Tux is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol.
The parish of Tux covers the higher and largest part of the Tuxertal, a side valley of the Zillertal that branches off at Mayrhofen. The territory of the parish extends to the glaciated peak of Olperer (3,476 m) and the 2,338 m high saddle of the Tuxer Joch, a crossing between the Zillertal and Wipptal valleys that was heavily used even in the protohistoric period. Other prominent peaks within the municipality are the 3,288 m high Gefrorene Wand Spitze and the 3,231 m high Hoher Riffler. The highest farmsteads lie at a height of 1,630 m.
Tux consists of the five villages of Tux-Vorderlanersbach (former Vorderlanersbach), Tux-Lanersbach (former Lanersbach), Juns, Madseit, and Hintertux.
Hintertux lies furthest up the valley at the foot of the Hintertux Glacier (one of the most popular summer skiing regions in Austria), and is surrounded by mountains and glaciers. It consists of hotels, guest houses and scattered farmhouses. The Church of the Assumption (Kirche Maria Himmelfahrt) was completed in 1952 on the site of a previous one that had been blown up in 1941.
In Hintertux are the highest thermal baths in Europe, with their various mineral springs. In the immediate vicinity of the Spannagelhaus lies the Spannagel Cave, that is over 10 km long and the largest natural cave in the Austrian Central Alps. The cave is under a preservation order and may only be visited as part of a guided tour.
At the Tuxer Ferner glacier is an all-season skiing area with a large number of lifts. The place is the base for many walks and high Alpine tours. The Hintertux Glacier Ski Region (Skigebiet Hintertuxer Gletscher) belongs to the Zillertal 3000 ski region and is a popular with skiers in summer as well as winter.
Hintertux has a population of 178 (as at: 2006). Until 1926 it belonged to the parish of Schmirn am Brenner.
|