Mittersill

Mittersill lies in the upper Salzach valley, near the route over the Felber Tauern. First recorded in 963, it was a market by 1308 and became an important centre for pack transport. Horses and mules carried salt, iron and copper south over the pass, returning with wine, fruit, velvet and silk. The lords of Felben, whose tower stood nearby, held influence in the region during the Middle Ages.

In 1495 a great landslide at the head of the Felber valley formed the Hintersee. Plague struck Mittersill in 1635, and a fire in 1746 destroyed almost the whole market and badly damaged the parish church. During the French wars, local militia fought alongside Tyroleans at the Strub Pass. Floods from the Salzach remained a recurring danger, prompting work on an embankment in the 1830s.