Bruck an der Großglocknerstraße is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (Pinzgau

Pinzgau

The Bezirk Zell am See is an administrative district in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Pinzgau region....

 region), in the state of Salzburg

Salzburg (state)

Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...

 in Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. The population (as of December 2008) is 4438.

The community lies in Pinzgau in Salzburg at the northern entrance to the Grossglockner High Alpine Road

Grossglockner High Alpine Road

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is a panoramic road in Austria, in the state of Salzburg. It connects the state of Salzburg with the state of Carinthia...

.

Local communities or hamlets are: Brandenau, Bruck an der Großglocknerstraße, Fischhorn, Gries

Gries

Gries may refer to:* Gries am Brenner, a municipality in Tyrol, Austria* Gries, Bas-Rhin, a municipality in the department Bas-Rhin, France* Gries im Sellrain, a municipality in Tyrol, Austria* Gries, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...

, Hauserdorf, Hundsdorf

Hundsdorf

Hundsdorf is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...

, Krössenbach, Niederhof

Niederhof

Niederhof may refer to:*Dolní Dvůr or , a village and municipality in Trutnov District, Czech Republic*Księży Dwór, Działdowo County or , a village in Gmina Działdowo, Poland*Mokronos Dolny or , a village Gmina Kąty Wrocławskie, Poland...

, Pichl

Pichl

Pichl:* Pichl bei Wels, a municipality in the district of Wels-Land, Upper Austria* Pichl-Preunegg, a municipality in the Liezen, Austria* Pichl-Kainisch, a village in the Salzkammergut, Liezen, Austria...

, Reit, Sankt Georgen

Sankt Georgen

Sankt Georgen may refer to several places, all named after the German name of Saint George:- In Austria :*in Carinthia:**Sankt Georgen am Längsee in the district St...

, Steinbach, Vorfusch and Winkl.

Neighboring municipalities are Zell am See

Zell am See

Zell am See is the capital city of the Zell am See district in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The city has about 10,000 inhabitants.Zell am See is a tourist destination and a transportation hub for the region...

, Taxenbach

Taxenbach

Taxenbach is a market town in the district of Zell am See , in the state of Salzburg in Austria. The population is 2918....

, Fusch, Kaprun

Kaprun

Kaprun is a small alpine village in the district of Zell am See in the state of Salzburg, Austria. At the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, it is a year round sports centre, with a population of 2,903 ....

, and Maria Alm

Maria Alm

Maria Alm am Steinernen Meer is a municipality in the district of Zell am See , in the state of Salzburg in Austria, located about east of Saalfelden...

.

History

Evidence points to a settlement as early as the Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

 and Hallstatt period. The Illyrians

Illyrians

The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...

 and Celts settled here, like the Romans. Then Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

ns settled and mingled with the population. The first mention of the name "Prugg im Pinzgrey" occurred in the year 1227. Since the completion of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road

Grossglockner High Alpine Road

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is a panoramic road in Austria, in the state of Salzburg. It connects the state of Salzburg with the state of Carinthia...

 in 1935, the city has been called "Bruck an der Großglocknerstraße" ("Bridge at the Grossglockner road"). In 1938, the independent village of Sankt Georgen ("St. Georgen") was amalgamated.

Coat of arms

After the Second World War, in Bruck's efforts to create a separate community stepped up arms again, there was a new draft, which was included in the former official seal of the municipality. This seal had included the then-unofficial emblem Eismadonna (iron madonna) as a coat of arms. Considering the fact that several communities in the region of Pinzgau, from a long time ago, had also used the Madonna's heraldic symbol, it had been discouraged by this kind of arms design.

As provided in the following years, but again the link with the town's name of the bridge over the river, a crook was added to the former seal, symbolizing the close association with the Lord on Fischhorn Castle, the Bishop of Chiemsee. This kind of presentation of a herald was welcomed with little enthusiasm.
After long deliberation, it was decided then at least to a so-called speaking of arms, which was created by Prof. Mag Gerd Nowotny and then from the Salzburg provincial government on 17 September 1976, the town was also awarded: the coat of arms shows, in a silver shield, a three-peaked green mountain, with a silver bridge, in front, crossing along a river.

It is expressed therefore, in the coat of arms, as the bridge over the Salzach River, the name of the place and the connection with St. George brought about by the Three Brothers symbolized expression.

Politics

The local council of Bruck an der Großglocknerstraße has 21 members and is made up from local council elections since 2009 as follows:

10  SPO

  8  ÖVP

  2  FPÖ

  1  Green

The directly elected mayor is Herbert Reisinger (SPO).

Transportation

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road

Grossglockner High Alpine Road

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is a panoramic road in Austria, in the state of Salzburg. It connects the state of Salzburg with the state of Carinthia...

, as a high-altitude mountain road, connects the two Austrian provinces of Salzburg

Salzburg (state)

Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...

 and Carinthia

Carinthia (state)

Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...

. The span from Bruck to Heiligenblut

Heiligenblut

Heiligenblut is a municipality in the district of Spittal an der Drau in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Situated in the high-Alpine region of the Hohe Tauern mountain range at 1,288 meters, Heiligenblut is located at the foot of the Großglockner, the highest mountain in Austria, and the Pasterze...

along the road is 47.8 kilometres (29.7 mi) long.