Alpbach was first mentioned in written records dating back to 1150 although human settlement by the Bavarii is known to have begun around the year 1000

A bronze axe found on the Steinberger Joch (the pass leading to the Ziller Valley) in 1860 suggests that the route was already in use during the Hallstatt period.

Christianity was brought to the region in the 7th and 8th centuries by Irish and Scottish monks, and the patron saint of the parish church (tower built in 1440, main nave in 1754) is in fact St. Oswald, a former King of Northumbria.

At the beginning of the 15th century, deposits of copper and silver were discovered on the Gratlspitz and Schatzberg and in the Luegergraben. At the time, the Fugger family, a merchant family from Augsburg, had control over mining operations in Schwaz and Kitzbühel, and they extended their activities to include the Alpbach Valley. The Böglerhof housed the Fugger offices and was also the seat of the Mining Court. In those days Alpbach already had two inns, the Böglerhof and the Jakober Inn, which was where the men went to drink spirits. By the middle of the 19th century, productivity at the mines had declined to the stage where they had to be closed.

The Vorder-Unterberg Farm, which was built in 1636-1638 by local carpenters and was lived in until 1952, stands at the edge of the forest above the little church in Inneralpbach. Today the historical building is a mountain farming museum, and the exhibits include the old parlour, the chapel, a combined kitchen and smokehouse, and about 800 artefacts of daily life and work.

The road leading up the valley to Alpbach was not built until 1926 and the isolated location of the village led to the development of a distinctive style of architecture and furnishings and also enabled the local folk traditions to be preserved for much longer than in most of the valleys of the Tyrol.

The first tourists arrived in Alpbach at the turn of the century, and by 1938 the resort had accommodation for 110 visitors. In the meantime the figure has increased to about 3,300 and Alpbach now attracts some 25,000 visitors in summer and about the same number in winter for an annual total of 330,000 bed nights. Tourism is the main source of income for today’s 2,651 local residents, but there are still 105 working farms in Alpbach, about the same number as a hundred years ago.

Since 1945 Alpbach has been the venue for the Alpbach European Forum, an annual two-week conference of leading figures from the worlds of science, business, the arts and politics. The Forum and the participation of so many people, who have shaped the thinking of their times have given Alpbach the name “Village of Thinkers”.

The first conference hall in Alpbach was built in the mid-fifties and named after the Austrian poetess Paula von Preradovic, who wrote the words for the Austrian national anthem.

At the suggestion of Alfons Moser, Mayor of Alpbach from 1945 to 1979, the council issued a local planning bylaw in 1953, which made the traditional style of architecture in Alpbach mandatory for all new buildings.

In 1975 the Austrian Public Health Institute certified that Alpbach had the purest air in the whole of Austria.

In a contest organised by Austrian Television in 1983, Alpbach was voted “Austria’s Most Beautiful Village” for the harmony of its timber buildings and its fine floral decorations.

In June 1985, the Council of Europe in Strasbourg conferred on Alpbach the right to fly the official European flag in recognition of the community’s services to the cause of European unity.

In the 1993 Entente Florale competition, Alpbach won the Most Beautiful Floral Village in Europe Award.

In August 1999, the new Alpbach Congress Centre was inaugurated. Two important aspects were taken into consideration whilst building: the preservation of the unique village look and a minimum energy use in the day to day running.

The buildings ingenious architecture with its centrally placed glass cone and South facing glass façade ensures that all the conference rooms are provided with plenty of daylight. The conference centre affords a flexible layout with two bright foyers, a plenary hall for 500 participants and 5 meeting rooms. The building was further integrated into the surrounding nature by covering with vegetation.

Conference and meeting tourism has become a third source of income for Alpbach besides Summer and Winter tourism. The new Congress Centrum Alpbach enjoys great popularity amongst our scientific events organizers, various agencies and international corporations, which reflects on our comprehensive references list.

Alpbach is one of the first destinations offering sustainable conferencing. In July 2010 the Congress Centrum Alpbach was the first conference centre in Austria to be awarded the Green Globe certification. Green Globe is an independent worldwide sustainability certification programme. The Congress Centrum Alpbach with its offer: “Sustainable conferencing in the mountain village” is also a licensee of the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings.

In April 2011 the Congress Centrum Alpbach was given the „Best Center Award“ by the European Association of Event Centres (EVVC), an organisation with 650 members.