Festung Kufstein

Festung Kufstein, Austria

High above the city of Kufstein, Austria and the river Inn, you can see the Festung Kufstein – a fortress on a 90 meters high rock. It was first mentioned in the year 1205 CE and you can today easily visit it because of an inclined lift – the Panoramabahn. Within the fortress, you will find a restaurant, a museum and a former prison. Most of the castle grounds can be explored and the location gives you good views on the surrounding area. If you like you can also walk back down to the city through roofed passages.

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Kufsteinlied

Inn, Kufstein

“Kennst du die Perle, die Perle Tirols,
das Städchen Kufstein, das kennst du wohl.
Umrahmt von Bergen, so friedlich und still:
Ja das ist Kufstein, an dem grünen Inn.”

– Karl Ganzer

Seearena

Seearena, Hechtsee, Kiefersfelden

Next to the lake Hechtsee in the borderland between Kufstein, Austria and Kiefersfelden, Germany you can find a building which includes all facilities to allow people to use the lake as a giant outdoor pool. This Badeanstalt (swimming baths) carries the name ‘Seearena‘ and also includes a restaurant that is open also for people just walking around the lake and also in winter times.

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Thierberg

Kufstein, seen from Thierberg, Austria

Fortunately the Thierberg mountain between Kufstein, Austria and Kiefersfelden, Germany isn’t the highest mountain of the region. It is quite a task to get up there but it is doable and you should do it because of the ruin and the chapel on top. The castle was built in 1280 and the last restauration works were done in 2001 – you can now climb up on top of the tower and have fantastic views on Kufstein and the Kaiser Mountains. The chapel also includes a nativity scene in realistic Arab style.

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Achensee

Mountains around Achensee, Austria

The Achensee is a long-stretched lake in Austria between Kufstein and Innsbruck, not far away from the border to Germany. It is the largest lake of Tyrol and up to 133 meters deep. The area was formerly mostly used for hunting and fishing, the lake has a high variety of fish species. Today tourism plays an important role and you can go do a roundtrip by boat which takes about two hours. This is beautiful because of the high mountains surrounding the lake with snow on top, some long waterfalls and everchanging vegetation.

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Steam engines

Zillertalbahn, Jenbach

When visiting the railway station of Jenbach, Austria there’s a high probability of dense smoke. That’s because here two special railways are starting that often operate with steam engines: the Achenseebahn and the Zillertalbahn. The Achenseebahn is rather short and takes you 6.7 kilometers to nearby Achensee lake (which is really beautiful, by the way). It is narrow-gauge cog railway opened in 1889. At the final stop you can board a ship doing a roundtrip on the lake in between high mountains.

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Museumsfriedhof

Museumsfriedhof, Kramsach

People dislike to think about the end of their lifes. That is one reason why there aren’t many museums about death, even if it is inevitable for everyone. The special burial traditions of the region of the Alps is shown on the Museumsfriedhof Tirol in Kramsach, Austria. If you’re going via Brennero through the Alps it is a good stop. Don’t expect a scientific approach – it is rather an obscure collection of graveyard signs that make you wonder and laugh.

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