Ischgl

Its ski resort is connected with that of Samnaun across the border in Switzerland to form one of the largest in the Alps. Ischgl was a major hotspot in 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.

Ischgl
Coat of arms
Ischgl Location within Austria Show map of Tyrol, Austria Ischgl Ischgl (Austria) Show map of Austria
Coordinates: 47°00′47″N 10°17′17″E / 47.01306°N 10.28806°E / 47.01306; 10.28806
Country	Austria
State	Tyrol
District	Landeck
Government
• Mayor	Werner Kurz
Area
• Total	103.34 km2 (39.90 sq mi)
Elevation	1,377 m (4,518 ft)
Population  (2018-01-01)
• Total	1,593
• Density	15/km2 (40/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	6561
Area code	05444
Vehicle registration	LA
Website	www.ischgl.tirol.gv.at

Ischgl is located on the Austrian side of one of the world's largest ski areas. Its 238 kilometres (148 mi) (length includes the pistes in Samnaun, Switzerland) of groomed pistes are served by over 45 mechanical lifts including cable cars, gondolas, detachable chair lifts and some T-bars. Three ropeways give access to the ski area from the village: the Pardatschgratbahn, the Fimbabahn & the Silvrettabahn. Only the Fimbabahn and the Silvrettabahn have middle stations.

Many of the lifts converge at Idalp, where there is a restaurant. The area above Idalp offers wide, easy pistes and a snow park. Other parts of the Ischgl area, towards Höllboden and Paznauner Thaya, offer many red runs and some more challenging blacks. The steepest run in the resort is a black run with a gradient of 70%, located in the Höllboden bowl, and accessed by the "Lange Wand" chair lift. Paznauner Thaya offers many red runs suitable for intermediate-level skiers.

Ischgl was identified as a major hotspot of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. Six hundred infections in Austria and up to 1,200 infections in Germany and the Nordic countries were traced back to the ski resort, starting from Iceland on 1 March 2020, with transmissions occurring from late February 2020. A significant portion of the cases were further traced to the Kitzloch après-ski bar at the resort, where sharing of whistles were likely conduits of contagion. Even as health authorities in other countries began issuing warnings against travel to Ischgl, the resort remained open, with Tyrolean authorities playing down the risks. The bar was eventually closed on 10 March and the whole town quarantined from 13 March until 22 April 2020.

Out of the 1600 inhabitants of Ischgl, two persons died. Nine were treated in hospital, one in an intensive care unit. In April 2020 antibodies were found in 51.4% of the population, in November 2020 it was still 45.4%.

Ischgl has a weather station at an altitude of 2,327 m (7,635 ft). This weather station is located within the alpine climate zone (Köppen ETH), closely bordering on a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc), because the hottest month is only 9.9 °C (49.8 °F).

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  Roman Catholic church St. Nikolaus
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  Trisanna river

 

Panorama of Ischgl Pardorama

 

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ischgl.

• Official Ischgl website
• Panoramic photo of Ischgl resort centre