Außervillgraten / East Tyrol / Tyrol / Austria

In a very witty newspaper article, a quote was attributed to a mountain guide, “Come to us – we have nothing”. What he was talking about was Villgratental. This hit the mark. Not because there is nothing to experience here, quite the contrary, it is because there is so much missing; things that you find elsewhere – après-ski, parties and above all ski lifts too. This dearth does however make it possible for you to see the fundamental – Villgratental’s superb natural surroundings and Außervillgraten too of course. Außervillgraten is a very distinct scattered settlement and has 766 inhabitants. Villgratental itself has a long history, and was first mentioned in documents dating from 769. Although at this time the valley was not really settled, evidence points to occasional alpine farming. What is there to say about Außervillgraten? A lot more than nothing anyway. Außervillgraten is marketed as one of the “mountaineer villages”. and it really is true to its name.