The Tyrolean hat (, ), also Tyrolese hat, Bavarian hat or Alpine hat, is a type of headwear that originally came from the

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 ...

in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, in what is now part of

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. It is an essential and distinctive element of the local folk costume, or ''

tracht ''Tracht'' () refers to traditional garments in German-speaking countries and regions. Although the word is most often associated with Bavarian, Austrian, South Tyrolean and Trentino garments, including lederhosen and dirndls, many other Germa ...

''.

Description

A typical Tyrolean hat is made of green

felt Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...

, which originally had a crown tapering to a point and a brim roughly the width of a hand, something that was especially common 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 ...

, a Tyrolean valley in Austria. In addition to varying in shape and width of brim, the hats are characteristically decorated with a coloured, corded hatband and a spray of flowers,

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exa ...

s, or "brush" at the side of the crown. The traditional "brush", known as a ''

gamsbart The ''Gamsbart'' (, literally ''chamois beard'', plural Gamsbärte) is a tuft of hair traditionally worn as a decoration on trachten-hats in the Alps, alpine regions of Austria and Bavaria. Originally worn as a hunting trophy and made exclusive ...

'', is made of hair from the back of the chamois antelope. A large and showy one may contain thousands of individual hairs, and cost between $2,500 and $3,000. It takes a variety of forms, and may often be combined with feathers.

History

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Tyrolean costumes developed a certain degree of uniformity in their appearance. In the local village costumes of the Tyrol, the various styles of Tyrolean hat have survived since the 1830s/1840s, albeit similar to those of contemporary fashion. These original forms vary from the tall, relatively narrow-brimmed hats of North Tyrol which were dented on top, to the small, wide-brimmed hats of the South Tyrolean wine country. Later the Tyrolean hat became the image bearer of "Tyrolean culture" as a tourist symbol, very popular at folk gatherings and beer festivals, such as the

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

, and influenced by folk music bands who wore fanciful "local" costumes. The musician, Billy Mo, wrote a song in 1962 called "

Ich kauf' mir lieber einen Tirolerhut Ich kauf' mir lieber einen Tirolerhut is a 1962 schlager song, which became successful both as an original recording, as well as a cover-version in other languages. German The original version, ''Ich kauf’ mir lieber einen Tirolerhut'', was rec ...

" ("I Prefer to Buy a Tyrolean Hat"), which reinforced the link between the hat and traditional Alpine (brass band) folk music. In 1965, a comedy musical appeared under the same title. The Tyrolean hat became even better known thanks to

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

of Great Britain, who, after his abdication, frequently stayed in Austrian

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

and often wore a hat of Tyrolean style, although it did not come from there. It is said that the Tyrolean hat was the inspiration for the homburg, a style popularized beyond its native Germanic region by his grandfather,

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

Gallery

File:Petzenburg Knabe mit Tirolerhut und Äffchen.jpg, ''Boy with Tyrolean hat and monkey'' (''Knabe mit Tirolerhut und Äffchen''). Oil on canvas, File:Andreas hofer mit hut.jpg,

Andreas Hofer Andreas Hofer (22 November 1767 – 20 February 1810) was a County of Tyrol, Tyrolean innkeeper and Droving, drover who became the leader of the 1809 Tyrolean Rebellion during the War of the Fifth Coalition. He was subsequently captured and exe ...

, wearing the typical, broad-brimmed flat hat of the South Tyrolean type (posthumous portrait, mid-19th century) File:Lovis_Corinth_-_Selbstportraet_mit_Tiroler_Hut_1913.jpg, ''Self portrait with Tyrolean hat'' (''Selbstporträt mit Tiroler Hut''),

Lovis Corinth Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism. Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Secessio ...

File:Simple,_party_version_of_the_tyrolean_hat.png, Simple, party version of the Tyrolean hat File:Chapeau tyrolien.jpg, Grey variant of the Tyrolean hat

References

{{Hats Austrian clothing German clothing Swiss clothing Italian clothing Hats

Description

History

Gallery

See also

References