Mayrhofen is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the

Zillertal The Ziller Valley () is a valley in Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria that is drained by the Ziller River. It is the widest valley south of the Inn (river), Inn Valley () and lends its name to the Zillertal Alps, the strongly Glacier, glaciated sectio ...

(Ziller river valley) in the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n state of

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

. It is located approximately an hour from the Tyrolean capital city of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

Population

Tourism

The town offers a variety of summer and winter sports including

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

and

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended be ...

. Mayrhofen is situated near the

Hintertux Tux is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography The parish of Tux covers the higher and largest part of the Tuxertal, a side valley of the Zillertal that branches off at Mayrhofen. The territory of the parish ...

glacier, which, at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

, is above the snowline. Skiing is available all year round here. Mayrhofen sits between the

Penken The Penken is a mountain area in the Ziller Valley located in the Austrian Tyrol (state), Tyrol. The Penken can be reached by modern cable car from the village of Mayrhofen. References

Mountain ranges of Tyrol (federal state) Tux Alps {{ ...

and the Ahorn mountains which provide ski runs in the winter and mountain biking, hiking and paragliding in the summer. The Ahorn offers mainly easy and intermediate runs, but also has a long, steep black run (formerly red) which was once on the World Cup Downhill circuit but was removed as it was deemed too dangerous. The Penken mountain offers Austria's steepest piste, named Harakiri, as well as a large range of ski runs at different levels of difficulty. It is connected by lifts with the villages of

Finkenberg Finkenberg is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Finkenberg lies about 3 km southwest of Mayrhofen Mayrhofen is a town in the Zillertal (Ziller river valley) in the Austrian state of Tirol, Austria, Ty ...

, Lanersbach and

Schwendau Schwendau (Pronunciation:''shven-dau'') is a municipality and a village in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It was first mentioned in 1200 as “''Swentowe''” (clearing of a pasture). The original meaning of this name is also i ...

. The Penken is reached by a

Gondola The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a scul ...

system, the , which is located on the main street next to the Sport Hotel Strass, in the centre of the village, while the Ahorn Cable car or , which with a capacity of 160 passengers is the largest cable car in Austria, is situated at the southern end of the town. Mayrhofen is a snowboard-minded village with a funpark sponsored by

Vans Vans (originally called the Van Doren Rubber Company) is an American apparel, accessories, and skateboarding shoes brand, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and ...

, and the snowboardhotel Gasthof Zillertal owned by the Dutch organisation 'SAIKO expeditions'. Mountaineer

Peter Habeler Peter Habeler (born 22 July 1942) is an Austrian mountaineer. He was born in Mayrhofen, Austria. He developed an interest in mountain climbing at age six.http://www.everesthistory.com/climbers/habeler Among his accomplishments as a mountaineer a ...

and Downhill Racer

Uli Spiess Urlich "Uli" Spiess (born 15 August 1955) is an Austrian former alpine skier. He is the brother of the former alpine skier Nicola Spiess and is the son of and Erika Mahringer. Career During his career he has achieved 22 results among the t ...

both come from Mayrhofen. The town also provides an excellent base for walkers, as Mayrhofen is home to many trails touring the mountains and nearby Ziller valley.

Events

Each spring (usually early April), Mayrhofen hosts the ''

Snowbombing Snowbombing is a ski resort festival, held annually in the spring at the Austrian ski resort of Mayrhofen. History The event has been run since 2000 when it was first held at the French resort of Risoul as an après-ski nightclub promotional ex ...

'' music festival. Since the initial event in 2000 (held in

Risoul Risoul (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. It is located in the French Alps between the towns of Briançon and Gap. Risoul is home to a ski resort that partners with the neighbouring town, Vars, to form ...

, France), snowbombing has gathered much notoriety and respect in the

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

world as one of the major festivals. The event has been hosted by Mayrhofen since 2005.

Climate

Transport

Mayrhofen has one railway station, which is located next to the Zillertaler Bundestrasse. The station is a terminus for all Train services operated by the Zillertalbahn, the valley's main public transport operator. The railway runs between

Jenbach Jenbach is a municipality in the district of Schwaz in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Etymology Many inhabitants of Jenbach believe that the name "Jenbach" is derived from "Jenseits des Baches", which means "Beyond the brook", however earlier ve ...

and Mayrhofen itself, and there are several intermediate stations, which provide access to many of the valley's well known ski areas, namely

Zell am Ziller Zell am Ziller is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The name derives from the river Ziller. Climate Population Facilities The Zillertal Arena was formed in 2000 from a merger of the ski area A ski area ...

(Zillertal 3000), Fügen (Spieljoch) and

Uderns Uderns is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the Count ...

(for the Hochfügen and Kaltenbach ski areas). The railway operates year-round, although in summer additional 'special' services operate, such as a steam train service. The Zillertalbahn also run bus routes in the valley, which are regular and cover an extensive area. Additional services also operate during the winter, to cater for the skiing season.

Statistics

* Elevation: Top: (with ski-lift) * Lifts: 48 * Terrain: of groomed slopes in the region

Twin towns

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Bad Tölz Bad Tölz (; Bavarian: ''Däiz'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany and the administrative center of the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district. History Archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tölz since the retreat of the gla ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe (, ) is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, Germany, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is ''Bad Homburg ...

Terracina Terracina is an Italian city and ''comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anci ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Cabourg Cabourg (; ) is a commune in the Calvados department, region of Normandy, France. Cabourg is on the coast of the English Channel, at the mouth of the river Dives. The back country is a plain, favourable to the culture of cereal. The town sits ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Mondorf-les-Bains Mondorf-les-Bains (; ; ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune and town in south-eastern Luxembourg. It is part of the Remich (canton), canton of Remich. Mondorf-les-Bains is a spa town (hence its name), and has the only casino in Luxembourg. , ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Beilngries Beilngries (; ) is a town in the district of Eichstätt, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, 30 km north of Ingolstadt. Sons and daughters of the city * Rosa Aschenbrenner (1885-19 ...

Hinterzarten Hinterzarten is a resort village in the Black Forest (German: ''Schwarzwald''), located in the southwest of the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Although Hinterzarten is mostly famous for its ski jumping, it has many other tourist attractions. ...

References

External links

Mayrhofen Secrets

Mayrhofen Business Directory

Official Mayrhofen Tourist Information site

{{authority control Cities and towns in Schwaz District Ski areas and resorts in Austria