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 Schwaz () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol. 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 ...

district. Schwaz is located in the lower

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

valley.

Location

Schwaz lies in the middle of the

Lower Inn Valley The Lower Inn Valley () is that part of the Inntal valley through which the Inn river flows from a point a few kilometres west of Innsbruck near its confluence with the Melach downstream to a few kilometres before Rosenheim. A further distinctio ...

at the foot of the

Kellerjoch The Kellerjoch is a 2,344 m-high mountain above the Inn valley near Schwaz in Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core ...

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 Buch in Tirol is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The name of the municipality was changed from ''Buch bei Jenbach'' in June 2010. Geography Buch lies in the lower Inn Inns are generally establishments or ...

Fügenberg Fügenberg is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Tourism St. Pancras Church, built from 1494 to 1497 in the Gothic style, is worth visiting. The Fügen-Fügenberg Region has two ski regions: the Spieljoch and H ...

Gallzein Gallzein is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Gallzein lies on a terrace of the Lower Inn Valley in the foothills of the Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain rang ...

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 Stans () is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden (Nidwald) in Switzerland. The official language of Stans is German language, German (spoken there in the variety of Swiss Standard German), but the main language is the ...

, and

Vomp Vomp 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 County o ...

History

Schwaz has been firstly mentioned as „Sûates“ in deed dating back to 930–1. The

Counts of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised ...

guarded Schwaz from nearby

Burg Freundsberg Burg Freundsberg is a castle in Tyrol, Austria, that was constructed in the year of 1150 by the lords of Freundsberg. Burg Freundsberg is above sea level. Originally the castle consisted out of a single keep, which is still intact up to this date. ...

. 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 Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

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 Georg Scherer (1540 – 30 November 1605) was a Roman Catholic pulpit orator and controversialist. Biography Born at Schwaz, in Tyrol, Scherer entered the Society of Jesus in 1559. For over forty years he labored in the Archduchy of Austria. In ...

(1540 – 1605), a Roman Catholic pulpit orator and controversialist. *

Albert Jäger Albert Jäger (8 December 1801 in Schwaz – 10 December 1891 in Innsbruck) was an Austrian priest and historian who specialized in Tyrolean history. From 1826 he studied theology in Brixen, becoming ordained as a priest in 1829. In 1846 he was ...

(1801–1891), an Austrian priest and historian who specialized in Tyrolean history. *

Maximilian Joseph von Tarnóczy Maximilian Joseph von Tarnóczy (Hungarian: Tarnózy Miksa) (24 October 1806 – 4 April 1876) was an Austrian Cardinal and Archbishop. He was born in Schwaz on 24 October 1806, the son of Franz Xaver von Tarnóczy (Tarnóczy Ferenc), a Hunga ...

(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 Cordula Wöhler, later Cordula Schmid, pseudonym Cordula Peregrina (17 June 1845 – 6 February 1916) was a German author of Christian poetry and hymns, whose " Segne du, Maria" is among the most popular Marian hymns in the Germanosphere. Wö ...

(1845–1916), a German author of Christian poetry and hymns, lived locally from 1881 *

Joseph Messner Joseph Messner (27 February 1893 – 23 February 1969) was an Austrian musician, composer and priest. Life Joseph Messner, brother of the social ethicist , was born in Schwaz/Tyrol as the son of a miner (in the ) and a tobacco worker. He rece ...

(1893–1969), an Austrian musician, composer and priest. *

Hans Köchler Hans Köchler (born 18 October 1948) is a retired professor of philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and president of the International Progress Organization, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United N ...

(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 Martin Höllwarth (born 13 April 1974) is an Austrian former ski jumper. Career At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, he won three silver medals. At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, he won bronze in the team large hill competition. Hö ...

(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 Hannes Aigner (born 19 March 1989 in Augsburg) is a German slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2006. He is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist. Career Aigner competed at three Olympic Games. He won a bronze medal in ...

(born 1981), an Austrian former footballer who played over 400 games * Michael Steinlechner (born 1987), an Austrian footballer who played 266 games *

Stephanie Brunner Stephanie Brunner (born 20 February 1994) is an Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer. Born in Schwaz, Tyrol, she specializes in the technical events of Slalom and Giant slalom, and made her World Cup debut on 17 March 2012.2018 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