The Timmelsjoch connects the Ötztal valley in the Austrian state of Tyrol to the Passeier Valley in the Italian province of South Tyrol, as it bridges the saddle point between the Jochköpfl (3,141 m, 10,305 ft) and Wurmkogl (3,082 m, 10,112 ft) peaks to its northeast and southwest, respectively. The pass is sometimes called the "secret passage" because it is little-used compared to the much easier and lower Brenner Pass some 25 km (15 mi) to its east, and Reschen Pass some 60 km (40 mi) to its west.
History
During the early Stone Age, shepherds and their flocks lived in the Obergurgl area near Timmelsjoch.By the early Bronze Age, the glaciers of the last Ice Age were retreating and various hunters, adventurers, and wandering tribes entered the higher elevations in the area in search of game and treasure. The discovery of a brooch near the Schönbodenlacke dating from the La Tène period (around 300 BC) indicates that people were passing over the Timmelsjoch during this period.
By the Middle Ages, mining influenced the development of a road network in the area. Marble quarries, semiprecious stones, and oil shales were all exploited. The ancient path over the Timmelsjoch was one of many such roads in the Tyrol which helped facilitate trade and would have a profound social, cultural, political, and religious impact on the peoples of the region.The Timmelsjoch was a particularly important route because it provided one of the most direct routes between the upper Inntal valley and Meran, the regional capital at the time, as well as Tirol Castle and St. Leonhard in Passeier, where the road forks to the Jaufenpass, down to Sterzing, and on to the Brenner Pass road. During that time, cart tracks were relatively few, and travelers, peddlars, and people leading pack animals tended to choose the shortest route.
From the end of the thirteenth century to the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Timmelsjoch fascilitated increased trade. Ötztaler Kraxenträger (basket bearers) transported flax, livestock, cured bacon, lard, vinegar, wine, and spirits across the pass. These early traders routes and techniques that would later inspire modern alpinists.The name "Thymelsjoch" first appeared in 1241 in a letter written by the Bavarian Count of Eschenlohe.For centuries, the spelling "Thimmeljoch" was widely used. The current spelling came into usage only in the twentieth century during the construction of the paved road.
Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstrasse
The first plans to build a road across the Timmelsjoch were drawn up in 1897, when the Tyrolean Landtag (regional assembly) established a construction agenda which comprised the building of several "rival roads" including a road over the Timmelsjoch. Work would not begin until the autumn of 1955.On July 7, 1959, after four years of construction, the 12-kilometre road was finally opened to the public. The Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstrasse was well-engineered and integrated into the landscape.
While the road up from the Ötztal valley was built for tourism purposes, the situation in the Passeier Valley (on the southern side) was very different. As in many other parts of the Italian Alps, Mussolini, the ruler from 1922 to 1945, had numerous military roads built up towards Italy's international borders. Construction of the road from Moos in Passeier, 10 km southeast from the pass, commenced in the 1930s. After the meeting between Mussolini and Hitler on the Brenner in 1939, construction work ceased. The road was narrow and rough, but had almost been completed. The last 700-m tunnel had been dug through; just the remaining 2 km stretch from its end to the pass had not been built. The tunnel partly collapsed in the following years. From 1939 to the mid-1960s, the unfinished, grassed-over road was only used for forestry purposes. Construction work resumed in the mid-1960s and the road was completed to the pass and opened to through traffic in 1967.
The road on the Ötztal valley side is called the Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstrasse. The pass is now popular with car and motorbike tourists. Due to its elevation, steepness, and narrow road, the pass is closed to lorries and vehicles with trailers. The pass road is open to traffic from approximately the first half of June to the second half of October (the exact dates depend on snow conditions) daily from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. The Ötztal valley side is subject to a toll charge.
With its dramatic scenery, particularly on the southern side, the road has become popular with cyclists. On the last Sunday in August, several thousand cyclists take part in the Ötztaler Cycling Marathon crawl up the 29 km section from St. Leonhard in Passeier (672 m) to the pass, gaining 1,800 m (6,000 ft)—the fourth and final pass included in the grueling 238 km marathon.
DESCRIPTION
DISCOVER THE MAGIC OF THE MOUNTAINS
1955. Today, the date conjures up a sweet taste of nostalgia, an easy-going era. Things have changed, but there’s one thing that has remained unchanged over the years – and that is the exhilarating feeling of freedom that you experience as you drive over the Timmelsjoch. Today, the tranquil route connecting northern and southern Europe invites us to take a break from our hectic speed of life, to shift down a gear or two and rediscover the pleasure of a slower pace away from the busy main traffic routes. The “secret gap” in the Alps gently yet magnificently opens up the magic of the mountains to those who travel through it. To some, it reveals the stunning beauty of nature; it allows them to experience the unique closeness to the glacier and the power of the Alpine wind, and it offers a glimpse into the harsh reality of Alpine farming. It lures others, quite simply, to abandon themselves to the feeling of the open road as they negotiate the breathtaking bends. It’s nonetheless impossible not to stop at and admire the stunning views that repeatedly open up along the way. A journey over the Timmelsjoch is, at the same time, a journey through the vegetation zones with a spectrum that reaches from lush mountain meadows, flowering Alpine roses and weather-beaten pine trees to high barren Alpine landscapes with snow fields even in the height of summer. Sometimes sheep or goats or even ibexes cross your path. As you continue southwards, the climate suddenly changes, taking on Mediterranean characteristics and the vines unfold their leaves.
OPENING TIMES
The Timmelsjoch High Alpine Road is open daily from 7 am until 8 pm.
Due to the exposed high-elevation terrain, driving over the mountain pass is only possible between approximately the beginning of June and the end of October.
LIMITED PERMISSION FOR TRAFFIC
- There are no restrictions as regards using the Timmelsjoch High Alpine Road on the Austrian side right up to the summit. However, due to the steep, narrow road conditions and bridge constructions on the Italian side, the following restrictions apply:
- Cars and motorcycles are permitted
- Motor homes and small lorries are permitted - max. gross weight 8 tons, max. width 2.55 m, max. height 4 m
- Small buses are permitted – max. overall length 10 m, max. gross weight 8 tons.
- Buses with an overall length of over 10 m or a gross weight exceeding 8 tons are not permitted
- Lorries with an overall weight exceeding 8 tons are not permitted
- Trailers are not permitted
CYCLISTS
Cyclists who use the Timmelsjoch Pass do so at their own risk! Bicycle lights are compulsory.
A NORTH-SOUTH LINK WITH A LONG HISTORY
The Timmelsjoch is the deepest, non-glaciated indentation in the main Alpine ridge between the Reschen Pass and the Brenner Pass. From a historical-cultural point of view, and as far as settlements are concerned, the path over the Timmelsjoch actually starts in the Passeiertal valley in South Tyrol and leads over to the Ötztal valley. Even the name of the Joch, i.e. the indentation, and that of the Timmelstal valley that leads into the Ötztal valley, came from Passeier together with Alpine pasture farming and grazing rights. The discovery of a “Fibula” (a brooch) from the La-Tène period around 300 BC near the Schönbodenlacke, is evidence that people walked over the pass during the pre-Christian era. It is even likely that stone-age shepherds and their livestock, which have been proven to have lived in the Obergurgl area from 6300 BC onwards, also used the Alpine gap. The name “Thymelsjoch” was first documented as far back as 1241 in a letter written by the Count of Eschenlohe from the Weilheim area of Upper Bavaria – the name of the Brenner Pass, incidentally, was not officially mentioned until more than 50 years later. “Timmeljoch” was the spelling which predominated until well into the 20th century; it was not until the road was built that the spelling “Timmelsjoch” succeeded.
The ancient path was one of many such routes in the Tyrol. Not only did these paths facilitate trade, they were also of great social, cultural, political and religious significance. The Timmelsjoch was a particularly important route since it offered one of the most direct links between the Upper Inn Valley and the regional capital at the time, Meran, and the Castle Tyrol. At that time, cart tracks were few and far between, therefore travellers, pedlars and people leading pack animals didn’t choose the easiest route, but rather the shortest one. During the Middle Ages and the early Modern Age – in particular from the end of the 13th century until the beginning of the 15th century – trade flourished via the Timmel. The famous Ötztaler Kraxenträger (basket bearers) carried 100 kilograms each way and earned their living by exchanging flax, livestock, cured bacon and lard for wine, spirits and vinegar. They laid the basic foundations for modern Alpinism. No wonder that the Ötztal valley is one of the cradles of mountaineering.
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