Timmelsjoch

Timmelsjoch
View from Timmelsjoch to the South
Elevation	2,474 m (8,117 ft)
Location	Austria–Italy border
Range	Ötztal Alps
Coordinates	46°54′19″N 11°5′48″E / 46.90528°N 11.09667°E / 46.90528; 11.09667Coordinates: 46°54′19″N 11°5′48″E / 46.90528°N 11.09667°E / 46.90528; 11.09667
Timmelsjoch Location of Timmelsjoch

Timmelsjoch (Italian: Passo del Rombo), (elevation 2,474 metres (8,117 ft)) is a high mountain pass that creates a link through the Ötztal Alps along the border between Austria and Italy.

The Timmelsjoch connects the Ötztal valley in the Austrian state of Tyrol to the Passeier Valley in the Italian province of South Tyrol, as it bridges the saddle point between the Jochköpfl (3,141 metres (10,305 ft)) and Wurmkogl (3,082 metres (10,112 ft)) peaks to its northeast and southwest, respectively. The pass is sometimes called the "secret passage" because it is little-used compared to the much easier and lower Brenner Pass some 25 kilometres (16 mi) to its east, and Reschen Pass some 60 kilometres (37 mi) to its west.

During the early Stone Age, shepherds and their flocks lived in the Obergurgl area near Timmelsjoch. By the early Bronze Age, the glaciers of the last Ice Age were retreating and various hunters, adventurers, and wandering tribes entered the higher elevations in the area in search of game and treasure. The discovery of a brooch near the Schönbodenlacke dating from the La Tène period (around 300 BC) indicates that people were passing over the Timmelsjoch during this period.

By the Middle Ages, mining influenced the development of a road network in the area. Marble quarries, semiprecious stones, and oil shales were all exploited. The ancient path over the Timmelsjoch was one of many such roads in the Tyrol which helped facilitate trade and would have a profound social, cultural, political, and religious impact on the peoples of the region. The Timmelsjoch was a particularly important route because it provided one of the most direct routes between the upper Inntal valley and Meran, the regional capital at the time, as well as Tirol Castle and St. Leonhard in Passeier, where the road forks to the Jaufenpass, down to Sterzing, and on to the Brenner Pass road. During that time, cart tracks were relatively few, and travelers, peddlars, and people leading pack animals tended to choose the shortest route.