Bischofshofen

Bischofshofen

Bischofshofen is a town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg. It is a popular place for travel, located on the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway line and near the Tauern Autobahn, a big highway that crosses the main chain of the Alps. This makes Bischofshofen an important spot for people traveling between different parts of the country. The town's name has a special sound in German, pronounced as [bɪʃɔfsˈhoːfn̩].

Geography

Bischofshofen is in the Northern Limestone Alps, in the valley of the Salzach river. It is about 50 km south of Salzburg. The town is surrounded by beautiful mountains, including the Hochkönig massif, the Berchtesgaden Alps, the Tennen Mountains, and the Salzburg Slate Alps.

The area has several smaller villages such as Alpfahrt, Bischofshofen, Buchberg, and Winkl.

History

Long ago, people mined copper and salt in the nearby hills. Later, the Romans came and took over the area. In the 8th century, Bavarian tribes settled here.

Bischofshofen grew as a place for trade and became important in the late 19th century when a railway was built. It became a town in the year 2000.

Education

Bischofshofen has several schools where children can learn. There are elementary schools such as VS Markt, VS Neue Heimat, and VS Pöham. For high school, students can go to Hermann-Wielandner-HS or Franz-Moßhammer-HS.

The town also has other education options like the Polytechnische Schule, Privatgymnasium Sankt Rupert, TS Bischofshofen der Salzburger Tourismusschulen, die BAKIP, Bundesbildungsanstalt für Kindergartenpädagogik, and Zweigstelle des Musikum.

Sports

The last event of the famous Four Hills Tournament in ski jumping happens each year at the Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze in Bischofshofen, usually around January 6th. Bischofshofen also hosted ski jumping events during the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1999.

Mayor

Hansjörg Obinger has been the mayor of Bischofshofen since April 2014. Before him, Jakob Rohrmoser was the mayor.

Politics

City Council

Since 2014, the people of Bischofshofen have chosen leaders from three groups to help run the town. These groups are called SPÖ with 15 leaders, ÖVP with 8 leaders, and FPÖ with 2 leaders.

Twin towns — sister cities

Bischofshofen has special friends with other towns. It is friends with Unterhaching in Bavaria, Germany, since 1979, and Adeje in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.

Notable people

Heinz Oberhummer (1941–2015) was a physicist who studied how stars make new elements, called nucleosynthesis.

Sport

Hannes Schroll (1909–1985) was an Austrian Alpine ski racer. He helped start the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, California. Paul Ausserleitner (1925–1952) was known for ski jumping. Lisi Pall, born in 1951, was an alpine skier. Patrick Reiter, born in 1972, competed in judo.