Großarl
Encyclopedia
Grossarl is a market town in the St. Johann im Pongau district in the state of Salzburg
Salzburg (state)
Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...

 in western central Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. The valley Grossarltal got its name from Grossarl.

Location

The market town is located in the Grossarl Valley in Pongau
Pongau
The Bezirk Sankt Johann im Pongau is an administrative district in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Pongau region....

, 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of the city of Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

.
It is divided in the districts (north to south) Au (850 metres or 2,789 ft AMSL), Schied (860 m), Unterberg (900 metres or 2,953 ft), Großarl (895 m) as well as Eben and Bach (900 m).

Local politics

Mayor is the farmer Josef Gollegger (ÖVP
OVP
OVP is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:*The Office of the Vice President of the United States*The Office of the Vice President of the Philippines*OVP , a light sub-machine gun developed in Italy...

), Vice Mayor is Johann Ganitzer (SPÖ
SPO
- Technology :SPO: Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Cloud Computing, Office 365. See Microsoft Online Services-Economics:* Secondary Public Offering, an equity capital market instrument...

).

Coat of arms

Grossarl got its coat of arms in 1965. It is a green uprooted alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...

 on white ground. The illustration of the alder accords to the old German name of the market town "Arla". In 1339 Grossarl was mentioned as the valley with "merern Arel", what means "many alders". The sign of the alder shows the big tree clearings in the valley from the 11th to the 13th century. It also shows the big meaning of the wood industry in the valley. Some people say that it is also a symbol for the attachment of the inhabitants to the valley and its leaves show many children which were born in Grossarl.

Economy and infrastructure

Grossarl is a very touristic oriented market town. The number of guest beds is at about 4500 and it has hotels and hostels in all categories. Very impressive is the high density of 4 star hotels. Because of the 40 alpine cottages, Grossarl is also called "the valley of alpine cottages", in German "Das Tal der Almen".

Over the years many small and medium enterprises settled down in the valley and became important employers for citizens of Grossarl (carpenter, bricklayer and earth-moving companies, etc.)

Notable citizens

  • Edmund Entacher (* 30. September 1949 in Grossarl) General of the Austrian Armed Forces
  • Anton Sauter (1800–1881), Botanist and Doctor, brother of Ferdinand Sauter, founder of the corporation of Salzburgs regional and cultural studies
  • Ignatius Rieder (1858 Grossarl-1934 Salzburg), 1918-1934 archbishop
    Archbishop
    An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

     of Salzburg
    Salzburg
    -Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

  • Alois Rohrmoser (1932 Grossarl-2005 Wagrain
    Wagrain
    Wagrain is a market town in the St. Johann im Pongau District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is located in a high valley stretching from the Salzach at Sankt Johann in the west to the Enns river in the east. The municipality includes the Katastralgemeinden Hof, Hofmarkt, Schwaighof and...

    ), founder of the factory Atomic Skis
    Atomic Skis
    Atomic is an Austrian company which manufactures and sells skiing equipment .-Background:...

  • Wolfram Paulus
    Wolfram Paulus
    Wolfram Paulus is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He has directed 19 films since 1981. His 1986 film Heidenlöcher was entered into the 36th Berlin International Film Festival.-External links:...

     (*1957), film director and scriptwriter

Personalities with connections to the village

  • Sepp Forcher (*17. December 1930 Rome
    Rome
    Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

    ), Austrian TV presenter, 1955-1959 host on the Berglandhaus in Grossarl
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