Schwaz () is a city 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 the administrative center of the Schwaz district. Schwaz is located in the lower Inn valley.

Location

Schwaz lies in the middle of the Lower Inn Valley at the foot of the Kellerjoch and Eiblschrofen mountains. It is located approximately east 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 ...

. The city covers an area of . Neighbouring communities include: Buch bei Jenbach, Fügenberg, Gallzein,

Pill Pill or The Pill may refer to: Drugs * Pill (pharmacy), referring to anything small for a specific dose of medicine * "The Pill", a general nickname for the combined oral contraceptive pill Film and television * ''The Pill'' (film), a 2011 fil ...

, Stans, and Vomp.

History

Schwaz has been firstly mentioned as „Sûates“ in deed dating back to 930–1. The Counts of Tyrol guarded Schwaz from nearby Burg Freundsberg. At the town's height during the 15th and 16th centuries, it was an important

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

mining center, providing mineral wealth for both the

Fugger The House of Fugger () is a German family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists. ...

banking family and, through them, for the Austrian emperors. During this period, its population of about 20,000 inhabitants made it the second largest city in the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

, after

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Schwaz received its city rights in 1898 by Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

Population

Economy

Three large industrial companies have their headquarters in Schwaz: *

Tyrolit Tyrolit is an Austrian company that develops, manufactures and markets abrasive products as well as concrete sawing and drilling equipment. With 29 production locations on 5 continents, the TYROLIT group belongs to the world’s largest producers ...

– a globally active producer of bonded abrasives * Adler Lacke – a family-run producer of coating systems * DAKA – a regional waste management company

Notable people

* Georg Scherer (1540 – 1605), a Roman Catholic pulpit orator and controversialist. * Albert Jäger (1801–1891), an Austrian priest and historian who specialized in Tyrolean history. * Maximilian Joseph von Tarnóczy (1806–1876), an Austrian Cardinal and

Archbishop of Salzburg The Archdiocese of Salzburg (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin rite archdiocese of the Catholic Church centered in Salzburg, Austria. It is also the principal diocese of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian ...

* Cordula Wöhler (1845–1916), a German author of Christian poetry and hymns, lived locally from 1881 * Joseph Messner (1893–1969), an Austrian musician, composer and priest. * Hans Köchler (born 1948), a retired professor of philosophy at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...

Sport

* Traudl Hecher (1943–2023), was an Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic medalist. * Martin Höllwarth (born 1974), a former ski jumper and three time silver medallist at the

1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...

* Hannes Aigner (born 1981), an Austrian former footballer who played over 400 games * Michael Steinlechner (born 1987), an Austrian footballer who played 266 games * Stephanie Brunner (born 1994), an World Cup alpine ski racer and team silver medallist at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Schwaz is twinned with:

Gallery

File:Schwaz, Tyrol, Austria.jpg, Aerial view File:Eiblschrofen near Schwaz b 2007.jpg, Eiblschrofen near Schwaz, seen from N. File:Schwaz (Tyrol) from NE closer.jpg, Schwaz seen from NE, closer File:Schwaz-Parish Church.jpg, Schwaz, Parish Church, consecrated in 1502 File:Schwaz, der Friedhofsturm Dm10410 met buste Ludwig Penz foto5 2012-08-09 14.02.jpg, Tower (der Friedhofsturm) and bust from Ludwig Penz File:Schwaz, straatzicht foto1 2012-08-09 13.44.jpg, View to a street

References

External links

Web site of the municipality of Schwaz
(German)
Schwaz Silver Mine
(German)
official tourism information of Schwaz
(English) Cities and towns in Schwaz District {{Tyrol-geo-stub