Laimach im Zillertal

Notable People

Strasser Children

At the beginning of the 19th century, numerous families from the Zillertal had to supplement their meager income as travelling traders. Some lured buyers to their stands with traditional folk music, this also included the Strasser family from Laimach, who traded in gloves and enjoyed great popularity with their “real Tyrolean songs”.

In 1831, the Strassers ran a stand at the Christmas market in Leipzig, where they sold soft, chamois leather gloves as well as household goods and underwear. On the eve of Christmas they sang the song “Silent Night! Holy Night!"

On December 15, 1832, the Strasser children performed the song again in Leipzig. The young Dresden publisher August Robert Friese first printed the song as one of the “Four Real Tyrolean Songs”.

Museums, memorials, events

The Strasser House

In Laimach, the home of the singing family, there is a well-preserved house built entirely of wood from 1714. Today it is a museum of local history and primarily tells of the life and work of the Strasser family.

Local Community

The municipality of Hippach is located in the back of the Zillertal, west of the Ziller. The municipality has been called Hippach since the amalgamation of the municipalities of Laimach and Hippach-Schwendberg in 1973, the area with its 1455 residents includes the districts of Hippach, Laimach and Schwendberg.

The place name Hippach, called Huetbach, Hüttbach, Hipach in the course of history, was first mentioned in 1299 while Laimach was first mentioned in a document in 1350. A letter shows that there was already a church in Hippach in 1247. This was a branch church of the mother parish of Fügen. Large parts of this church were destroyed by an earthquake in 1689 but rebuilt from 1699.

Hippach became a well-known tourist destination in the Zillertal early on, the Mayrhofen-Hippach region with its surrounding villages is considered the cradle of alpine tourism in the Zillertal.