The market town of Matrei am Brenner is famous for its lushly decorated town houses and inns
Altitude: 992 m a.s.l.
Matrei, a tiny municipality in terms of surface area, is located in the northern part of the Wipptal valley. Its name derives from the Roman Road station "Matreium", term from which "locus Matereia" developed, which was first mentioned in 955 AD. As Matrei was bombed and savagely destroyed in WWII, the village was reconstructed afterwards in its original construction style.
Here you are on the way from the Brenner Pass to Innsbruck, which is located 17 km away. If you would like to cover the distance by bicycle, you can do so on the Wipptal Cycle Route following the course of the Sill river. A pleasant walk above the village, however, leads to the pilgrimage site Maria Waldrast - a trail, which turns into a cross-country ski track in winter. As Matrei is closely connected with Mühlbachl and Pfons, this village also shares some infrastructures and leisure time facilities with the neighbouring villages, e.g. the tennis courts.
The so-called "Lüftlmalerei", which refers to mural paintings, is popular both in Tyrol as well as in Bavaria. This painting style is a variant of the trompe l'oeil (trick the eye), a style that is sometimes referred to as illusionism. With this technique, paintings are executed on the façades in fresco technique on fresh plaster. By the way: Another Matrei is located 180 km further east in East Tyrol.
