Gnadenwald

Gnadenwald is located only a stone’s throw from Innsbruck at the foot of the Bettelwurf massif.

Altitude: 879 m asl

The church villages of St. Martin and St. Michael as well as several hamlets form the municipal area of Gnadenwald. For a long time this area was only referred to as “mountain above Terfens”, later on as “Wald/e”. Remarkable are above all the four powder mills and the marble quarry. The emblem of the municipality shows a green mountain outline, symbolizing the location of the village at the foot of the mountains, as well as two crosses, representing the name of the village (Gnade = mercy). By the way: the Tyrolean freedom fighter Josef Speckbacher was born in 1767 in Gnadenwald.

Part of Gnadenwald is also the Hinterhornalm pasture at 1,524 m asl, which is a particularly popular hiking destination. In summer this pasture can be reached from the component locality of St. Martin via a trail of 1.5 hours. From this alpine pasture you can of course walk on, e.g. to the so-called Almkreuz, a cross in Russian-orthodox style, or the Walder Alm pasture, or even to the summit of the 2,243 m high Hundskopf mountain. Also a toll-way takes you directly to the Hinterhornalm pasture, which is above all popular with cyclists. Every year there is the “Hinterhornchallenge”, a mountain bike race from St. Martin to the alpine pasture. At Gnadenwald, located at the foot of the Karwendel Alpine Park, the largest nature park of Tyrol, a stage of the St. James path goes by.

What about a very special holiday? There are also paragliding or hang-gliding courses. This area is ideal for these sports, which is proven by the hang-gliding European Championships that were staged in Gnadenwald in 2000. In winter, however, there are 27 km of cross-country ski trails. The toboggan run and an exercising slope with ski lift, ski school and ski kindergarten complete the offer for your winter holidays. And finally you should not miss to visit the Saint Michael parish church. It was built in 1337 and converted to Baroque style in the 18th century by Franz de Paula Penz. In front of the church, there is an old lime tree, which was planted on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the throne jubilee of the Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Our recommendation: a particular event in the village is the “Fassdauben”, a traditional competition of young farmers at the end of the winter. Instead of skiers, boards of old barrels are used. Simply great!