Hüttschlag is a municipality in the district of St. Johann im Pongau 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

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

Geography

Hüttschlag lies in the Grossarl valley, south of the Grossarl municipality, in the Salzburg ''Pongau'' region. The settlement is situated in the upper valley immediately north of the Alpine crest, formed by the

Ankogel The Ankogel (3,252 m) is a mountain in the Ankogel Group in the eastern High Tauern range in Austria. It is the second highest mountain in the group, the Hochalmspitze being higher at 3,360 m. A cable car from Mallnitz Mallnitz is a municipali ...

and Hafner mountains of the

High Tauern The High Tauern ( pl.; german: Hohe Tauern, it, Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of ...

range. From Hüttschlag only a bridle pass leads up to ''Arlscharte'' Pass and the Malta valley in Carinthia. The municipal area comprises the cadastral communities of Hüttschlag proper, Karteis, and See. Originally an agricultural area, Hüttschlag today mainly depends on tourism. Together with neighbouring Dorfgastein, the Grossarl valley forms a ski resort within the large

Ski Amadé The Ski Amadé region of Austria is a network of 28 ski areas and towns that combined, make up the second largest ski area in Europe.largest ski domain is Dolomiti Superski It is named after the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who was born in the ...

region.

History

The ''Arla'' valley was first mentioned about 930 AD, when Bavarian settlers had already superseded the former Slavic population. The area up to the High Tauern crest was further developed by the Archbishops of Salzburg; from the early 15th century onwards, it became an important mining area, mainly for copper and sulphur. Extended smelting works (''Hütten'') arose around 1520; as a result of miners moving in, Hüttschlag became a centre of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

in the Salzburg lands —many of these

Salzburg Protestants The Salzburg Protestants (german: Salzburger Exulanten) were Protestant refugees who had lived in the Catholic Archbishopric of Salzburg until the 18th century. In a series of persecutions ending in 1731, over 20,000 Protestants were expelled from ...

were expelled under the rule of Prince-Archbishop

Leopold Anton von Firmian Leopold Anton Eleutherius Freiherr von Firmian (11 March 1679 – 22 October 1744) was Bishop of Lavant 1718–24, Bishop of Seckau 1724–27 and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1727 until his death. Early life He was born in Munich, on his ...

in 1731.

Politics

Seats in the municipal council (''Gemeinderat''): * Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 8 * Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 5

Twin towns — sister cities

Hüttschlag is twinned with: * Borken, Germany, since 1989

References

Cities and towns in St. Johann im Pongau District Radstadt Tauern {{Salzburg-geo-stub