Leutasch

History

There is no evidence of human settlement in the Leutash area before the middle of the 12th century. The area on the river Leutasch is first mentioned in writing in 1278 in connection with a foundation by the Bavarian nobleman, Bernard of Hausen, to the Upper Bavarian Augustinian monastery of Polling near Weilheim. At about the same time, Wilten Abbey (Stift Wilten) was given estates and rights in this area, although its valleys were probably still completely forested at that time. Soon the first farmsteads and farmsteads were built in forest clearings. In 1294, Count Berchtold III of Eschenlohe, who had no children, sold his counties of Mittenwald and Partenkirchen, together with the Wetterstein, to the Bishop of Freising, whose bishopric was thus elevated to a Hochstift. The Hochstift of Freising merged the newly acquired counties with the predium of Garmisch, acquired in 1249, to form the County of Werdenfels. The first description of the border, in 1305, shows that a part of the Leutasch valley belonged to the County of Werdenfels. In 1312, Duke Henry of Carinthia and Count of Tyrol acquired estates in the Leutasch. In 1338, at the head of the valley above the Leutasch Gorge, 300 metres east of the later Leutascher Schanze, he had a castle built, with an outer and inner bailey and a surrounding moat in a square layout. For theirs protection, Tyrol acquired further estates and the Leutasch Valley went to Tyrol in 1500. The subsequent settlement of the Leutasch Valley was slow but steady: by 1775 about 800 people lived in the valley and the population of Leutasch was recorded as 945 in an official 1826 census. The number of territorial lords also grew over the course of time to include the Tyrolean sovereign and Stams Abbey. These territorial lordships…

Geography

The village lies in the Leutaschtal, a high valley that extends for over 16 kilometres from the Hohe Munde to the northeast along the Wetterstein Mountains and ends at the Leutasch Gorge, which forms the border with Germany at Mittenwald. The valley is framed by other prominent peaks such as the Hochwanner, the Dreitorspitze and the Arnspitze. The valley is a large rock basin formed by glaciers of the Ice Age and filled with gravel and lake sediments. The Leutascher Ache river flows through it. The Gaistal valley leads between the Wetterstein and Mieming Chain to the west to the Ehrwald Alm. Leutasch is protected to the south from the warm föhn and to the north from the cold by the Wetterstein. From the west, snow clouds have easy access through the Gaistal valley. This gives Leutasch very reliable snow conditions, with a mild summer climate at the same time. The settlement extends along the road in numerous hamlets. Leutasch was much more influenced by agriculture than the neighbouring region around Seefeld and was therefore able to preserve a cultural landscape of meadows and pastures with wetlands to the present day.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,624
• Narrow-leaved Ragwort

  Senecio inaequidens DC. · Magnoliopsida
  2,621
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,337
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,106
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,090
• Yellow-billed Chough

  Pyrrhocorax graculus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,996
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,692
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,656

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2026-10-09
  1 km NW of Mühlau, Austria
• M 3.5 — 2026-09-26
  0 km NNW of Baumkirchen, Austria
• M 2.5 — 2021-10-03
  5 km NNE of Silandro, Italy
• M 3.7 — 2021-08-16
  1 km S of Niederau, Austria
• M 3.6 — 2020-08-08
  5 km SE of Gramais, Austria
• M 3.8 — 2019-10-22
  4 km SE of Ebbs, Austria