150 years of tourism history. Hall-Wattens region
150 years ago, on 15 November 1870, the Hall in Tirol Beautification Society was founded as the first association of its kind in North Tyrol. Gustav Schweitzer, then a member of Hall’s municipal council, was familiar with the Town Beautification Association that had recently been established in Bruneck and recognised the need for such an organisation. The need to appoint a ‘custodian’ for matters relating to tourism is also underlined by the origin of the association’s initial funding: a lady from Germany, who was staying in Hall for a spa treatment, proved generous whilst at the same time lamenting the fact that there were no benches in Hall on which to rest.
However, visitors did not start staying overnight in Hall only in the second half of the 19th century; as early as 1674, Hall in Tyrol – a trading centre for a wide variety of goods and a hub for travelling merchants – had 20 innkeepers or tavern owners. The Hall Beautification Society flourished rapidly after its foundation. As early as 1871–72, the missing benches were purchased, and plants were acquired to green up the town and create a blossoming townscape. At that time, the society already had 105 members.
Tourism promotion was also high on the agenda from an early stage. In 1877, the Beautification Society published a promotional poster entitled ‘Hall and its Surroundings’, which contained not only facts about the town but also information on inns, spas and excursion options. Roses would soon be scattered across the holiday resort of Hall in Tyrol, as Peter Regalat Stolzissi wrote in a guide published in 1890: “I must emphasise here that Hall and its district are eminently suited as a summer retreat.” Statistics show that there were 1,854 guests in the summer of 1890. At that time, guests stayed for an average of six to seven days.
Winter was also held in high regard; around 1895, there were plans for a winter health resort in Eichat, a district of Absam. Although the winter health resort was never built, the nearby toboggan run in the Halltal valley soon became famous. In the 1904 Tyrolean Transport and Hotel Guide, the Halltal is described as ‘the most beautiful of all toboggan runs’. The same guide also presents Hall as a starting point for a ski tour to the Glungezer. In the years that followed, further developments took place, including ski courses and ski races (from 1909) as well as the opening of a cinema (1910), a bandstand (1924) and the Mining Museum (1929).
From March 1925, the former Beautification Society operated under a new name: the Hall and Surrounding Area Tourism and Beautification Society. A major project was the opening of the new spa centre, which cost around 2 million schillings: it was hoped that the spa centre would help develop the town of Hall into a sought-after spa resort and boost tourism. From 1932, Hall was granted the status of a spa town, and from 1938 to 1974 the name ‘Solbad Hall’ was in use as the town’s official designation.
An essay by Dr Paul Torggler, which sheds light on the history of tourism in Hall and the surrounding area, provides an excellent insight into the history of tourism in Hall. His father, architect Paul Torggler (1900–1989), worked as an architect and served as chairman of the tourism association. In the book, architect Paul Torggler recalls events held at the Stadtgraben in front of the Kurhaus between 1930 and 1938, which he himself helped to organise: “To promote tourism, despite a general ban on gatherings, the Hall Tourist Association was even able to hold a large summer festival in the politically highly charged summer of 1937, which, according to a report in the *Haller Lokalanzeiger* of 18 August 1937, was the largest Tyrolean tourist festival, attracting 3,000 visitors.”
During the summer season, the Tourist Board regularly organised concerts by the Speckbach Town Band and the Salinen Band. Afternoon concerts by a salon orchestra were also held for guests in the spa gardens.
One of the first major events after the Second World War was the ball organised by the Solbad Hall Tourist Association on 8 February 1947 at the Kurhaus.
In the decades that followed, new impetus was provided by, amongst other things, the new campsite (1950), the reopening of the town museum, the new Glungezer lift (1967) and the St Barbara Gallery (1968). In the mid-1970s, the successful regeneration of the old town began; in 1984, Hall in Tirol was awarded the Austrian State Prize for the Preservation of Historical Monuments.
The number of visitors to Hall in Tirol rose from around 10,000 in 1960 to 15,000 in 1975 and almost 25,000 in 1989. At the start of the new millennium, the numerous tourism associations in Tyrol were merged to form 34 large associations. The Hall Tourist Board merged with the neighbouring municipalities to form the Hall-Wattens tourist region, comprising Absam, Baumkirchen, Fritzens, Gnadenwald, Mils, Thaur, Tulfes, Volders, Wattenberg and Wattens.
The municipality of Hall in Tyrol now welcomes around 60,000 overnight guests in 2019, whilst the entire region records over 150,000 arrivals. Even after 150 years, the beautification, preservation and enhancement of the local environment remain among the tasks of the Tourism Association. The focus is equally on the well-being of visitors and the local population.
