Tuxer Joch
Encyclopedia
The Tuxer Joch is a mountain pass
in the Zillertal Alps
at a height of that links the lower Zillertal
valley with the Brenner route just north of the Brenner Pass
. To the northeast just below the summit lies the Tuxer Joch-Haus.
and south Alpine flints indicate that the Tuxer Joch was crossed by Stone Age
peoples. A decorative pin from the Bronze Age
was found at the pass. Farmers drove their cattle over the saddle, and farmers and traders also crossed the pass bearing local products. Occasionally funeral processions also passed this way, because the village of Tux once belonged to the parish of Schmirn
on the other side of the saddle, so the dead had to be carried there. Later this parochial structure was changed, but the secular administrative arrangement was not altered until 1926. But the Tuxer Tal had long been oriented towards the Zillertal
and when it was subsequently linked by a road in the 19th century, the Tuxer Joch lost its importance for local traffic and has since acted merely as a transit path for walkers.
In 1940/41 a plan emerged to build a tourist road over the Tuxer Joch, and a full-blown project was developed. This project was not just set up for tourist purposes, because a side road to the Brenner Pass was of considerable military-strategic importance to the Wehrmacht
.
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
in the Zillertal Alps
Zillertal Alps
The Zillertal Alps are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps on the border of Austria and Italy. The range is named after the Zillertal on its north....
at a height of that links the lower Zillertal
Zillertal
The Zillertal is the biggest valley branching off the Inn valley in Tyrol, Austria drained by the river Ziller. It is surrounded by the strongly glaciated Zillertal Alps to the south and east, the lower grass peaks of the Kitzbühel Alps to the east and Tux Alps to the west...
valley with the Brenner route just north of the Brenner Pass
Brenner Pass
- Roadways :The motorway E45 leading from Innsbruck via Bolzano to Verona and Modena uses this pass, and is one of the most important north-south connections in Europe...
. To the northeast just below the summit lies the Tuxer Joch-Haus.
History
In early times there was a busy cart track over the Tuxer Joch from the Brenner route into the Zillertal valley. As early as prehistoric times the saddle was known to humans. Finds of tools made of hornsteinHornstein
- Family names :* Frank Hornstein* Harvey A. Hornstein, PhD, author of Brutal Bosses and their Prey: How to Identify and Overcome Abuse in the Workplace...
and south Alpine flints indicate that the Tuxer Joch was crossed by Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
peoples. A decorative pin from 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...
was found at the pass. Farmers drove their cattle over the saddle, and farmers and traders also crossed the pass bearing local products. Occasionally funeral processions also passed this way, because the village of Tux once belonged to the parish of Schmirn
Schmirn
Schmirn is a municipality of 890 inhabitants , has an area of 62,7 kmq and an elevation of 1407 m. -Geography:Schmirn is located in the District Innsbruck-Land at 25 km southeast of Innsbruck, situated in the homonymous valley that branches off from Wipptal, at the village of Sankt Jodok until to...
on the other side of the saddle, so the dead had to be carried there. Later this parochial structure was changed, but the secular administrative arrangement was not altered until 1926. But the Tuxer Tal had long been oriented towards the Zillertal
Zillertal
The Zillertal is the biggest valley branching off the Inn valley in Tyrol, Austria drained by the river Ziller. It is surrounded by the strongly glaciated Zillertal Alps to the south and east, the lower grass peaks of the Kitzbühel Alps to the east and Tux Alps to the west...
and when it was subsequently linked by a road in the 19th century, the Tuxer Joch lost its importance for local traffic and has since acted merely as a transit path for walkers.
In 1940/41 a plan emerged to build a tourist road over the Tuxer Joch, and a full-blown project was developed. This project was not just set up for tourist purposes, because a side road to the Brenner Pass was of considerable military-strategic importance to the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
.
See also
- List of highest paved roads in Europe
- List of mountain passes