Kitzbühel

Kitzbühel, town, western Austria, in the Kitzbühel Alps, at the southern foot of the Kitzbüheler Horn (6,548 feet [1,998 metres]). First mentioned in 1165 and chartered in 1271, it was held by the bishops of Regensburg and Bamberg under the dukes of Bavaria until it passed to Tirol in 1504. Silver and copper mining brought great prosperity in the 16th and 17th centuries. The town has many old gabled houses, and several of its medieval castles have been converted into hotels. Notable buildings include the parish church of St. Andreas (1435–1506, with a Baroque interior), the 14th-century church of St. Katharina, and the two-story Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady, with lower [1373] and upper [1490] levels; converted to Baroque style 1738; see photograph). A world-famous winter-sports centre, Kitzbühel is also a climatic health resort with a busy summer tourist trade. Adjacent is the spa of Schwarzsee (a warm mountain lake). Pop. (2001) 8,574.