District Imst Postal code 6450 Elevation 1,368 m Local time Tuesday 2:00 PM | Time zone CET (UTC+1) Area code 05254 Area 466.9 km² Population 4,252 (1 Jan 2012) | |
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Weather 4°C, Wind N at 8 km/h, 77% Humidity | ||
Sölden is a municipality in the Ötztal valley of Tyrol, Austria.
Contents
Map of 6450 Soelden, Austria
Geography
At c. 467 km2 (180 sq mi), it is the largest municipality in the country. The population of 3,449 (as of 2003) is outnumbered by tourists, of which 15,000 can be accommodated. With tourist bed nights running at over two million per year, the municipality is third only to Vienna and Salzburg as an Austrian tourist destination. Sölden has lost some of its former small village charm, but other attractions have been enhanced in recent years.
The main village of Sölden is at an elevation of 1,368 metres (4,488 ft) above sea level, and the upper village of Hochsölden at 2,090 m (6,857 ft) has 5 four-star hotels. The highest peak is the Wildspitze, at 3,768 m (12,362 ft), the second highest mountain in Austria, after the Großglockner.
The Ötztal Glacier Road is the second highest paved road in Europe. It is the access road from Sölden to the Rettenbach glacier and Tiefenbachferner glaciers in the Ötztal Alps.
The English spelling of the town is "Soelden". One may come across websites and directions using this spelling of the town.
Settlement
The oldest tool finds in the region of present day Sölden, evidence of human settlement are approximately thousends of years old. Most famous in this kind is Ötzi, also called the Iceman, the Similaun Man, the Man from Hauslabjoch, the Tyrolean Iceman, Homo tyrolensis, and the Hauslabjoch mummy) is a nickname given to the well-preserved natural mummy of a man who lived around 3,300 BCE. Soelden as we know it today grow out of 20 buildings in the 13th century AD. One of this buildings which still exists today is the Berghof. A building on the site of the Berghof was first mentioned already in 1370. In 1588, the Berghof was listed in the records of St. Petersberg Castle as one of the original farmsteads.
Ski resort
Sölden is also a popular ski resort and regularly hosts the first World Cup races of the season; a giant slalom for both men and women is usually scheduled for late October on the Rettenbach glacier. The races in October 2011 started at 3,040 m (9,974 ft) and finished at 2,670 m (8,760 ft).