NORTH TIROL--UNTERINNTHAL (RIGHT INN-BANK).
THE ZILLERTHAL.
'I may venture to say that among the nations of Europe, and I have
more or less seen them all, I do not know any one in which there
is so large a measure of real piety as among the Tyroleans.... I
do not recollect to have once heard in the country an expression
savouring of scepticism.'--Inglis.
The Zillerthal claims to bear the palm over all the Valleys of Tirol
for natural beauty--a claim against which the other valleys may,
I think, find something to say.
There is an organised service of carriages (the road is only good
for an einspanner--one-horse vehicle) into the Zillerthal, at both
Brixlegg and Jenbach, taking between four and five hours to reach
Zell, an hour and a-half more to Mayrhofen. Its greatest ornaments are
the castles of Kropfsberg, Lichtwer, and Matzen; the Reiterkogel and
the Gerlos mountains, forming the present boundary against Salzburg;
and the Ziller, with its rapid current which gave it its name (from
celer), [53] its tributary streams might very well have received the
same appellation, for their celerity is often so impetuous that great
damage is done to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood.
Before starting for the Zillerthal I may mention two castles which may
also be seen from Jenbach, though like it they belong in strictness
to the chapter on the Left Inn-bank. One is Thurnegg by name, which
was restored as a hunting-seat by Archduke Ferdinand; and at the
instance of his second wife, the pious Anna Katharina of Mantua, he
added a chapel, in order that his hunting-parties might always have
the opportunity of hearing Mass before setting out for their sport.
Another is Tratzberg, which derived its name from its defiant
character. It is situated within an easy walk of Jenbach. Permission
to visit it is readily given, for it counts as a show-place. It may
be taken on the way to S. Georgenberg and Viecht, but it occupies too
much time, and quite merits the separate excursion by its collections
and its views. Frederick sold it in 1470 to Christian Tänzel,
a rich mining proprietor of the neighbourhood, who purchased with
it the right to bear the title of Knight of Tratzberg. No expense
was spared in its decoration, and its paintings and marbles made it
the wonder of the country round. In 1573 it passed into the hands
of the Fuggers, and at the present day belongs to Count Enzenberg,
who makes it an occasional residence. A story is told of it which is
in striking contrast to that mentioned of Thurnegg. One of the knights
of the castle in ancient time had a reputation for caring more for the
pleasures of the chase than for the observances of religion. Though he
could get up at an early hour enough at the call of his Jäger's horn,
the chapel bell vainly wooed him to Mass.
In vain morning by morning his guardian angel directed the sacred
sound upon his ear; the knight only rolled himself up more warmly
in the coverlet, and said, 'No need to stir yet, the dogs are not
brought round till five o'clock.'
'Ding--dong--dang! Come--to--Mass! Ding--dong--dang!' sang the bells.
'No, I can't,' yawned the knight, and covered his ear with the
bed-clothes.
The bell was silent, and the knight knew that the pious people who
had to work hard all day for their living, and yet spared half an
hour to ask God's blessing on their labours, were gone into the chapel.
He fancied he saw the venerable old chaplain bowing before the altar,
and smiting his breast; he saw the faithful rise from their knees while
the glad tidings of the Gospel were announced, and they proclaimed
their faith in them in the Creed; he heard them fall on their knees
again while the sacred elements were offered on the altar and the
solemn words of the consecration pronounced; he saw little Johann,
the farrier's son, bow his head reverently on the steps, and then sound
the threefold bell which told of the most solemn moment of the sacred
mysteries; and the chapel bell took up the note, and announced the
joyful news to those whom illness or necessity forced to remain away.
Then hark! what was that? The rocks under the foundation of the castle
rattled together, and all the stones of its massive walls chattered
like the teeth of an old woman stricken with fear. The three hundred
and sixty-five windows of the edifice rattled in their casements,
but above them all sounded the piercing sound of the knight's cry
of anguish. The affrighted people rushed into the knight's chamber;
and what was their horror when, still sunk in the soft couch where
he was wont to take his ease, there he lay dead, while his throat
displayed the print of three black and burning claws. The lesson they
drew was that the knight, having received from his guardian angel the
impulse to repair his sloth by at least then rising to pay the homage
which the bell enjoined, had rejected even this last good counsel,
thereby filling up the measure of his faults. For years after marks
were shown upon the wall as having been sprinkled by his blood!
The first little town that reckons in the Zillerthal is Strass,
a very unpretending place, and then Schlitters.
At Schlitters they have a story of a butcher who, going to Strass to
buy an ox, had scarcely crossed the Zill and got a little way from
home, than he saw lying by the way-side a heap of the finest wheat. Not
liking to appropriate property which might have a legitimate owner,
he contented himself with putting a few grains in his pocket, and a
few into his sack, as a specimen. As he went by the way his pockets
and his sack began to get heavier and heavier, till it seemed as if
the weight would burst them through. Astonished at the circumstance he
put in his hand, and found them all full of shining gold. As soon as he
had recovered his composure, he set off at the top of his speed, and,
heeding neither hill or dale, regained the spot where he had first
seen the wheat. But it was no more to be seen. If he had had faith
to commend himself to God on his first surprise, say the peasants,
and made the holy sign of redemption, the whole treasure would have
been his.
There is another tradition at Schlitters of a more peculiar
character. It is confidently affirmed that the village once boasted
two churches, though but a very small one would supply the needs of
the inhabitants. Hormayr has sifted the matter to the bottom, and
explains it in this way. There lived in the neighbourhood two knights,
one belonging to the Rottenburger, and the other to the Freundsberger
family. Now the latter had a position of greater importance, but the
former possessed a full share of family haughtiness, and would not
yield precedence to any one. In order not to be placed on a footing
of inferiority, or even of equality, with his rival, he built a second
church, which he might attend without being brought into contact with
him. No expense was spared, and the church was solidly built enough;
but no blessing seemed to come on the edifice so built, no pains
could ever keep it in repair, and at last, after crumbling into ruin,
every stone of it disappeared.
Kropfsberg is a fine ruin, belonging to Count Enzenberg, seen a
little above Strass, on a commanding height between the high road
and the Inn. It is endeared to the memory of the Tiroleans by having
been the spot where, on St. Michael's Day, 1416, their favourite
Friedrich mit der leeren Tasche was reconciled with his brother Ernst
der Eiserne, who, after the Council of Constance had pronounced its
ban on Frederick, had thought to possess himself of his dominions.
The largest town of the Zillerthal is Fügen, a short distance below
Schlitters, and the people are so proud of it, that they have a saying
ever in their mouths, 'There is but one Vienna and one Fügen in the
world!' It doubtless owes its comparative liveliness and prosperity
to its château being kept up and often inhabited by its owners (the
Countess of Dönhof and her family). This is also a great ornament to
the place, having been originally built in the fifteenth century by the
lords of Fieger, though unhappily the period of its rebuilding (1733)
was not one very propitious to its style. The sculpture in the church
by the native artist, Nissl, is much more meritorious. The church of
Ried, a little further along the valley, is adorned with several very
creditable pictures by native artists. It is the native place of one
of the bravest of the defenders of throne and country, so celebrated
in local annals of the early part of the century, Sebastian Riedl. He
was only thirty-nine at his death in 1821. Once, on an occasion of
his fulfilling a mission to General Blucher, he received from him a
present of a hussar's jacket, which he wore at the battle of Katzbach,
and it is still shown with pride by his compatriots.
The Zillerthal was the only part of Tirol where Lutheranism ever
obtained any hold over the people. The population was very thin and
scattered, consequently they were out of the way of the regular
means of instruction in their own faith; and it often happened,
when their dwellings and lands were devastated by inundations, that
they were driven to seek a livelihood by carrying gloves, bags,
and other articles made of chamois leather, also of the horns of
goats and cattle, into the neighbouring states of Germany. Hence
they often came back imbued with the new doctrines, and bringing
books with them, which may have spread them further. This went on,
though without attracting much attention, till the year 1830, when
they demanded permission to erect a church of their own. The Stände
of Tirol were unanimous, however, to resist any infringement of the
unity of belief which had so long been preserved in the country. The
Emperor confirmed their decision, and gave the schismatics the option
of being reconciled with the Church, or of following their opinions
in other localities of the empire where Lutheran communities already
existed. A considerable number chose the latter alternative, and peace
was restored to the Zillerthal. Every facility was given them by the
government for making the move advantageously, and the inhabitants,
who had been long provoked by the scorn and ridicule with which the
exiles had treated their time-honoured observances, held a rejoicing
at the deliverance.
At the farther end of the valley is Zell, which though smaller in
population than Fügen, has come to be considered its chief town. Its
principal inn, for there are several--zum Post--if I recollect
right, claims to be not merely a Gasthaus, but a Gasthof. The
Brauhaus, however, with less pretension, is a charming resort of
the old-fashioned style, under the paternal management of Franz
Eigner, whose daughters sing their local melodies with great zest and
taste. The church, dedicated to St. Vitus, is modern, having been built
in 1771-82; but its slender green steeple is not inelegant. It contains
some meritorious frescoes by Zeiler. The town contains some most
picturesque buildings, as the Presbytery, grandiloquently styled the
Dechanthof, one or two educational establishments, several well-to-do
private houses, and the town-hall, once a flourishing brewery, which
failed--I can hardly guess how, for the chief industry of the place
is supplying the neighbourhood with beer.
A mile beyond Zell is Hainzenberg, where the process of gold-washing on
a small scale may be studied, said to be carried on by the owner, the
Bishop of Brizen, on a sort of ultra-co-operative principle, as a means
of support to the people of the place, without profit to himself. There
is also a rather fine waterfall in the neighbourhood, and an inn where
luncheon may be had. The most interesting circumstance, perhaps, in
connexion with Zell is the Kirchweih-fest, which is very celebrated
in all the country round. I was not fortunate enough to be in the
neighbourhood at the right time of year to witness it. On the other
side of the Hainzenberg, where the mountain climber can take his start
for the Gerlozalp, is a little sanctuary called Mariä-rastkapelle,
and behind it runs a sparkling brook. Of the chapel the following
singular account is given:--In olden time there stood near the stream
a patriarchal oak sacred to Hulda; [54] after the introduction of
Christianity the tree was hewn down, and as they felled it they heard
Hulda cry out from within. The people wanted to build up a chapel on
the spot in honour of the Blessed Virgin, and began to collect the
materials. No sooner had the labourers left their work, however,
than there appeared an army of ravens, who, setting themselves
vigorously to the task, carried every stone and every balk of wood
to a neighbouring spot. This happened day after day, till at last
the people took it as a sign that the soil profaned by the worship
of Hulda was not pleasing to heaven, and so they raised their chapel
on the place pointed out by the ravens, where it now stands.
After Mayrhof, the next village (with three inns), in the neighbourhood
of which garnets are found and mills for working them abound, the
Zillerthal spreads out into numerous branches of great picturesqueness,
but adapted only to the hardy pedestrian, as the Floitenthal,
the Sondergrundthal, the Hundskehlthal (Dog's-throat valley), the
Stillupethal, with its Teufelsteg, a bridge spanning a giddy ravine,
and its dashing series of waterfalls. The whole closed in by the Zemmer
range and its glaciers, the boundary against South-Tirol, said to
contain some of the finest scenery and best hunting-grounds in the
country. It has been also called the 'el Dorado' of the botanist
and the mineralogist. The most important of these by-valleys is
the Duxerthal, by non-Tiroleans generally written Tuxerthal, a very
high-lying tract of country, and consequently one of the coldest and
wildest districts of Tirol. Nevertheless, its enclosed and secluded
retreat retains a saying perhaps many thousand years old, that once
it was a bright and fertile spot yielding the richest pastures, and
that then the population grew so wanton in their abundance that they
wasted their substance. Then there came upon them from above an icy
blast, before which their children and their young cattle sank down
and died; and the herbage was, as it were, bound up, and the earth was
hardened, so that it only brought forth scarce and stunted herbs, and
the mountain which bounded their pleasant valley itself turned to ice,
and is called to this day die gefrorene Wand, the frozen wall. The
scattered population of this remote valley numbered so few souls,
that they depended on neighbouring villages for their ecclesiastical
care, and during winter when shut in by the snow within their natural
fastnesses, were cut off from all spiritual ministration, so that
the bodies of those who died were preserved in a large chest, of
which the remains are yet shown, until the spring made their removal
to Mattrey possible. In the middle of the seventeenth century they
numbered 645 souls, and have now increased to about 1,400; about the
year 1686 they built a church of their own, which is now served by
two or three priests. For the first couple of miles the valley sides
are so steep, that the only level ground between them is the bed of
an oft-times torrential stream, but yet they are covered almost to
the very top with a certain kind of verdure; further on it widens
out into the district of Hinterdux, which is a comparatively pleasant
cheerful spot, with some of the small cattle (which are reared here
as better adapted to the gradients on which they have to find their
food,) browsing about, and sundry goats and sheep, quite at home on
the steeps. But scarce a tree or shrub is to be seen--just a few firs,
and here and there a solitary mountain pine; and in the coldest season
the greatest suffering is experienced from want of wood to burn. The
only resource is grubbing up the roots remaining from that earlier
happier time, which but for this proof might have been deemed fabulous.
The hardships which the inhabitants of this valley cheerfully undergo
ought to serve as a lesson of diligence indeed. The whole grass-bearing
soil is divided among them. The more prosperous have a cow or more of
their own, by the produce of which they live; others take in cows from
Innsbruck and Hall to graze. The butter they make becomes an article of
merchandise, the transport of which over the mountain paths provides
a hard and precarious livelihood for a yet poorer class; the pay is
about a halfpenny per lb. per day, and to make the wage eke out a
man will carry a hundred and a woman fifty to seventy pounds through
all weathers and over dangerous paths, sleeping by night on the hard
ground, the chance of a bundle of hay in winter being a luxury; and
one of their snow-covered peaks is with a certain irony named the
Federbett. They make some six or seven cwt. of cheese in the year,
but this is kept entirely for home consumption.
The care of these cattle involves a labour which only the strongest
constitution could stand--a continual climbing of mountains in the
cold, often in the dark, during great part of the year allowing
scarcely four or five hours for sleep. Nor is this their only
industry. They contrive also to grow barley and flax; this never
ripens, yet they make from it a kind of yarn, which finds a ready sale
in Innsbruck; they weave from it too a coarse linen, which helps to
clothe them, together with the home-spun wool of their sheep. Also, by
an incredible exercise of patience, they manage to heap up and support
a sufficient quantity of earth round the rough and stony soil of their
valley to set potatoes, carrots, and other roots. Notwithstanding
all these hardships, they are generally a healthy race, remarkable
for their endurance, frugality, and love of home. Neither does their
hard life make them neglect the improvement of the mind; nowhere are
schools more regularly attended, although the little children have
many of them an hour or two's walk through the snow. The church is
equally frequented; so that if the great cold be sent, as the legend
teaches, as a chastisement, [55] the people seem to have had grace
given them to turn it to good account.
The Zemgrund, Zamsergrund, and the Schwarzensteingrund, are other
pedestrian excursions much recommended from Mayrhof, but all equally
require the aid of local guides, and have less to repay toil than
those already described.
Travellers who merely pass through Tirol by rail may catch a sight
of the mountains which hem in the Duxerthal, just after passing the
station of Steinach, on their left hand, when facing the south.