Schwaz - Austria city located in the state of Tyrol. The city is located in the Inn valley, 30 km East from Innsbruck.

Schwaz is first mentioned in 930 as the village "Suates", and in 1170 on the hill was built the first city tower. The settlement was originally subsisted on agriculture. However, after the discovery of silver and copper deposits Schwaz began to develop rapidly. In its heyday in the 15th and 16th century Schwaz became the largest mining town in Europe (20,000 inhabitants) and the second largest city after Vienna.

After the closure of the mining industry and the destruction of a significant part of the city during the Napoleonic wars, there was an urgent need to restore a large number of institutions. In 1819 was opened a secondary school, in 1830, began the construction of a tobacco factory, and in 1837 opened the district court, and in 1876 appeared in Schwaz nursing home and hospital.

The main attractions of Schwaz can be attributed Fugger built as the residence of a merchant family in 1525. City hall – a former merchant's house, built in the late Gothic style by the architect Hans jörg Steklom in 1509. The tourists will be interested in a walk through the pedestrian street of Franz Joseph, which was once the main thoroughfare of the city and is well preserved.

The parish Church, built in Schwaz in 1460, has the largest Church hall in Tyrol. The altar of the temple is decorated with a Gothic statue of St. Anne, St. Ursula and St. Elizabeth. A little later, the statue of St. George and St. Florian. In the cemetery chapel from the early 16th century frescoes created during the construction of the temple. The Franciscan Church has preserved the Gothic interior with minor fragments of the Baroque.

In 2001 in Schwaz opened modern Zeiss planetarium, which today is one of the most advanced in the world. In 2006, he was equipped with the latest technologies, which allow to provide visitors with high-quality video in 3D.