Puster Valley

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Puster Valley
Comunità comprensoriale Val Pusteria
Bezirksgemeinschaft Pustertal
Karte Pustertal.png
Puster Valley (highlighted in green) within South Tyrol
CountryFlag of Italy.svg  Italy
Autonomous regionFlag of Trentino-South Tyrol.svg  Trentino-Alto Adige
Autonomous provinceFlag of South Tyrol.svg  South Tyrol
Established1969
Administrative seat Bruneck (Brunico)
Area
  Total2,072 km2 (800 sq mi)
Population
 (2005)
  Total76,149
  Density37/km2 (95/sq mi)
Website www.bezirksgemeinschaftpustertal.it

The Puster Valley [1] [2] (Italian : Val Pusteria [ˈval pusteˈriːa] ; German : Pustertal, Ladin : Val de Puster) is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. The South Tyrolean municipalities of the Puster Valley constitute the Puster Valley district.

Contents

Puster Valley

The Puster Valley at Bruneck CrodaDelBecco B.jpg
The Puster Valley at Bruneck

The Puster Valley is located in the western part of the Periadriatic Seam, which separates the Southern Limestone Alps from the Central Eastern Alps, as well as most of the limestone Alps from the central gneiss and slate peaks of the range's central section. East of Sillian, the Puster Valley leaves the Peradriatic Line (which moves into the Gail valley) and turns to the northeast towards Lienz.

Half of the valley drains to the west to the Adriatic via the Adige river; the other half drains to the east to the Black Sea via the Danube. The watershed lies in the shallow valley floor called Toblacher Feld (Conca di Dobbiaco). The Rienz river flows westwards through the Puster Valley and the Drau river flows eastwards into East Tyrol. The eastern part of the valley on the upper Drava is called Upper Puster Valley.

The towns in the Puster Valley are located between 750 and 1,180 meters (2,460 and 3,870 ft) above sea level. The most important of these towns in the western valley are Toblach, Welsberg-Taisten, Olang, and Bruneck; the most important in the eastern valley are Innichen, Sexten, and Sillian.

The largest tributaries of the Rienz river form the Antholzer Bach, the Ahr, the Pragser Bach, the Gsieser Bach, the Gran Ega, the Pfunderer Bach, and the Lüsenbach. The Puster Valley's largest side valley is the Tauferer Ahrntal. The Drau's largest eastern tributaries are the Sextner Bach and the Villgraten-Bach.

History

The Puster Valley was inhabited since prehistoric times as finds belonging to the Iron Age have been found in that area. In more recent times this zone was inhabited by people belonging to the Illyrian stock: they were called "Saevates" by the Romans (hence the name "Sebatum" of the Roman station of today's Saint Lawrence.) In the 6th century, the Celtic invaders merged with the Illyrian population. [3] Around the end of the I century B.C, the Rienz valley was mainly used by the Romans as an arterial road to connect the north-eastern regions of the Empire. The Puster Valley belonged to the imperial province of Noricum, and the local populations, during the four centuries of the domination of Rome, began to assimilate the customs, the language and finally the Christian religion. In the 5th century the Goths, the Baiuvarii and the Slavs decided to descend in this area, with consequent conflicts between Baiuvarii and Slavs, which ended with the Baiuvarii victory. In the 10th century the Puster Valley started to belong to the Pustrissa countship; in 1091 the countship was ceded by the Emperor Henry IV to the Bishop of Brixen and in the 16th century the Hapsburg took possession of it. During the Napoleonic era, following the Austrian defeat at Austerlitz and the treaty of Pressburg in 1805, the entire region passed to the Bavaria: the Tyroleans, led by Andreas Hofer, repeatedly fought against the Bavarian domination. [4] After Napoleon's fall, the Puster valley was reunited with Austria and, following the World War I, it was assigned to Italy. [5]

Opening in 1871 the Puster Valley Railway uses the relative simple landscape to avoid climbing steep slopes.

Puster Valley District

Map of the Puster Valley. Karte Westliches Pustertal.png
Map of the Puster Valley.

The Puster Valley District (Italian : Comprensorio della Val Pusteria; German : Bezirksgemeinschaft Pustertal) was founded in 1969 with the merger of 26 municipalities. Its combined area is 2,071 km² and its population is over 73,000. Its main town is Bruneck. According to the 2001 census, 80.96% of the population of the valley speak German, 13.40% Ladin, and 5.64% Italian as their native language. [6]

The following municipalities are part of the Puster Valley District:

Related Research Articles

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The Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe. With a length of 710 kilometres (440 mi), 724 kilometres (450 mi) including the Sextner Bach source, it is the fifth or sixth longest tributary of the Danube, after the Tisza, Sava, Prut, Mureș and perhaps Siret. The Drava drains an area of about 40,154 km2 (15,504 sq mi). Its mean annual discharge is seasonally 500 m3/s (18,000 cu ft/s) to 670 m3/s (24,000 cu ft/s). Its source is near the market town of Innichen/San Candido, in the Puster Valley of South Tyrol/Alto Adige, Italy. The river flows eastwards through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria into the Styria region of Slovenia. It then turns southeast, passing through Croatia and, after merging with its main tributary Mur, forms most of the border between Croatia and Hungary, before it joins the Danube near Osijek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brixen</span> Comune in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy

Brixen is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Bolzano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexten</span> Comune in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy

Sexten is a comune in South Tyrol in northern Italy. The village is famous as a summer and winter sport resort in the mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruneck</span> Comune in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy

Bruneck (German pronunciation: [ˈbrʊnɛk]; Italian: Brunico[bruˈniːko] or [ˈbruːniko] Ladin: Bornech or Burnech; Latin: Branecium or Brunopolis is the largest town in the Puster Valley in the Italian province of South Tyrol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rienz</span> River in Italy

The Rienz is a river in South Tyrol, Italy. Its source is located at 2,180 m of altitude, in the Dolomites mountains, south of Toblach: near Toblach it enters in the Puster Valley, and, after 90 km (56 mi), it meets the Eisack river in the city of Brixen, at 550 m of altitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Periadriatic Seam</span> The border between the Adriatic and European plates

The Periadriatic Seam is a distinct geologic fault in Southern Europe, running S-shaped about 1,000 km (621 mi) from the Tyrrhenian Sea through the whole Southern Alps as far as Hungary. It forms the division between the Adriatic plate and the European plate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand in Taufers</span> Comune in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy

Sand in Taufers is a comune mercato in South Tyrol in northern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toblach</span> Comune in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy

Toblach is a comune/Gemeinde (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located in the Puster Valley about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northeast of the city of Bolzano, on the border with Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsberg-Taisten</span> Comune in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy

Welsberg-Taisten is a comune (municipality) in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of the city of Bolzano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rasen-Antholz</span> Comune in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy

Rasen-Antholz is a municipality in South Tyrol in northern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Innichen</span> Comune in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy

Innichen is a municipality in South Tyrol in northern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olang</span> Comune in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy

Olang is a comune (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of the city of Bolzano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine Brigade "Tridentina"</span> Former light infantry brigade of Italian Army

The Alpine Brigade "Tridentina" was a light Infantry brigade of the Italian Army, specializing in mountain warfare. Its core units were Alpini, the mountain infantry corps of the Italian Army, that distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. The Alpine Brigade "Tridentina" carried on the colours and traditions of the WWII 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sillian</span> Place in Tyrol, Austria

Sillian is a market town in the district of Lienz, in the Austrian state of Tyrol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hochpustertal</span>

The Hochpustertal is the easternmost part of the Puster Valley, stretching from the watershed of the Rienz and Drava rivers at Niederdorf in South Tyrol down the Drava to Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria. The area includes the Sexten and Prags side valleys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tauferer Ahrntal</span> Valley in South Tyrol, Italy

The Tauferer Ahrntal denotes the valley of the Ahr River, a tributary valley of the Puster Valley in South Tyrol, Italy. It is commonly divided into the Tauferer Tal, stretching from the confluence with the Rienz River near Bruneck up to Sand in Taufers, and the Ahrntal proper up to the source in Prettau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rieserferner Group</span>

The Rieserferner Group is a mountain range in the Austrian Central Alps. Together with the Ankogel Group, Goldberg Group, Glockner Group, Schober Group, Kreuzeck Group, Granatspitze Group, Venediger Group and the Villgraten Mountains the group is part of the High Tauern. The Rieserferner mountains extend across the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Italian province of South Tyrol. The mountains mainly lie in South Tyrol, where the greater part is protected within the Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon von Taisten</span> Tyrolean painter (c.1450–c.1515)

Simon von Taisten, originally known as Simon Mareigl or Marenkl, was a Tyrolean painter in the Late Gothic style. He created numerous frescoes, panel paintings, and altarpieces in Gorizia, the Puster Valley, Lienz District, and Carinthia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drava Valley Railway</span>

The Drava Valley Railway is an east–west railway running along the Drava. It runs from Maribor to Innichen, where it merges into the Puster Valley Railway to Franzensfeste (Fortezza). It starts in northern Slovenia, crosses Carinthia and East Tyrol and ends in South Tyrol. The Klagenfurt–Bleiburg section has been rebuilt as part of the Koralm Railway, which follows the Jaun Valley Railway (Jauntalbahn) from Bleiburg. Like the rest of the line in Slovenia, this section of the line has one track and is unelectrified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puster Valley Railway</span> Railway line in South Tyrol, Italy

The Puster Valley Railway is a standard gauge, single-track railway line in the Puster Valley between Franzensfeste and Innichen, South Tyrol, Italy. The line branches off the Brenner Railway in Franzensfeste and runs via Bruneck and Toblach to Innichen, where it continues as the Drava Valley Railway (Drautalbahn).

References

  1. Pignatti, Erika, & Sandro Pignatti. 2014. Plant Life of the Dolomites: Vegetation Structure and Ecology. Heidelberg: Springer, p. 612.
  2. Russ, Charles. 1990. The Dialects of Modern German: A Linguistic Survey. London: Routledge, p. 480.
  3. PUERARI, MARINER (1955). Das Pustertal und seine Nebertäler. Bolzano. p. 6.
  4. PAULIN (1970). Andreas Hofer. pp. 16–131.
  5. Rovati, Paolo (1983). "Brunico, una piccola città della media valle della Rienza". Annali di ricerche e studi della geografia: 65–82.
  6. Bevölkerung und soziales Leben, Statistisches Jahrbuch 2006, p. 120, tab. 3.19

Coordinates: 46°44′N12°13′E / 46.733°N 12.217°E / 46.733; 12.217