Haiminger market days: Tyrol’s fascinating harvest market

It is as if a kind of rebirth was celebrated in Haiming. After two years of cancellations of the 'Haiminger Markttage' due to a pandemic, people stormed the stalls on October 8 on the first of the two days. A similar rush can certainly be expected for the second market day on October 15

It all started when Hubert Wammes, the 'father of the Haiming apple miracle', founded a farmer's sales event together with his colleagues in 1987. The idea soon bore visible fruit. Since then, on the second and third weekends in October, tens of thousands of visitors storm the Oberland village year after year to stock up on Haiming apples, potatoes, stored vegetables, fruit and other specialties for the winter months. During the same period, by the way, the village rose to become the largest fruit-growing community in North Tyrol

Apples are Haiming's unique selling point

For me, the market days have been a must-attend event for years, a personal 'high mass' so to speak, on which I maintain an accurate routine. First I go to the apple tasting at the Haiming fruit growers' stand. There I get an overview of the latest harvest and the differences in taste of various apple varieties, preferably from organic cultivation by Rudi Wammes. To be honest: I taste until I know which apple variety is the sweetest. Since I only travel by public transport and the e-bike, I buy the apples of my choice in smaller quantities in the following months at the Haiminger fruit store located on the old road to Ötztal Bahnhof. Quite in contrast to the majority of visitors who arrive by car. They stock up on winter supplies, which they also take with them by car. There helpful boys go to them to the hand, which bring the purchased supplies by hand cart to the car

Haiming pioneers of organic farming

Next, I visit the stalls of the BIO farming families. Haiming enjoys the excellent reputation of being a pioneer community of organic agriculture. The families Glatzl and Kopp with grain and vegetables as well as the 'apple family' Wammes with apples were among the pioneers of poison-free food production

While the Glatzls are represented directly at the market, there is a kind of 'house fair' feeling at the farm of the Kopp family ('Christls Hof', quasi around the corner of the market days). Mountains of pumpkins, potatoes and wonderful root vegetables, lettuces and tomatoes are offered for sale here during the market days at their farm, virtually on their doorstep.

Award-winning whiskey from Haiming

This year, the Glatzls are coming up with a very special novelty: their 'Single-Corn-Whiskey' matured in sherry oak barrels. At a whiskey tasting in the USA last year, 'Glatzl Gold' even made it to the Whiskey Olympus

When you know that the noble drop is distilled from a waste product that is produced as flour during the milling of the "Tirggen," this success really becomes a sensation. Until now, cornmeal has been used mainly to fill pigs' stomachs and, to a very limited extent, to make pasta. The fact that it is now being turned into an excellent distillate shows the Glatzls' innovative spirit.

With 'Mairs Beerengarten' another innovative company from the region takes part in the market days. From very small beginnings, this family business has developed into a showcase enterprise with a focus on berry production. Logically, the Mairs also offer all kinds of spirits and jams.

Quill embroidery for traditional costume wearers

At events such as the Haiminger Market Days, 'Urtiroler Handwerksbetriebe' must not be missing. So also this year the 'Federkielsstickerei Seiringer' from the Kaunertal Nature Park community of Faggen offers its handmade products. I admire above all the courage of this family to produce a quality product based on handwork and thus on high labor input and thus to earn their income. In quill embroidery, precious leather and quills made from peacock feathers are not only used to make traditional, ornately decorated satchels and belts. 'Trachtige' Tyroleans also appreciate the purses and handbags produced by the Seiringers

Stone oil: a hit in Tyrolean folk medicine

A good Tyrolean harvest market cannot be without a product that has become an indispensable part of our country's folk medicine: Tyrolean stone oil from Pertisau on Lake Achen. The 'black gold of Tyrol' is distilled from the slate rock by the Albrecht family business in Pertisau and transformed into many new, fantastic products. I have been using the stone oil ointment from the Albrechts for years for wound and skin care and the shampoo variant to keep my hair in good spirits

A Zickeler Schnitzel at the end

Although there is no shortage of food and beverage stands during market days, it is a cherished tradition for me to stop by the 'Zickeler' at the end of my visit to the Haiming market. This inn, legendary in the Tyrolean Oberland, whose civil name is 'Gasthof Stern', offers a dish that I actually only eat here: the famous 'Zickeler Schnitzel'. With fries and a salad, of course

The fact that this year I also meet the senior boss Marion Kapeller, who handed over the house to her son Sandro in 2012, is a kind of 'bonus' for me. After all, I was a regular guest of this Haiming institution for years during my work as a regional developer.

But that is another story.

My Tip If you don't stock up on larger winter supplies in Haiming, you can travel to the market on October 15, the second day of this year's market days, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. in complete relaxation with the ÖBB. The trains will make an extra stop at the Haiming station. You save a long search for a parking space and can also enjoy a beer or two without a guilty conscience.