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RATTENBERG is one of the smallest towns in the
Tirol. Its architecture is a typical example of a
so called Inn-Salzach-Town (multi-storey
buildings with oriels and the front facades
facing the streets). Rattenberg was built between
high rocks and the Inn river at the foot of a
ruined 10th century castle.
In former times Rattenberg was a trade centre
for the 'bateau' shipping on the river Inn and
served as a 'customs house' on the border between
Bavaria and the Tyrol.
Founded in the 1300s, Rattenburg was built in
the shadow of Rat Mountain. It was designed to
protect itself from marauders but protection
comes at a price. Rattenberg, now a little town
of only 600 inhabitants, still preserves a
uniquely medieval appearance with its handsome
oriel-windowed burghers' houses of the 15th and
16th C.
Today Rattenberg is a centre for the glass
industry (see the next page of this site). The
Gothic centre was originally a long a narrow
passage for traffic from the west to the east.
Today the centre is a pedestrian zone. The
traffic route goes on a tunnelled bypass or on
the Inntal Highway across the river.
Like an estimated sixty other communities
situated in the Tirol region of the Alps,
Rattenberg receives little or no sunlight during
the winter. It is one of the few places at at a
significant distance from the Arctic Circle that
has a time of permanent darkness.
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On a projecting spur above the town lie the ruins
of Schloss Rattenberg within which are held open
air dramatic performances during the
summer.
The castle was erected in the 11th century by
the Bavarians as a bastion against the Tirol. In
the 15th century it was massively fortified by an
outer wall. It also served as a prison and it was
here that the Chancellor of Tirol, Wilhelm
Biener, was beheaded in 1651 on a false charge.
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In November of 2005, the town announced that it
would be introducing thirty specialized rotating
mirrors called heliostats to reflect sunlight
into parts of the town during the winter months.
The $2.4 million operation was suggested by
Bartenbach Lichtlabor GmbH, a lighting design
company. The EU in 2005 indicated that it would
foot half the bill.
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In detail, thirty computer-controlled 8 feet
(2.5 metre) square reflectors, or "heliostats",
will be placed half a mile to the north of the
village in the sun-kissed neighbouring commune of
Kramsach. The hi-tech mirrors, precision
engineered to ensure they are completely flat and
thus reflect light accurately, will then bounce
the sun rays back to another array of reflectors
fixed to the remains of a 17th-century fort on
the slopes of the Stadtberg overlooking
Rattenberg.
This second set of mirrors will direct the
sunshine down into the village at a dozen
strategic points, bathing the courtyards and
house facades in winter sunshine for the first
time since it started life as a silver and copper
mine in the 1100s.
Helmar Zangerl, the joint managing director of
the Bartenbach Light Laboratory, a private
academy specialising in illumination and allied
to the University of Innsbruck, is extremely
enthusiastic about he project. He has said: "The
principle is very simple - to take the sunshine
from where it is plentiful into a place where it
is not using a material we have had for
millennia. Of course, the practice is more
difficult, but this project will have a massive
psychological benefit by giving people sunshine
when they have learnt not to expect it."
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The wine House (right)....
.... and the Gothic parish church which is
featured on the next page (below)
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