen in front of a black double-headed eagle. The colors of the community flag are black - red.

Economy and Infrastructure

In addition Bichlbach is nowadays a two-season tourism community with a focus on winter tourism (by the location at the entrance to

Berwang Berwang is a municipality with 564 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2019) in the district of Reutte in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The districts are ''Brand'', ''Bichlbächle'', ''Gröben'', ''Kleinstockach'', ''Mitteregg'', ''Rinnen'', ''Tal''. The m ...

). The community is located on the

Fern Pass Fern Pass (elevation 1212 m) is a mountain pass in the Tyrolean Alps in Austria. It is located between the Lechtal Alps on the west and the Mieming Mountains on the east. The highest peak in Germany, the Zugspitze is only 13.5 km away to th ...

and is connected to the railway station ''Bichlbach-Berwang'' and the stops ''Lähn'' and ''Bichlbach-Almkopfbahn'' at the Außerfernbahn to the railway network. At the same time, the village is located on the long-distance cycle path, which runs as

Via Claudia Augusta The Via Claudia Augusta is an ancient Roman road, which linked the valley of the Po River with Rhaetia (encompassing parts of modern Eastern Switzerland, Northern Italy, Western Austria, Southern Germany and all of Liechtenstein) across the Alps ...

along an ancient Roman road of the same name.

Culture and sights

In Bichlbach is the only guild church in Austria, the ''baroque church of St. Joseph'' (built 1710/1711).

Personalities

* ''Alois Zotz'' (1814-1893), priest, later American journalist and newspaper publisher *

Nicole Hosp Nicole Hosp (; born 6 November 1983) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria. She competed in all five disciplines and was a world champion, three-time Olympic medalist, and an overall World Cup champion. Career Born in Ehenbichl, ...

(* 1983), world champion in ski giant slalom, lives in Bichlbach

References

External links

* Cities and towns in Reutte District {{Tyrol-geo-stub