Virgen is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol . It includes part of the Virgen valley in the Venediger Group mountain range, and extensive parts of the municipality are in High Tauern National Park . The history of the area goes back to 500 BC, when copper mining played an important role. After the end of the Roman period Slavs settled in the Virgen valley, who were gradually assimilated by Baiuvarii settlers beginning in the 8th century . The simultaneous Christianization of the area led to the creation of one of the first parishes in the region. During the Middle Ages Virgen was a part of Carinthia and the County of Gorizia , and by 1500 it was annexed by Tyrol. With a population of 2,200 (as of January 1, 2020), Virgen is the fifth largest community in east Tyrol in terms of population. Agriculture and tourism both play important economic roles, but a lack of jobs and structural problems lead to a very high commuter rate. Virgen has won awards for being the most beautiful municipality in Tyrol several times.
25-610: Virgen lies in northern East Tyrol and has an area of 88.8 km being the sixth larges municipality in Lienz district. With around 42 km being part of High Tauern National Park, almost half of the municipality's area is under nature preservation. Virgen comprises the eastern part of the Virgen valley, through which the Isel river flows, from the Isel gorge to the village (part) of Mitteldorf. Because
50-594: A ridge branches southeast linking it with the Sailkopf ; the lowest notch on this arête being the Sailscharte ( 3,080 m above sea level (AA) ). The Hoher Eichham may have first been climbed during a military survey using triangulation in the 1850s. The first visit to the summit by tourists was on 16 July 1887 by Berlin alpinists, Carl Benzien and Hermann Meynow using the South Arête. They were led by
75-572: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lienz District The Bezirk Lienz ( Italian : Distretto di Lienz ) is an administrative district ( Bezirk ) in Tyrol , Austria . It is the only district in East Tyrol . The district borders the Pinzgau ( Salzburg ) in the north, the districts Spittal an der Drau and Hermagor (both Carinthia ) in the east, Veneto ( Italy ) in
100-570: Is an under layer, which is horizontally articulated and made of greenschist . Due to a favorable hillside location and susceptibly to erosion , fertile soils have formed over the shale layer which are suitable for alpine farming. The south on the municipality including the Lasörling Group belongs to an old crystalline zone. This zone consists of mica , gneiss, and calcareous shale. Some parts also consist of garnet , calcareous quartzite , and small collections of limestone and dolomite . In
125-619: Is indicated in the name Virgen , which is derived from Slavic, that means sunny place . The reason for Virgen's sunny location, which is marketed as the " Merano of East Tyrol", is the orientation of the Virgen Valley, through which the path of the Sun follows. As a result, Virgen loses only a third of its total possible sunshine duration in December, and only a seventh in June. Comparatively,
150-514: Is now the Austrian state of Tyrol in the Treaty of Saint-Germain (these three entities made up the old Austro-Hungarian county of Tyrol ). Since this time, East Tyrol has been separated from North Tyrol by about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of border between the federal state of Salzburg and South Tyrol. Accordingly, it forms an inner-Austrian exclave of the federal state of Tyrol. It was also
175-505: Is of particular importance to Virgen. The municipality of Virgen is bordered in the south by the Lasörling Group separating it from the Deferegen valley and the municipalities of (from west to east) St. Jakob , St. Veit , and Hopfgarten . To the west of Virgen is Prägraten municipality, and to the north and east is the market town of Matrei. The largest part of the municipality's area cannot be used due to its high alpine location in
200-551: Is the Isel, which enters the municipality through the Isel gorge and flows east. The Isel drains the right side of the Virgen Valley by the Virgen alluvial cone , which means there is hardly any space for settlement on the right bank of the river. In its course through the municipality ten streams drain into the Isel. The left tributaries, fed from the Virgen North Chain, are the Nillbach, Virger Stream, Mellitzbach, and
225-730: Is the most dominant mountain in the southeastern part of the Venediger Group in the High Tauern in Austria . Four arêtes radiate from its summit towards the north, east, south and southwest. To the southeast is the glacier of Nilkees and, to the northeast, is the Hexenkees . The Großer Eichhamkees to the northwest and the Kleiner Eichhamkees to the southwest have shrunk to insignificant slabs of ice. On
250-460: The High Tauern mountain range. Around 41% of the area is barren with sparse vegetation. Secondly, alpine pastures and meadows take up 29% of Virgen's area. Forests in Virgen also play an important part. With just over 20% of the land area forests make up the third largest type of land. All other land types make up a proportionally insignificant area. Meadows make up 9%, while farmland and gardens put together make up less than 1%. The northern part of
275-843: The Lienz Dolomits and the Karnisch Alps . The shortest road connection to North Tyrol is the Felbertauern road (P1) and the Felbertauern tunnel (about 5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi)). Lienz is located at a road junction between the federal Felbertauern road (B108), a road to the Puster Valley (B100) and South Tyrol, and a road to the Drautal valley and Carinthia . The district is divided into 33 municipalities : Hoher Eichham The Hoher Eichham (also Hocheichham ), at 3,371 m (AA) ,
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#1732773163104300-690: The Nilljoch Hut ( 1,990 m above sea level (AA) ) heading straight up the Niltal valley to the Nilkees glacier and the Eichhamscharte. From the Eichhamscharte the route now climbs the southern flank up to about 3,200 metres. The climbing route that now follows involves a short, steep section of rock face and a descent into a notch just before the summit block ( grade II ). The route is very exposed but may be secured by climbing bolts . From
325-579: The East, going along the state highway, the first subdivision is Mitteldorf with the hamlet of Bach. Further along the road is the Virgen village subdivision, the main center of the municipality, with the hamlet of Weite. Northeast of Virgen center is the subdivision of Mellitz on the stream of the same name, and northwest on the Virgen stream is the subdivision of Göriach with the Marin hamlet. Göriach and Mellitz are however partially merged with Virgen center. West of
350-582: The Isel is pushed to the right side of the valley by the Virgen alluvial cone , all the settlements in the valley are to the left of the river with the exception of Welzelach. The highest point in the municipality is Hoher Eichham (3371 m) in the Venediger Group . Also, the highest mountain in the Lasörling Group , the Lasörling (3098 m), is on the border of the municipality. Virgen consists of seven subdivisions with seven hamlets . Starting from
375-708: The Mitteldorfer Stream, and the right tributaries from the Lasörling Group are the Berger Stream, Mullitzbach, Fratnikbach, Saumitzbach, and the Arnitzbach. There are also several mountain lakes within the municipality, with the Berger See and the Zupalsee being the most well-known. Virgen, due to its location between the Virgen North Chain and the Lasörling Group, has a favorable climate. This
400-773: The North Arête is a rock tower, the Eichhamturm ( 3,255 m above sea level (AA) ). Along the continuation of the arête lies the Großer Hexenkopf ( 3,313 m above sea level (AA) ), which is roughly 600 metres as the crow flies from the Hoher Eichham. On the East Arête is the Niederer Eichham ("Lower Eichham", 3,247 m above sea level (AA) ). From this subpeak
425-682: The Zillertal mountain guide , Hans Hörhager, from Dornauberg . The mountain is usually ascended from the Bonn-Matreier Hut . Here, the climber initially heads for the Sailkopf using its normal route , then drops about 130 metres of height along its northwest arête to the Sailscharte. Next the Nilkees is crossed, heading westwards to the Eichhamscharte notch( 3,125 m above sea level (AA) ). Alternatively one can start at
450-537: The east of the municipality are small parts of the Matreier zone, which consists of numerous, intermingled, rocks (phyllite, quartzite, gypsum , bright dolomite and dark limestone, greywacke , and greenschist) of various origins. The Matreier zone runs in a narrow band from Mitteldorf to Berger Törl. Virgen lies within the Venediger Group between the Virgen North Chain in the north and the Lasörling Group in
475-861: The municipality center is the Obermauern subdivision on the Nillbach stream, and south of Obermauern is the Niedermauern subdivision with the Gries und Rain hamlet. The westernmost subdivision is Welzelach. In addition to the subdivisions and hamlets, there are also high altitude individual farms such as Sonnberg above Mellitz, east of Obermauern. The town of Matrei in Osttirol , with the second largest population in Lienz district, functions as an economic, social, and medical center in Northeast Tyrol and
500-480: The municipality, the Virgen North Chain, is geologically part of the Alpine shale layer. This slate layer, which lies above a gneiss layer, consists of multiple layers of shale one on top of the other. The upper shale layer consists of calcareous shale and calcareous phyllite , which are recognizable by pale yellow and lead-grey colors or their characteristic "panel" or "board" shape. Directly under this upper layer
525-785: The only part of modern Tyrol not occupied by France after the Second World War , instead forming part of the British zone . The district comprises parts of the Puster Valley , the valleys of Iseltal , Defereggen , Virgental , Kalser Tal , and the Tyrolean Gailtal . Mountain ranges in the district include parts of the Hohe Tauern with Venediger Group and Glockner Group , the Defereggen Alps ,
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#1732773163104550-415: The precipitation in higher locations is strongly increased. Virgen receives relatively little snow in terms of height and consistency of the snow cover (around 110 days). January and February are the driest months. The average annual temperature in Virgen between 2000 and 2002 was 6.8°C when January was the coldest month at -2.9°C and August was the warmest at 15.9°C. This Tyrol location article
575-470: The south, and South Tyrol ( Italy ) in the west. The area of the district is 2,016.41 square kilometres (778.54 sq mi) with a population of 48,833 o January 1, 2019, and population a density of 25 per square kilometre (65/sq mi). The administrative center of the district is Lienz . In 1918, it was occupied by the Italian Army. In 1919, Trentino and South Tyrol were split from what
600-501: The south, whose main ridges mark the borders in the north and the south. There are several mountains over 3000 meters directly on the borders of Virgen. The tallest mountains in the Virgen North Chain on the municipality's border are Hoher Eichham (3371 m), Säulkopf (3209 m), and Ochsenbug (3007 m). The most important summits in the Lasörling Group on Virgen's border are the Lasörling (3098 m), Berger Kogel (2656 m), and Donnerstein (2725 m). The most important river in Virgen municipality
625-414: The sunshine loss in the Ötztal is as high as between one and two thirds. Due to the mountains in the north, Virgen is shielded from the cold Tauernwind , which reaches unprotected Matrei to the south. Since cold air can flow down the Isel, there are hardly any cold lakes in Virgen. The greatest rainfall in Virgen occurs during June and July. On average Virgen receives 900 mm of precipitation per year, where
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