Page 250 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Austria

248  A USTRIA REGION b y REGION

of the church interior by a
wrought-iron grille. It houses a
collection of reliquaries.

4 Wattens
Road map B4. * 7,700. @ £ Tel
(05224) 455 440. ∑ hall-wattens.at
The Swarovski factory of
decorative glass and glass
jewellery and its museum in
Wattens are a unique and
fascinating experience. Here
you can see the world’s largest
cut crystal (300,000 carats), and
a crystal wall 11 m (36 ft) high,
with several tons of glittering
The emblematic Mint Tower of Burg Hasegg in Hall in Tirol semi-precious stones.
2 Igls 3 Hall in Tirol E Swarovski Crystal Worlds
Kristallweltenstrasse 1. Tel (05224)
Road map B4. * 2,000. @ Road map B4. * 13,000. @ £ 51080. Open 9am–6pm. &
n Hilberstrasse 15 (0512) 377101. n Wallpachgasse 5 (05223) 455440.
∑ hall-wattens.at
This small town south of Environs
Innsbruck, which had long been Hall ranks mostly as a holiday Volders has an unusual church
popular as a holiday centre and resort, but the Old Town, with devoted to St Charles Borromeo,
winter-sports resort, was given much of its original architecture dating from 1620–54.
a new face for the 1976 Winter intact, bears testimony to the
Olympic Games when modern town’s former glory. The symbol
toboggan and bobsleigh of Hall is the twelve-sided
runs were built. The nearby tower, known as the Mint Tower,
Patscherkofel (2,247 m/7,372 ft of Burg Hasegg. This castle, with
high) is a popular destination its beautiful inner courtyard,
for winter skiing expeditions once formed a corner section
and summer rambles. It is served of the town’s fortifications.
by a funi cular, a chair lift and It was the seat of the Tyrolean
five T-bars. An old salt track, rulers and, in the 16th century,
Römerstrasse, runs above the it became the mint. Today the
Sill Valley, provid ing views of the castle houses the town museum.
famous Europabrücke (Europe In the Old Town, the Town Hall
Bridge) (see p256), which spans with its steep Gothic roof consists
the Alpine gorges and is part of of two parts: the 1406 Königshaus
the busiest motor- (Royal House) with a
way network beautiful debating
connecting northern hall with exposed- The entrance to Swarovski Kristallwelten
Europe with Italy. beam ceiling; and is a in Wattens
The Aegidius- large building on the
kirche in Igls, the south side of Oberer
church of St Giles, Stadtplatz, with a 5 Schwaz
probably dates Renaissance portal Road map C4. * 13,000. @ £ n
back to the 13th and a balcony from Münchnerstrasse 11 (05242) 63240.
century but has been which the town ∑ silberregion-karwendel.com
remodelled in the Coat of arms of Hall fathers used to make
Baroque period. It has in Tirol their proclama tions. During the 16th century, this
beautiful vault frescoes The 14th-cen tury busy commercial town in the
by Josef Michael Schmitzer. Nikolauskirche, the church of Inn river valley was the second
Near Igls is the interesting St Nicholas, nearby, has a lovely largest in the Tyrol. Schwaz
pilgrimage chapel Heiligwasser portal featuring the Sorrowful suffered extensive damage
(1662), with attractive stucco- Christ, the Virgin Mary and during the battle of 1809, but
work created in 1720 as well as St Nicholas, and an attractive it has preserved some lovely
a wooden statue of the Virgin Baroque interior. Particularly worth historic sights. The most impres-
Mary dating back to the early seeing is the Waldaufkapelle, sive of these is the 15th-century
15th century. which is closed off from the rest Pfarrkirche, with its high
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp298–9 and pp323–4

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.1)
Date 5th December 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm