Alpbach ( German: [ˈalpax] , locally [ˈɔɪ̯b̥ɔx] ) is a town in western Austria in the state of Tyrol .
65-543: The earliest written record of the name Alpbach comes from 1150, although human settlement is known to have begun there before and around the year 1000, and a bronze axe found at Steinberger Joch (the pass leading to the Ziller Valley) in 1860 suggests that the route was already in use in the Hallstatt period . Christianity was first brought to the region in the 7th and 8th centuries by Irish and Scottish monks, and
130-534: A certain standardisation of production methods, which included techniques such as lathe-turning . Iron tyres were developed and refined in this period, leading to the invention of shrunk-on tyres in the La Tène period. The potter's wheel also appeared in the Hallstatt period. The extensive use of planking and massive squared beams indicates the use of long saw blades and possibly two-man sawing. The planks of
195-583: A completely new cultural dynamic to the area expressed in pottery and bronzework, making it a typical western example of the western Hallstatt culture. The Lepontic Celtic language inscriptions of the area show the language of the Golasecca culture was clearly Celtic making it probable that the 13th-century BC precursor language of at least the western Hallstatt was also Celtic or a precursor to it. Lepontic inscriptions have also been found in Umbria , in
260-411: A few stone stelae (especially the famous Warrior of Hirschlanden ) are found at such burials. The daggers that largely replaced swords in chief's graves in the west were probably not serious weapons, but badges of rank, and used at the table. The material culture of Western Hallstatt culture was apparently sufficient to provide a stable social and economic equilibrium. The founding of Marseille and
325-470: A large number of burials varying considerably in the number and richness of the grave goods, but with a high proportion containing goods suggesting a life well above subsistence level. It is now thought that at least most of these were not miners themselves, but from a richer class controlling the mines. Finds at Hallstatt extend from about 1200 BC until around 500 BC, and are divided by archaeologists into four phases: Hallstatt A–B (1200–800 BC) are part of
390-497: A location for games and competitions. At the end of the Hallstatt period many major centres were abandoned and there was a return to a more decentralized settlement pattern. Urban centres later re-emerged across temperate Europe in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC during the La Tène period. The burials at Hallstatt itself show a movement over the period from cremation to inhumation , with grave goods at all times (see above). In
455-415: A solid dating in 778 ± 5 BC (Grave Barrow 8). Despite missing an older Dendro-date for HaC , the convention remains that the Hallstatt period begins together with the arrival of the iron ore processing technology around 800 BC. HaC is dated according to the presence of Mindelheim-type swords, binocular brooches, harp brooches, and arched brooches. Based on the quickly changing fashions of brooches, it
520-454: A specific story. The Strettweg cult wagon from Austria (c. 600 BC) has been interpreted as representing a deer goddess or 'Great Nature Goddess' similar to Artemis . Hallstatt culture musical instruments included harps , lyres , zithers , woodwinds, panpipes , horns, drums and rattles. A small number of inscriptions have been recovered from Hallstatt culture sites. Markings or symbols inscribed on iron tools from Austria dating from
585-540: Is almost identical to the length of a measuring stick found at Borum Eshøj in Denmark (0.7855 m), dating from the Bronze Age (c. 1350 BC). Pythagorean triangles were likely used in building construction to create right angles , and some buildings had ground plans with dimensions corresponding to Pythagorean rectangles. At least the later periods of Hallstatt art from the western zone are generally agreed to form
650-547: Is almost no narrative content such as scenes of combat depicted. These characteristics were continued into the succeeding La Tène style. Imported luxury art is sometimes found in rich elite graves in the later phases, and certainly had some influence on local styles. The most spectacular objects, such as the Strettweg Cult Wagon , the Warrior of Hirschlanden and the bronze couch supported by "unicyclists" from
715-558: Is also a halfpipe for the more adventurous. There are three ski schools in the village, the first is the original Ski and Snowboardschool at Alpbach-Inneralpbach run since 1932 by Sepp Margreiter (a state-certified ski instructor and ski guide). The second is the Alpbach Active Skischule, of which the HQ of the ski school run from Alpbach, the same as the original ski school. The third is Schischule Alpbachtal, or SkiCheck. This
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#1732766207604780-506: Is popular with the more advanced skiers. A new lift has been opened in 2006-2007 which is a gondola and allows people to move from Inner-Alpbach to near the top of the Wiedersberger Horn (the mountain used for all of the runs). Alpbach is also more popular with skiers than snowboarders due to the lack of extreme off piste, but is a very popular place for beginner boarders, or those looking to re-kindle their boarding passion. There
845-410: Is reflected in the finds from there. Hallstatt D is succeeded by the La Tène culture . Hallstatt C is characterized by the first appearance of iron swords mixed amongst the bronze ones. Inhumation and cremation co-occur. For the final phase, Hallstatt D, daggers, almost to the exclusion of swords, are found in western zone graves ranging from c. 600 –500 BC. There are also differences in
910-464: Is the most recently established ski school in the valley, founded in 2012. Hallstatt period The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to 6th centuries BC, developing out of
975-411: Is thought to have been organized on a tribal basis, though very little is known about this. Settlement size was generally small, although a few of the largest settlements, like Heuneburg in the south of Germany , were towns rather than villages by modern standards. However, at the end of the period these seem to have been overthrown or abandoned. According to Paul Reinecke 's time-scheme from 1902,
1040-489: The Bronze Age Urnfield culture . In this period, people were cremated and buried in simple graves. In phase B, tumulus (barrow or kurgan ) burial becomes common, and cremation predominates. The "Hallstatt period" proper is restricted to HaC and HaD (800–450 BC), corresponding to the early European Iron Age . Hallstatt lies in the area where the western and eastern zones of the Hallstatt culture meet, which
1105-579: The Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave are one of a kind in finds from the Hallstatt period, though they can be related to objects from other periods. More common objects include weapons, in Ha D often with hilts terminating in curving forks ("antenna hilts"). Jewellery in metal includes fibulae , often with a row of disks hanging down on chains, armlets and some torcs . This is mostly in bronze, but "princely" burials include items in gold. The origin of
1170-622: The Hohmichele burial chamber (6th c. BC), which were over 6m long and 35 cm wide, appear to have been sawn by a large timber-yard saw. The construction of monumental buildings such as the Vix palace further demonstrates a "mastery of geometry and carpentry capable of freeing up vast interior spaces." Analyses of building remains in Silesia have found evidence for the use of a standard unit of length (equivalent to 0.785 m). Remarkably, this
1235-692: The Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC ( Late Bronze Age ) and followed in much of its area by the La Tène culture . It is commonly associated with Proto-Celtic speaking populations. It is named for its type site , Hallstatt , a lakeside village in the Austrian Salzkammergut southeast of Salzburg , where there was a rich salt mine, and some 1,300 burials are known, many with fine artifacts. Material from Hallstatt has been classified into four periods, designated "Hallstatt A" to "D". Hallstatt A and B are regarded as Late Bronze Age and
1300-445: The Vače situla is a Slovenian example from near the final period. The style is also found on bronze belt plates, and some of the vocabulary of motifs spread to influence the emerging La Tène style. According to Ruth and Vincent Megaw , "Situla art depicts life as seen from a masculine viewpoint, in which women are servants or sex objects; most of the scenes which include humans are of
1365-637: The patron saint of the parish church is in fact St. Oswald , a former King of Northumbria . At the beginning of the 15th century, deposits of copper and silver were discovered on the Gratlspitz and Schatzberg and in the Luegergraben. At the time, the Fugger merchant family from Augsburg had control over mining operations in Schwaz and Kitzbühel , and they extended their activities to include
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#17327662076041430-433: The 55th European Forum. With its combination of exciting architecture and a minimum environmental footprint, the main architectural feature is a spiral shaped gallery with floor-to-ceiling glazing for a unique view of the spectacular mountain backdrop. Alpbach is also a well known ski resort and its quiet slopes are well groomed and provide beginner to intermediate runs with many off pistes as well as unpatrolled route 5 which
1495-453: The 7th to early 6th century BC bear signs possibly resembling Greek or Etruscan letters. A single-word inscription (possibly a name) on a locally produced ceramic sherd from Montmorot in eastern France, dating from the late 7th to mid-6th century BC, has been identified as either Gaulish or Lepontic , written in either a 'proto-Lepontic' or Etruscan alphabet. A fragment of an inscription painted on local pottery has also been recovered from
1560-573: The 7th-6th century BC inscription from Montmorot "is at the beginning of a still limited series of documents attesting to the use of alphabetic signs and the use of writing in Eastern Gaul during the entire period characterised by the appearance, development and end of the Hallstattian 'princely phenomenon'. ... The first transmission of the alphabet north of the Alps, at the end of the 7th or in
1625-572: The Alpbach cemetery. At the suggestion of Alfons Moser, Mayor of Alpbach from 1945 to 1979, the council issued a local planning law in 1953, which made the traditional style of architecture in Alpbach mandatory for all new buildings. Over the years, Alpbach has collected many awards and distinctions. In 1975, the Austrian Public Health Institute certified that Alpbach had the cleanest and purest air in all of Austria. It
1690-630: The Alpbach valley. The Böglerhof housed the Fugger offices and was also seat of the Mining Court. In those days, Alpbach already had two inns, the Böglerhof and the Jakober Inn, where the men of the village would go to drink spirits, such as schnapps. By the middle of the 19th century, productivity at the mines had declined to the stage where they had to be closed. Vorder-Unterberg Farm, which
1755-542: The Celtic word for "king", written in the Lepontic alphabet. According to Olivier (2010), "this graffito represents one of the earliest attested occurrences of the word rîx which designates the "king" in the Celtic languages. ... It would also seem to represent the first co-occurrence in the Celtic world of a funerary archaeological context and a contemporaneous linguistic qualification as ‘royal’.” According to Verger (1998)
1820-785: The Czech Republic, Vix , Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine and Lavau in France, Hochdorf , Hohmichele and Grafenbühl in Germany, and Mitterkirchen in Austria. A model of a chariot made from lead has been found in Frög , Carinthia , and clay models of horses with riders are also found. Wooden "funerary carts", presumably used as hearses and then buried, are sometimes found in the grandest graves. Pottery and bronze vessels, weapons, elaborate jewellery made of bronze and gold , as well as
1885-552: The Early Iron Age due to the so-called "Hallstatt-Plateau" , a phenomenon where radiocarbon dates cannot be distinguished between 750 and 400 BC. There are workarounds however, such as the wiggle matching technique. Therefore, dating in this time-period has been based mainly on Dendrochronology and relative dating . For the beginning of HaC wood pieces from the Cart Grave of Wehringen (Landkreis Augsburg) deliver
1950-540: The Eastern Hallstatt culture are indefensible and archeologically unsubstantiated. Trade with Greece is attested by finds of Attic black-figure pottery in the elite graves of the late Hallstatt period. It was probably imported via Massilia ( Marseilles ). Other imported luxuries include amber , ivory (as found at the Grafenbühl Tomb ) and probably wine . Red kermes dye was imported from
2015-410: The alignment was marked with a large timber palisade. The knowledge required to create these alignments would have required long-term observation of the skies, possibly over several generations. At Glauberg other ditches and postholes associated with the mound may have been used to observe astronomical phenomena such as the solstices , with the whole ensemble functioning as a calendar . According to
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2080-712: The archaeologist Allard Mees, the numerous burials within the Magdalenenberg mound were positioned to mirror the constellations as they appeared at the time of the summer solstice in 618 BC. Mees argues that the Magdalenenberg represented a lunar calendar and that knowledge of the 18.6 year lunar standstill cycle would have enabled the prediction of lunar eclipses . According to Mees many other burial mounds in this period were also aligned with lunar phenomena. An analysis of Hallstatt period burials by Müller-Scheeßel (2005) similarly suggested that they were oriented towards specific constellations. According to Gaspani (1998)
2145-457: The area which saw the emergence of the Terni culture, which had strong similarities with the Celtic cultures of Hallstatt and La Tène. The Umbrian necropolis of Terni , which dates back to the 10th century BC, was virtually identical in every aspect to the Celtic necropolis of the Golasecca culture. Older assumptions of the early 20th century of Illyrians having been the bearers of especially
2210-409: The central Hallstatt regions toward the end of the period (Ha D), very rich graves of high-status individuals under large tumuli are found near the remains of fortified hilltop settlements. Tumuli graves had a chamber, rather large in some cases, lined with timber and with the body and grave goods set about the room. There are some chariot or wagon burials , including Býčí Skála and Brno-Holásky in
2275-634: The diagonals of the rectangular Hochdorf burial chamber were also aligned with the major lunar standstill. Wiedersberger Horn The Wiedersberger Horn is a mountain in the Alpbachtal valley in Austria . Its summit is 2,127 m (AA) . The Wiedersberger Horn is accessible from the Alpbachtal via cableways and the mountainsides are used as a skiing area. In winter it may be climbed without difficulty in safe snow conditions. From
2340-497: The early Iron Age (Ha C, 800-650 BC) show continuity with symbols from the Bronze Age Urnfield culture , and are thought to be related to mining and the metal trade. Inscriptions engraved on situlas or cauldrons from the Hallstatt cemetery in Austria, dating from c. 800-500 BC, have been interpreted as numerals, letters and words, possibly related to Etruscan or Old Italic scripts. Weights from Bavaria dating from
2405-401: The early period of Celtic art . Decoration is mostly geometric and linear, and best seen on fine metalwork finds from graves (see above). Styles differ, especially between the west and east, with more human figures and some narrative elements in the latter. Animals, with waterfowl a particular favourite, are often included as part of other objects, more often than humans, and in the west there
2470-624: The end of the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age were divided into four periods: Bronze Age Urnfield culture: Early Iron Age Hallstatt culture: Paul Reinecke based his chronological divisions on finds from the south of Germany. Already by 1881 Otto Tischler had made analogies to the Iron Age in the Northern Alps based on finds of brooches from graves in the south of Germany. It has proven difficult to use radiocarbon dating for
2535-471: The feasts in which the situlae themselves figure, of the hunt or of war". Similar scenes are found on other vessel shapes, as well as bronze belt-plaques. The processions of animals, typical of earlier examples, or humans derive from the Near East and Mediterranean, and Nancy Sandars finds the style shows "a gaucherie that betrays the artist working in a way that is uncongenial, too much at variance with
2600-498: The first half of the 6th century, seems to be only the beginning of a process that was regularly renewed until the second half of the fifth century." The monumental burial mounds at Glauberg and Magdalenenberg in Germany featured structures aligned with the point of the major lunar standstill , which occurs every 18.6 years. At Glauberg this took the form of a 'processional avenue' lined by large ditches, whilst at Magdalenenberg
2665-536: The isolated location of the village led to the development of a distinctive style of architecture and furnishings, and also enabled the local folk traditions to be preserved for much longer than in most of the valleys of the Tyrol . Tourists first began arriving in Alpbach at the beginning of the 20th century and by 1938 the village had accommodation for 110 visitors. Since then this figure has increased to 2500 and Alpbach now attracts some 22,000 visitors in summer and about
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2730-453: The late Hallstatt site of Bragny-sur-Saône in eastern France, dating from the 5th century BC. A letter inscribed on a gold cup was deposited in a princely tomb at Apremont in eastern France, dating from c. 500 BC. Another fragmentary inscription on pottery was found in a princely burial near Bergères-les-Vertus in north-eastern France, dating from late 5th century BC (at the beginning of La Tène A). The inscription has been identified as
2795-494: The mine workings themselves, the salt has preserved many organic materials such as textiles, wood and leather, and many abandoned artifacts such as shoes, pieces of cloth, and tools including miner's backpacks, have survived in good condition. In 1846, Johann Georg Ramsauer (1795–1874) discovered a large prehistoric cemetery near Hallstatt , Austria ( 47°33′40″N 13°38′31″E / 47.561°N 13.642°E / 47.561; 13.642 ), which he excavated during
2860-532: The narrative scenes of the eastern zone, from Hallstatt C onwards, is generally traced to influence from the Situla art of northern Italy and the northern Adriatic, where these bronze buckets began to be decorated in bands with figures in provincial Etruscan centres influenced by Etruscan and Greek art. The fashion for decorated situlae spread north across neighbouring cultures including the eastern Hallstatt zone, beginning around 600 BC and surviving until about 400 BC;
2925-547: The participation of so many people who have shaped the thinking of their times has given Alpbach the nickname , "The Village Of Thinkers." The first conference hall in Alpbach was built in the mid-1950s and named after the Austrian poet Paula von Preradovic , who wrote the words for the Austrian national anthem . The plenary hall was named after the physicist and Nobel Prize winner Erwin Schrödinger . He lies buried in
2990-601: The penetration by Greek and Etruscan culture after c. 600 BC , resulted in long-range trade relationships up the Rhone valley which triggered social and cultural transformations in the Hallstatt settlements north of the Alps. Powerful local chiefdoms emerged which controlled the redistribution of luxury goods from the Mediterranean world that is also characteristic of the La Tène culture . The apparently largely peaceful and prosperous life of Hallstatt D culture
3055-400: The pottery and brooches . Burials were mostly inhumations. Halstatt D has been further divided into the sub-phases D1–D3, relating only to the western zone, and mainly based on the form of brooches. Major activity at the site appears to have finished about 500 BC, for reasons that are unclear. Many Hallstatt graves were robbed, probably at this time. There was widespread disruption throughout
3120-501: The same in winter for an annual total of 300,000 nights. Tourism is the main source of income for today's 2300 local residents, but there are still 105 working farms in Alpbach, the same number as a hundred years ago. Since 1945, Alpbach has been the venue for the Alpbach European Forum , an annual two-week conference of leading figures from the worlds of science , business , the arts and politics . The Forum and
3185-469: The second half of the 19th century. Eventually the excavation would yield 1,045 burials, although no settlement has yet been found. This may be covered by the later village, which has long occupied the whole narrow strip between the steep hillsides and the lake. Some 1,300 burials have been found, including around 2,000 individuals, with women and children but few infants. Nor is there a "princely" burial, as often found near large settlements. Instead, there are
3250-605: The south as well; it was found at Hochdorf . Notable individual imports include the Greek Vix krater (the largest known metal vessel from Western classical antiquity), the Etruscan lebes from Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine , the Greek hydria from Grächwil , the Greek cauldron from Hochdorf and the Greek or Etruscan cauldron from Lavau . The largest settlements were mostly fortified, situated on hilltops, and frequently included
3315-540: The temper of the craftsmen and the craft". Compared to earlier styles that arose organically in Europe "situla art is weak and sometimes quaint", and "in essence not of Europe". Except for the Italian Benvenuti Situla , men are hairless, with "funny hats, dumpy bodies and big heads", though often shown looking cheerful in an engaging way. The Benevenuti Situla is also unusual in that it seems to show
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#17327662076043380-525: The terms used for wider areas, such as "Hallstatt culture", or "period", "style" and so on, relate to the Iron Age Hallstatt C and D. By the 6th century BC, it had expanded to include wide territories, falling into two zones, east and west, between them covering much of western and central Europe down to the Alps , and extending into northern Italy . Parts of Britain and Iberia are included in
3445-573: The top station of the highest lift in the ski area (2,025 m) there is a path to the summit facilitated by step-like wooden beams. On the wooden summit cross is a plaque with the inscription: Dem Herrgott und der Heimat in treuer Einigkeit im Ottober des Heiligen Jahres 1933 errichtet. Katholischer Burschenverein Reith. ("Erected to the Lord God and our country in faithful unity in October of
3510-399: The ultimate expansion of the culture. The culture was based on farming, but metal-working was considerably advanced, and by the end of the period long-range trade within the area and with Mediterranean cultures was economically significant. Social distinctions became increasingly important, with emerging elite classes of chieftains and warriors, and perhaps those with other skills. Society
3575-627: The very rich grave at Vix . The Heuneburg is thought to correspond to the Celtic city of ' Pyrene ' mentioned by Herodotus in 450 BC. Other important sites include the Glauberg , Hohenasperg and Ipf in Germany, the Burgstallkogel in Austria and Molpír in Slovakia . However, most settlements were much smaller villages. The large monumental site of Alte Burg may have had a religious or ceremonial function, and possibly served as
3640-668: The west and north, their growth perhaps overlapping with the final years of the Hallstatt culture. Occasional iron artefacts had been appearing in central and western Europe for some centuries before 800 BC (an iron knife or sickle from Ganovce in Slovakia, dating to the 18th century BC, is possibly the earliest evidence of smelted iron in Central Europe). By the later Urnfield (Hallstatt B) phase, some swords were already being made and embellished in iron in eastern Central Europe, and occasionally much further west. Initially iron
3705-488: The western Hallstatt zone, and the salt workings had by then become very deep. By then the focus of salt mining had shifted to the nearby Hallein Salt Mine , with graves at Dürrnberg nearby where there are significant finds from the late Hallstatt and early La Tène periods, until the mid-4th century BC, when a major landslide destroyed the mineshafts and ended mining activity. Much of the material from early excavations
3770-647: The workshops of bronze, silver and gold smiths. Major settlements are known as 'princely seats' (or Fürstensitze in German), and are characterized by elite residences, rich burials, monumental buildings and fortifications. Some of these central sites are described as urban or proto-urban, and as "the first cities north of the Alps". Typical sites of this type are the Heuneburg on the upper Danube surrounded by nine very large grave tumuli, and Mont Lassois in eastern France near Châtillon-sur-Seine with, at its foot,
3835-475: Was built in 1636–1638 by local carpenters and was used as a farmhouse in until 1952, stands at the edge of the forest above the little church in Inneralpbach. Today the building is a mountain farming museum, and the exhibits include the old parlour, chapel, a combined kitchen and smokehouse, and over 800 artefacts of daily life and work. The road leading up the valley to Alpbach was not built until 1926, and
3900-583: Was dispersed, and is now found in many collections, especially German and Austrian museums, but the Hallstatt Museum in the town has the largest collection. It is probable that some if not all of the diffusion of Hallstatt culture took place in a Celtic -speaking context. In northern Italy the Golasecca culture developed with continuity from the Canegrate culture . Canegrate represented
3965-425: Was disrupted, perhaps even collapsed, right at the end of the period. There has been much speculation as to the causes of this, which remain uncertain. Large settlements such as Heuneburg and the Burgstallkogel were destroyed or abandoned, rich tumulus burials ended, and old ones were looted. There was probably a significant movement of population westwards, and the succeeding La Tène culture developed new centres to
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#17327662076044030-507: Was possible to divide HaD into three stages (D1-D3). In HaD1 snake brooches are predominant, while in HaD2 drum brooches appear more often, and in HaD3 the double-drum and embellished foot brooches. The transition to the La Tène period is often connected with the emergence of the first animal-shaped brooches, with Certosa -type and with Marzabotto -type brooches. The community at Hallstatt
4095-467: Was rather exotic and expensive, and sometimes used as a prestige material for jewellery. Iron swords became more common after c. 800 BC , and steel was also produced from 800 BC as part of the production of swords. The production of high-carbon steel is attested in Britain after c. 490 BC . The remarkable uniformity of spoked-wheel wagons from across the Hallstatt region indicates
4160-484: Was untypical of the wider, mainly agricultural, culture, as its booming economy exploited the salt mines in the area. These had been worked from time to time since the Neolithic period, and in this period were extensively mined with a peak from the 8th to 5th centuries BC. The style and decoration of the grave goods found in the cemetery are very distinctive, and artifacts made in this style are widespread in Europe. In
4225-593: Was voted "Austria's Most Beautiful Village" in 1983 by a television contest organised by Austrian Television. In June 1985, the Council of Europe in Strasbourg conferred upon Alpbach the right to fly the European flag in recognition of the community's services to European Unity. In 1993, Alpbach won "The Most Beautiful Floral Village in Europe" award. In 1999, the new Alpbach Congress Centre was opened, together with
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