Zell am See

Infobox Town AT
name=Zell am See
name_local=
image_coa = Wappen at zell am see.png

state = Salzburg
district = Zell am See
population = 9967
population_ref =
pop_dens = 2,288
area = 55.17
elevation = 750
lat_deg=47
lat_min=19
lat_hem=N
lon_deg=12
lon_min=48
lon_hem=E
postal_code = 5700
area_code = 06542
licence = ZE
mayor = Dr. Georg Maltschnig (SPÖ)
website = [http://www.zellamsee.salzburg.at/ www.zellamsee.salzburg.at]

Zell am See is the capital of the Zell am See district in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The city is the second largest city in the Pinzgau with about 10,000 inhabitants.

Zell am See is a tourist destination and a transportation hub for the region.

Geography

Location

The Zeller basin is a corridor between the Saalach and the Salzach. The lake is the 68 meters deep Zeller See (Lake Zeller), with the old town in the west, Thumersbach in the east, Erlberg in the Southeast and Schüttdorf in the south.

City Outline

The City of Zell am See is divided into five districts:

*Bruckberg (popular residential area)
**Zellermoos
*Erlberg (includes a nature reserve)
*Schmitten (location of many cableways)
*Thumersbach (Nobel district, a popular seaside resort and beautiful landscape)
**Prielau (a popular summer resort)
*Zell am See
**Old Town (centre sites)
**South Zell am See (Schüttdorf) (population richest part)

Landscape

The original ZellerSee was further to the north and the south to the Salzach but has changed over time into great marsh areas. It has the characteristic shape of a peanut and its area is about 4.7 square kilometers.

The "Hausberg" of Zell am See is the Schmittenhöhe, is a famous mountain in the greywacke zone (including grass Pinzgauer mountains), which today is mainly used for winter sports. The "Hundstein" at 2,117 meters is the highest peak of the Salzburg slate Alps. The mountains are mainly forested or agricultural fields.

History

Zell am See was already populated in Roman times. In 740 AD, by order of the Archbishop Johannes (John) of Salzburg, monks founded the village "Cella in Bisonzio". Zell received the rights of a market town in 1357, and its city rights on January 24 1928.

Timeline

*1875, July 30 - Railway opening (Giselabahn), start of tourism in the summer months
*1879, July 15 - Opening of the Hotel "Elisabeth"
*1881 - Start of steam navigation with boat "Elisabeth" on the lake
*1885 - Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) visits the Schmittenhöhe (mountain)
*1887 - The Municipality takes over the ship navigation on the Zeller Lake
*1893 - Visit of the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef I
*1894 - A landmark of the town - the Grand Hotel - is built
*1898 - Business start of the Pinzgau Local Railway (Pinzgauer Lokalbahn)
*1906 - Foundation of the Skiing Club Zell am See; first winter sports festival
*1906 and 1910 - Acquisition of electric motor boats, end of steam ship navigation
*1914 - Railway track becomes double tracked
*1924 - A light plane lands on the sheet of ice of the Zeller Lake
*1928 - Construction of the tennis courts (used for ice-skating and ice-hockey in winter)
*1928, January 25 - Commissioning of the Schmittenhöhebahn (up to the Schmitten mountain)
*1928 - Foundation of a chapter of the Austrian Aeronautical Association (Österr. Flugtechnischer Verein)
*1930 - Opening of the Hauptschule (similar to a UK secondary modern school)
*1937, February 5 - Academic World Wintergames
*1945 - City serves as a base for Company "E" of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 101st Airborne Division.
*1952, May 8 - Opening of the Alpine Gliding School
*1959, May 15 - Opening of Airport Zell
*1961 - Zell receives the status of a climatic spa
*1966 - Serious damage due to thunderstorms, the River Schmitten overflows its banks
*1968 - Construction of the Spa- and Sportcenter and foundation of the Europe Sports Region
*1973 - Ski-Worldcup (December 12th to December 20th)
*1975 - Rosenberg Castle (16th century) becomes the town hall
*1976 - Opening of the new hospital
*1977 - Commissioning of the one-rope chairlift "Zeller Bergbahn"
*1979 - Consecration of the pedestrian area
*1979 - Worldcup Downhill Women
*1981 - Honorary citizen/Dr.h.c.Ferdinand Porsche
*1981 - Honorary citizen/Commercial Council Dr.h.c. Louise Piech-Porsche
*1996 - Opening of the road tunnel (Schmittentunnel 5110 m)
*2000 - Award ceremony of the Sydney Olympia winners Steinacher + Hagara (Tornado-Sailing)
*2004 - Award ceremony of the Athens Olympia winners Steinacher + Hagara (Tornado-Sailing)
*2005 - Christening of the third ship on the Zeller Lake, the "Schmittenhöhe)

"(Source: Custos Cav. H. Scholz)"

Attractions

St. Hippolyte's Church

Within this church are the oldest known building remnants of the Pinzgau. The church is build in a mostly Romanesque style and consist of three naves. Before 1794 the central nave was crowned with a Gothic vault, but in that year it was replaced with another vault, which in turn was replaced by a flat wooden roof in 1898. Four steps lead up to the main altar, but the crypt has been filled in. The narthex and aisles are still Gothic, but some of the other Gothic objects (like the neogothic altars by Josef Bachlehner) were added during the renovation in 1898, when also the baroque furnishings of preceding centuries were removed.

The highpoint of the church is its elevated walkway with its ornate parapet, build in 1514. The walkway rests on four carved columns of precious marble, in between which an intricate net-vault is spun. The three pointed arches are crowned with crockets, and end in pointed towers. Between the arches are Gothic baldachins with cut-out figures of St. Hippolyte and St. Florian, originating from 1520.

The tower is the main focus of the Zell am See skyline. It has a height of 36 meters. The strong walls have a limestone exterior.

From 1660 until 1670, the main altar was replaced by a Baroque one, which was removed again in 1760. Almost none of the Baroque furnishings of the church remain apart from some adornments. Two Baroque statues ended up in the church of Prielau. Next to the main altar are two statues dating from 1480: St. Rupert and St. Vigilius. The side altar contains an image of the Virgin Mary from the now non-existent Church of Maria Wald, which dates from 1540. The left nave has a small altar dedicated to St. Sebastian in its apsis.

Education

In Zell am See there are 3 elementary schools, one hauptschule, one special school, one vocational school, one grammar school, one commercial academy and a commercial school:
* [http://land.salzburg.at/vs-zell/ Volksschule Zell am See]
* [http://land.salzburg.at/vs-schuettdorf/ Volksschule Schüttdorf]
* [http://land.salzburg.at/vs-thumersbach/ Volksschule Thumersbach]
* [http://www.hs-zell.salzburg.at/ Hauptschule Zell am See]
* [http://land.salzburg.at/spz-zell/ Allgemeine Sonderschule]
* [http://land.salzburg.at/pts-zell/ Polytechnische Schule Zell am See]
* [http://www.lbs-zell.salzburg.at/ Landesberufsschule Zell am See]
* [http://www.gymzell.at/ Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Zell am See]
* [http://www.hakzell.at/ Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule]