Image collection »Iseltal«
The River Isel is one of the most important tributaries of the Drau in Eastern Tyrol. In its upper reaches, as far as Matrei, it flows through the Virgental. The approx. 20km long valley section between Matrei and Lienz lends the Isel its name. Over wide stretches the in general northwest-southeast running Iseltal has an even valley floor. However, the settlements are located on the alluvial fans of smaller side streams or on the narrow slope terraces on both sides of the valley because the valley floor was always threatened by flooding from the River Isel. Hamlets and individual farms shape the picture of the settlements on the in part steep valley slopes. As a result of the flood catastrophes in the years 1965 and 1966 the river underwent lasting regulation. The extension of the Felbertauern road in 1967, that connects both East Tyrol with the province of Salzburg by means of the Felbertauern Tunnel and further over the Pass Thurn with North Tyrol, meant that the Iseltal and its side valleys were freed from their isolation and this also marked the beginning of an economic upswing.
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