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Mittersill (; ) is a city in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, in the Pinzgau region of the Alps. It is located on the Salzach River. It has a population of 5,408 as of 2011.
Mittersill straddles the Salzach River and one of its tributaries; the Felber. The town is bordered to the south by the Hohe Tauern mountain range, and to the north by the Kitzbühel Alps.
It has traffic links running east to west and north to south. The Felbertauern road tunnel runs south through the Hohe Tauern at an elevation of about 1630 m, providing a connection with Lienz in East Tyrol. To the north lies the Thurn Pass at an elevation of 1274 m, providing a connection with Kitzbühel and Tyrol.
Mittersill fell under the control of the Archbishopric of Salzburg in the 13th century and the castle became the seat of the archbishops in Upper Pinzgau. By 1357 Mittersill had a market town charter conferred upon it by the Salzburg Archbishop Ortolf, which boosted the town's profile considerably. By the 14th century it was acting as an important trade crossroads with salt, ice, and copper being taken south over the Felbertauern Pass (2481m) to Southern Tyrol and Friuli in northeastern Italy. Goods such as wine, fruits, velvet, and silks came north over the pass to be taken into present-day Austria and Germany.
In the 1525 German Peasants' War ( Bauernkriege), Mittersill castle was burned down and subsequently rebuilt, giving it the appearance that can be seen today. In 1635 and 1746 the town itself was struck by fire and most of the medieval marketplace was destroyed as a result.
Mittersill became linked to Zell am See in 1898 and Krimml along the Salzach Valley with the opening of the Pinzgauer Lokalbahn train service, which still operates today.
A military school for an aerial tramway was founded in Mittersill in 1939. A subcamp of the Mauthausen concentration camp was located here during World War II. Construction work for a goods cable car across the mountain range started in 1943. Part of this cable car included two supports, each 280 m high; one was built of steel, the other was constructed of wood (the tallest ever in this material). As a result of the war, this aerial cable car could not be completed and both pillars were demolished in the 1950s.
On August 8, 2008, Mittersill received town privileges.
Mittersill is also located near the municipality of Bramberg am Wildkogel which boasts what is estimated to be (at 14 km), the longest completely lit toboggan run in the world. Ski - Urlaubsarena Wildkogel - Neukirchen am Großvenediger - Land Salzburg - Österreich
In summer Mittersill has an 18-hole golf course and acts as a gateway to the Hohe Tauern National Park with its newly built visitor centre. Popular summer activities include hiking, mountain biking, and paragliding.
The 900-year-old Felber Tower hosts a museum about the local area and its heritage, covering topics such as local history, geology, and mountaineering.
The parish church of St. Leonard originally dates from the 13th century, but has later additions, such as a 1420 stone sculpture of St. Leonard, a Baroque facade and onion dome, and an 18th-century high altar in rococo style.
The smaller church of St. Anna dates from the 18th century and is fashioned in the style of the Tyrolean rococo. Though originally a Roman Catholic church, it is used today for Protestant worship in Mittersill.
St. Nicholas church, located next to the Felber Tower, was built in the 15th century in the late Gothic style. The interior decor is 17th-century Baroque, with the exception of the side altar, which is rococo.
The Hohe Tauern National Park Center opened in Mittersill in 2007. It functions as a museum and centre for the Hohe Tauern National Park, with information about the geology, landscape, flora, and fauna found in the alpine region.
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