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Matrei in East Tyrol (up to the 20th century: Windisch-Matrei) is a small town with 4806 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2010) in the district of Lienz (Austria) and with its area of 277.8 sqm it is the second largest municipality in Tyrol. The town is spread across the whole Tauertal Valley and a part of the Iseltal upper stream valley. The town of Matrei is located about 29 km north of Lienz, at the place where the Tauernbach Brook flows into the Isel River. It is an economic, social, tourist and medical centre of the northern part of the Lienz district. In economic terms, tourism occupies an important position in the town, and the important winter tourism has established itself contrary to the most of East Tyrol. In addition, residents are running small and medium-sized enterprises or are engaged in agriculture.
Due to the location in the middle of the High Tauern, the municipality territory is formed by numerous hills. The largest mountains are located in the Venedigergruppe quarter. The highest mountain is Großvenediger ("Big Venetian" 3,674 m), followed by Rainerhorn (3,559 m), Schwarze Wand (3,506 m), Hohe Zaun (3,451 m) and Kristallwand (3,310 m) lying in the east mountain range, and Weißspitze (3,000 m) and Hohe Eichham (3,371 m) in the south. The Venedigergruppe area is also partially covered with glaciers. The largest glacier of Venedigergruppe called Schlatenkees is situated at the end of the Gschlößtal Valley.
Especially after World War II, tourism in Matrei became an important economic factor. Unlike many other parts of East Tyrol, the town takes a significant part in winter accommodation thanks to the Goldried ski area, which was made accessible at the beginning of the 1980's. In 1998, a new single-cable way was constructed there. An important pillar is, however, summer tourism, which was directed by establishment of the Hohe Tauern National Park so as to avoid major damages. Besides hiking (over 150 peaks three thousand metres high), the Matrei area is also popular with fly fishermen (the Isel, the Tauernbach), ice climbers (the Tauern and Isel valley) and cyclists (cycling paths in the Isel valley). Matrei also has a swimming pool, tennis and riding hall, minigolf and a regional climbing centre with a climbing hall. Currently, approx. 260,000 to 300,000 overnight stays are provided there per year.
The most important transport link for Matrei is Felbertauernstraße (B 108), which connects Matrei with Mittersill (Salzburg) in the north and Lienz in the south-east through the Felbertauerntunnel, where a toll is obligatory. About 3,500 vehicles pass the Felbertauerntunnel per day on annual average. The Felbertauernstraße road also provides an important connection with neighbouring valleys, with which Matrei is linked by slip roads to Virgental-Landesstrasse (L 24), Defereggentalstraße (L 25) and Kalser Strasse.
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Matrei Blickrichtung Nordosten
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Matrei im Winter
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Auge Gottes beim Gletscherweg
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Nikolauskirche
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Venedigerblick vom Innergschlöß
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Auge Gottes mit Rainerhorn
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Felsenkapelle im Innergschlöß
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.JPG) | Livecam | A view from the Sunny Slope (Sonnenhang) over Matrei. A beautiful western view of the Virgen valley.  |
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