Galtür was settled by the EngadinernEngadiners from the south, the WalsernWalsers and VorarlbergernVorarlbergers from the west, and Tyroleans from the east. Today the cultivation work of the EngadinerEngadiners is remembered in the name Galtür, meaning ''Cultura''. During the [[Thirty Years' War]], Galtür was badly damaged. The church and many houses were burned down. The first roads leading through the Paznaun were built in the 19th century. During that period, Galtür consisted of a church, an inn, and eight houses, and was considered very poor. After the first hotel was built, the Jamtalhütte was soon constructed. With the advent of tourism, Galtür and the valley became prosperous.
On February 23, 1999, an [[avalanche]] descended on Galtür. In less than 60 seconds, the {{convert|164-foot|ft|adj=mid|4=-high|order=flip}} wall of snow traveled at {{convert|290 kilometers per hour|km/h}}, and overturned cars, destroyed buildings, and buried 57 people—of these, 31 died before rescue teams could reach them. The avalanche was considered the worst in the Alps in 40 years. Due to the continuing danger of avalanches, thousands of tourists were evacuated from the Paznaun valley via air-lift. Military and civil helicopters from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, and the United States were engaged in one of the biggest [[rescue operation]]s of Austria's recent history. The avalanche was caused by three major weather systems from the Atlantic that produced large snowfalls totaling around 4 meters in the area. Alternating freezing and thawing created a weak layer on top of an existing snow pack, followed by additional snowfall. High winds created large snow drifts, and eventually caused roughly 170,000 tons of snow to fall on the village.
