Over 5000 years ago a man climbed up the icy heights of the Schnalstal glacier and lost his life.

In 1991 the Iceman (or Oetzi, as he is affectionately called by locals) was coincidentally found at the Tisenjoch near the Similaun hut at an altitude of 3210m - shoes, clothes and equipment included. The frozen mummy is an archeological sensation and a singular human remnant of the Copper Age.

Since 1998 the mummy of the Iceman is kept in the South Tyrolean Archeological Museum.

In Unser Frau his natural habitat has been recreated in the ArcheoParc Schnals.

A celebration will take place on 19 September at the actual findspot at the Tisenjoch pass to mark the 20th anniversary of the discovery of Ötzi. The festivities will be organised in conjunction with Ötztal Tourism, on the initiative and under the leadership of the Schnals Valley.

Other activities:

Ski tours to the findspot. Guided ski tours from the Hochjoch Glacier to the Ötzi findspot are available up to the end of April, in collaboration with the Mountain Guide Association.

Glacier tours to the findspot. Glacier tours from Grawand via the Hauslabjoch to the findspot are available from June to October, in collaboration with the Mountain Guide Association.

Hiking to the Tisen Valley. The archeoParc offers hikes to the Tisen Valley from July to September, in collaboration with Naturpark Texelgruppe. Entitled “Through the Tisen Valley in the footsteps of Ötzi”, this tour offers a fascinating and family-friendly exploration of Ötzi’s living space. The titles of the various hikes promise many hours of fun and excitement: “Children exploring wild herbs”, “Ötzi’s Wild Life” and “Primeval Forest 5300 years ago”, to mention but a few.

Archaeological hiking map to be re-issued: This very popular but out-of-print map is going to be re-issued, but in a more compact format. It contains 17 trails that follow in the footsteps of Ötzi the Iceman in the Schnals, Passeier and Ötz Valleys.

Family activity map. This map will help families to explore Ötzi territory in a fun way, to discover lots of interesting things there and to take part in a family quiz.

“Holbmittog” in the archeoParc. The Cultural Association Schnals and the archeoParc Schnals have come together to organise a joint “Holbmittog” (a mid-morning, second breakfast) with Alpine music, as part of the Cultural Festival “Kulturlach”.

The anniversary hymn “Der Ruf vom Similaun”, which was commissioned by the Unser Frau / Karthaus brass band, can be heard at the anniversary concert which will take place on 5 August 2011 at the Vernagt reservoir (on 6 August if the weather is inclement).