Wörgl

Wörgl is a city of about 13,000 people (2016) in Tyrol, Austria.

Understand

History

Wörgl was the site of the "Miracle of Wörgl" during the Great Depression. It was started on July 31, 1932, with the issuing of "Certified Compensation Bills", a form of local currency commonly known as Stamp Scrip, or Freigeld. This was an application of the monetary theories of the economist Silvio Gesell by the town's then-mayor, Michael Unterguggenberger.

The experiment resulted in a growth in employment and meant that local government projects such as new houses, a reservoir, a ski jump and a bridge could all be completed, seeming to defy the depression in the rest of the country. Inflation and deflation are also reputed to have been non-existent for the duration of the experiment.

Despite attracting great interest at the time, including from French Premier Edouard Daladier and the economist Irving Fisher, the "experiment" was terminated by the Austrian National Bank on September 1, 1933. In 2006 milestones were placed, beginning from the railway station through the downtown, to show this history.

Nearby Itter Castle was the site of one of the last European and most unusual battles of World War II. The Battle for Itter Castle was fought on May 5, 1945 by surrendered Wehrmacht troops, the United States Army, Austrian Resistance fighters and former French political prisoners against the 17th Waffen-SS Panzer Grenadier Division. The leader of the surrendered Wehrmacht troops, Major Josef "Sepp" Gangl, was killed during the battle and is buried in Wörgl's municipal cemetery. A street in the city is named for Sepp Gangl.

Get in

• Wörgl Hauptbahnhof, main station and bus terminal.
• A12 Inntalautobahn motorway junctions Wörgl Ost and Wörgl West. Note: the 5 km long, once toll-free section of this Autobahn, now collects a toll from the German border at Kiefersfelden to the "Kufstein-Süd" exit.

Get around

• CityBus
• VVT (Verkehrsverbund Tirol)

See

Stadtpfarrkriche Sankt Laurentius church

• 1 Church of St. Laurentius. (updated Jan 2020)
• 2 Heimatmuseum. A museum of local history. (updated Jan 2020)

Buy

• Bahnhofstraße
• M4, Salzburger Straße 32. Shopping mall (updated Jun 2018)
• Westend

Eat

• 1 Antonio, Salzburger Straße 22, ☏ +43 5332 74094. W-Su 11:30-13:45, 17:30-22:30. Italian; pizza (updated Jun 2018)
• 2 Ginko, Josef Steinbacher-Straße 2, ☏ +43 5332 77377. Tu-F 11:30-14:00, 18:00-23:00; Sa Su 18:00-23:00. Korean, Japanese, sushi. (updated Jun 2018)
• 3 Christophorus, Innsbrucker Straße 45, ☏ +43 5332 71177. Tu-Sa 11:00-14:00, 17:30-24:00. Regional, pizza. (updated Jun 2018)
• Ibounig. (updated Jun 2018)

Drink

• 1 Sito Bar, Andreas Hofer-Platz 2. Tu-Th 18:00-02:00; F Sa 19:00-04:00. (updated Jun 2018)
• 2 Onyx, Bahnhofstraße 8, ☏ +43 660 3127133. 18:00-04:00. (updated Jun 2018)
• 3 Biergarten, Madersbacherweg 34, ☏ +43 660 6667770. M-Sa 16:30-23:00; Su and hols 11:30-22:00. (updated Jun 2018)

Sleep

• Hotel Alte Post, Andreas Hofer-Platz 2, ☏ +43 5332 72203, office@altepost-woergl.at. (updated Jun 2018)
• Tiroler Stuben, Innsbrucker Straße 62, ☏ +43 5332 76035, info@tirolerstuben.info. (updated Jun 2018)

Go next

• Hundalm Ice and Stalactite Cave in Angerberg.
• SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser - Brixental skiing and hiking ressort.