Tyrol italy map. Open left menu South Tyrol. Cuisine and restaurants
Olga Born
(Germany, Munich)
South Tyrol = Italy or Austria?
Previous story by Olga Born on the topic of Culture:
Tyrol is a very beautiful region of Europe: high rocky Alps, old fortresses and churches, clear rivers, mountain lakes and emerald valleys. Here reigns the calm and dignity inherent in the inhabitants of the mountains. But this beauty is divided into two parts: one part of Tyrol has been in Austria for centuries (though with interruptions), the other has been in Italy for almost 100 years and is called South Tyrol.
Now South Tyrol is a German-speaking province located in the very north of Italy. Those traveling to this country by car through the Brenner Pass may notice at the border post between Italy and Austria (on the Austrian side) this inscription, which means “South Tyrol is not Italy!”
South Tyrol, like a very beautiful but unlucky woman in love, has a complicated fate and a long and complicated history. For centuries, Tyrol was a bone of contention between the Austrian Habsburgs and the Bavarian Wittelsbachs, but at the beginning of the 19th century, the Tyrol finally became part of the Austrian Empire.
After the First World War, under the terms of the Saint-Germain Peace Treaty, this tasty and beautiful piece of land went from Austria to Italy. Ownership of this territory allows you to control the strategically important Brenner Pass, located on the way from Italy to Germany.
By the time of the annexation of South Tyrol, 86% of local residents spoke German, 4% spoke Ladin (a variant of Romansh), 3% spoke Italian, and the rest were foreigners.
Within Italy, German-speaking Tyroleans became a national minority. Moreover, the Italian government's promises to respect their rights were soon broken. And after Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922, a campaign began to assimilate the Tyroleans.
They were forbidden to use the German language, and their national culture was suppressed. The printing of newspapers in the native language of the Tyroleans and the teaching of it in school were prohibited. The original Tyrolean names of cities and villages were replaced by Italian ones.
The local population was forced into mass immigration. Elderly Tyroleans often say that their parents taught them to read and write their native language under the covers at night, in secret from the Italians.
At that time, most local residents lived on farms and had no access to management or industrial production. It was possessed by the Italians, who were provided with housing in the cities.
The union of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany brought the Tyroleans to the brink of extinction. They were offered either to move to the Third Reich and leave their homeland, or to stay and undergo complete Italianization. In this situation, the German-speaking culture of the region went underground.
After the end of World War II, at the Paris Peace Conference, the Brenner Pass, located in Tyrol, was officially recognized as the border between Austria and Italy. The South Tyroleans demanded that the victorious allies return their region to Austria.
However, the 1947 peace treaty established the Italian border as of 1919. According to this document, the German-speaking minority of South Tyrol was guaranteed full equality of rights with the Italian-speaking population. He was given the right to study in his native language, which could be used in public institutions along with Italian.
But only a year after the conclusion of the agreements, Rome adopted the Autonomous Statute for the Trentino-Alto Adige region, uniting the provinces of Bolzano (as the Italians call South Tyrol) and Trento. With this unification, the Italian population significantly outnumbered the German-speaking population.
For several decades, Austria made attempts to regain the lost region, but in vain. In 1992, the Austrian authorities announced to the UN the end of contradictions with Italy over the issue of South Tyrol. In 2001 it became a separate region of Italy.
Local residents were allowed to officially use the true name of their homeland - South Tyrol. This region, forcibly annexed by Italy at the beginning of the 20th century, managed to maintain its Austrian identity and become the most developed region of the country. Today, unemployment in the region is less than 2%, everywhere is clean and in German order.
Currently, the population of South Tyrol reaches 500 thousand inhabitants. For 70% of the population, the native language is German, for 25% it is Italian, another 5% are Ladin.
In South Tyrol, linguistic groups are guaranteed equal rights. The 70-seat parliament speaks two languages. And not only in the local parliament - even signs and street names are always in two languages, although only German is heard on the street.
Despite all the agreements, in South Tyrol from time to time the statement in German is heard and read: “Südtirol ist nicht Italien!”
Olga Born
(Germany, Munich)
Previous story by Olga Born on the topic of Culture.
Non-tourist Italy – South Tyrol, Brixen
Italy, in the minds of most tourists, is certainly the Roman Colosseum, the canals of Venice and shopping in Milan. I want to tell you about a completely different non-tourist and unknown Italy - northern, alpine, German-speaking - the province of Bolzano. These Tyrolean lands were under Habsburg rule for centuries, and only after the First World War were annexed to Italy. The local population still speaks German and ignores the official Italian names of their cities.
How to get to Brixen?
The easiest way to get to South Tyrol from Russia is by plane to Munich, and then by direct train, across two borders. You can also fly to Innsbruck or Verona and from there get to Brixen, however, direct flights to these cities from Russia do not happen often.
Road to Brixen
Province of Bolzano
We came to this amazingly picturesque region almost by accident - in May 2014, the international felt festival FeltRosa took place here, which is organized every year by Italian felt makers. The center of the felting festival was the small town of Brixen (Italian name is Bressanone), and for a whole week we were immersed in the living history of medieval Catholicism in Italy.
Sights of Brixen
The fact is that Brixen has been the main residence of the bishops of Tyrol since the 13th century; only in 1973 this honor was given to the provincial capital, the city of Bozen. But even today the main attraction of Brixen is Bishop's Palace. The three-story building, built during the Renaissance (baroque elements were added in later centuries), now houses a rich and unexpectedly interesting museum. I will tell you more about it, as well as about other museums in this region, in my next notes... For now, you can read about the Archaeological Museum in Bolzano.
Near the Bishop's Palace there is Brixen main cathedral- the current church of St. Mikhail. On days of veneration of local saints, the modern Bishop of Tyrol holds services there.
In honor of the arrival of such an important church figure, the city organizes a solemn procession of delegations from communities, parishes, monasteries, villages - and even schools and organizations. Almost the entire population of the city, in traditional Tyrolean costumes, takes part in the holiday.
The historical part of the city looks very picturesque - perfectly preserved houses built in the 1600s, narrow streets paved with stones. The banks of the city's two rivers, the Eisatz and the Reinza, are decorated with ancient trees and a variety of flowers, and at the point of their confluence, the difference between the color of the two waters is clearly visible. And of course, from anywhere in the city there is a stunning view of the surrounding Dolomites.
Cafe interiors
There are cafes, restaurants and pizzerias at almost every turn in the center of Brixen. The interiors of these establishments are much more interesting than the outdoor tables under awnings, because they are located in old houses with the appropriate surroundings.
The menu of every restaurant necessarily includes dishes of local Tyrolean cuisine, hearty and quite heavy, although you can always order something light, Mediterranean. The list of desserts includes strudel, as the local recipe for this pastry is considered classic and exemplary.
If in winter the main contingent of vacationers in South Tyrol are skiers, then in early spring lovers of bicycles, mountain walks and clean air come here. By bus or funicular (and for especially trained people - by bicycle) you can rise to an altitude above 1000 m above sea level and drink beer, local wine or herbal tea in a small cafe in some mountain village.
From Brixen you can easily reach Bolzano by train, a city full of museums, medieval fortresses and modern shops. If desired, we could go north to Innsbruck in Austria or Fussen in Germany, but we couldn’t leave our main event for such a trip (yes, yes, Feltroza, you haven’t forgotten about it?)). The festival went well, the German organization slightly polished the usual Italian carelessness. Even ignorance of both languages did not prevent the Russian delegation from being in the very center of events.
Yes, of course, Brixen is not a place of noisy parties, not a shopping mecca, but the owners of local hotels admit that every year more and more Russians come here who value peace, tranquility and the beauty of nature.
Novacella Abbey Brixen Italy
For those who are inspired by the story about South Tyrol and its attractions and are going on a trip, we recommend:
Search engine for the most profitable air tickets across all companies and sites
Search engine for the best prices for hotels across all companies and sites
Benvenuti! Wilkommen! Benuni!
South Tyrol - aka Autonome Provinz Bozen - Südtirol, aka Provincia autonoma di Bolzano - Alto Adige, aka Provincia Autonoma de Balsan - Südtirol.
Strictly speaking, South Tyrol is not quite Italy yet. Everything here brings to mind Austria. And no wonder. After all, until 1919, this part of Italy was part of the Austrian Empire. This left its mark on many things: language (two thirds of the population of South Tyrol speak German, an Austro-Bavarian dialect), architectural style and gastronomic preferences. The Tyrolean hospitality, regularity, national clothing, cleanliness and order inherited by this province have the same roots.
Currently, this region has broad autonomy and is responsible for many socio-economic issues. The president of the autonomy is a representative of the South Tyrol People's Party. All local officials are required to speak two languages. In the local parliament, meetings are also held in two languages. In schools, German is taught as the main language, Italian only as a second language. There are bilingual road signs on the roads, menus in restaurants are in Italian and German.
In fairness, I must say that in addition to residents who speak German or Italian, there are a small number of speakers of the Romansh group of languages - the Ladin language. This is a very small group in terms of numbers – it makes up only about 4% of the region’s residents.
Many South Tyroleans dream of reunification with Austria. Here, from time to time, a statement is heard and read in German: “Südtirol ist nicht Italien!” And the provincial authorities offered Rome to buy their region for 15 billion euros. There has been no response from Rome yet.
But let's not get into politics...
The intention to go to this part of Italy had been brewing for a long time, and two factors contributed to this.
The first one was that my friend got married “there” and kept inviting us to visit her.
And secondly, my husband had a dream to climb in the Dolomites on the so-called “Via Ferrata”.
Therefore, we decided to combine pleasant and very pleasant things (the first - for my husband with his rock climbing, the second - for me with my meeting with my friend). Of all the methods of transportation, the long, but most interesting one was chosen - a car.
What awaits travelers in South Tyrol? Well, first of all, these are mountains - beautiful mountains, passes and gorges. Half of Italy's ski resorts are located in South Tyrol.
Scientists have proven that 250 million years ago the Dolomites located here were a coral reef. This is probably why they take on a pink tint at dusk.
There is a legend associated with this phenomenon. It says that in the old days wonderful rose gardens grew here, and amazingly beautiful people lived in this region. But evil neighbors decided to destroy their world and conquer its inhabitants. However, the inhabitants of the region resorted to the powers of magical spirits and made their world invisible, turning the blooming garden into impregnable rocks. And only twice a day, when the sun touches the mountain peaks, the curtain is lifted and all people can see the unusually beautiful flowering of the gardens in the Dolomites.
I read an interesting fact. It turns out that the Dolomites owe their name to a French scientist, who in 1789 first described these mountains and sent a soil sample to Switzerland. He soon received an answer that such a composition was not listed in the library of the Institute of Rocks, and therefore Mr. Dolomier was given the right to give the mountains his name.
One day, my friend Tanyushka suggested that we go to the Passo Sella pass (2240 m). This is one of the most famous passes in the Dolomites. It connects the Val di Fassa in the province of Trentino with the Val Gardena in the province of Bolzano. There are many routes of any difficulty for walking in the summer and fantastic ski slopes in the winter.
There is a rather steep serpentine road leading there, and with each turn my breath was taken away from fear. And while we were climbing, she asked several times to drop me off.
“I’ll wait here for you,” I whined.
“You will regret it later if you don’t come with us,” my husband persuaded me. “You know about it yourself.”
And at that moment, when I already wanted to swear that I would never regret anything, we went upstairs.
“Yes... I would regret it...” was all I could exhale, shocked by what I saw.
An unforgettable view opened before us! The peak of Mount Marmolada, the highest point in the Dolomites, covered with eternal snow, fascinated with its grandeur.
The amazingly beautiful valleys, of some amazing green color, lie at its foot.
Near the pass of the Sassolungo mountain range, there is a stunningly beautiful labyrinth of boulders.
This picture evoked a whole bunch of emotions and impressions. There is a feeling of unreality of what is happening - as if we were inside an advertising brochure or a postcard. The shock of what we saw was so strong that we simply fell into a state of some kind of euphoria. We laughed, happy and delighted. We reveled in the transparent air, ringing like crystal. We kissed in front of everyone, without thinking at all about what others would think of us. In general, we behaved like sixteen-year-old teenagers, and not respectable adults.
This condition probably has some scientific name, but I don’t want to know it...
It was with regret that we left this amazing place...
In addition to the mountains, in South Tyrol you will find national and regional nature parks, magical lakes, emerald valleys, cute fairy-tale Alpine towns and villages, and medieval castles.
The region is indeed dotted with castles and fortresses. Different sources indicate different numbers, but according to some sources there are about 400! Some of them are well preserved, others not so much. Some of them have now turned into museums, others into private residences, or into hotels and restaurants in medieval style. We also visited some castles...
In 2009, the region was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Separately, I would like to dwell on the local cuisine. I have already written that the Austrian past was reflected in the gastronomic preferences of the residents of South Tyrol. We were able to try Schlutzkrapfen - it's something like our dumplings, but with Ricotta cheese and the addition of spinach. Served with melted butter and grated Parmesan. Tasty!
It was interesting to try Canederli (Dumplings) – flour balls. They are prepared from finely crumbled bread crumbs with the addition of either spinach or speck. There are also sweet dumplings with plums or apricots.
And, of course, Weißwurst - white sausages. We sometimes call them Bavarian.
But Italian cuisine is also held in high esteem here - pizza, pasta, lasagna and much more. Polenta is an amazing baked corn porridge. It’s impossible to try everything, so we, supporting another of our traditions, bought ourselves a cookbook there with recipes for South Tyrol dishes. Now we cook at home, enjoy it ourselves and treat our friends.
A separate song needs to be sung about cheeses. I never thought I would like sheep's cheese! And Parmesan!?
And wine... Red, white, rose... Dry, semi-dry, sparkling... Light, tart, with a fruity aroma...
The so-called South Tyrol Wine Road is very popular among tourists. Its length is about 70 km and it passes through the territories of 15 communes. Here you can taste and buy the wine you like. But, unfortunately, we didn’t get to the Wine Road... We had our own “road”, and the procedure “on it” was somewhat different - we first bought wine, and then tasted it... However, from the change of place the sum of the terms does not change.
South Tyrol (German: Autonome Provinz Bozen - Südtirol, Italian: Provincia autonoma di Bolzano - Alto Adige) is one of two autonomous provinces of the picturesque Trentino-Alto Adige region in Italy. Other names for this multilingual region located in the very north of the country are Bolzano or Alto Adige and Bozen or Südtirol. Such a number of names for a fairly small territory is associated with a complex and even tragic history in which several European nations were involved. Today, the past is reflected in the presence of bilingual road signs, menus in restaurants in Italian and German, and media broadcasting in several languages.
More than half of the people living in South Tyrol speak German. This is the only province in Italy where this phenomenon occurs. For the rest of the inhabitants, the native language is Italian, and in the eastern part it is Ladin.
In addition to cultural attractions in the form of numerous castles, ancient abbeys, architecturally rich cities, cozy Alpine villages in the valleys, there is one of the most important national parks in Italy. Beautiful lakes and mountain peaks create a picturesque landscape, carefully protected by the state. The local slopes are also popular with ski resorts. The world-famous Dolomites near the Austrian border are a destination for winter sports fans.
The Dolomites are a mountain range in the Eastern Alps, named after the discoverer of the rock from which they are composed. This is a popular holiday destination in Italy with the wonderful resorts of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Ortisei, Rocca Pietore, Alleghe, Auronzo Cadore, Falcade. Also near the mountain peaks are the regional capitals of several provinces - Bolzano (province of South Tyrol), Trento (province of Trento) and Belluno (province of Belluno).
Counties and cities
South Tyrol is divided into eight districts. The first is called Bolzano or Bozen, in honor of the administrative center of Bolzano, the capital of the province and the largest settlement, located in this part. The second district - Burgraviate with its center in the resort of Merano (Meran) - is a beautiful corner of nature with a number of wonderful castles. The valley of the River Isaac, the second largest waterway in South Tyrol, is another district famous for the local vineyards and cultural riches of the city of Brixen (Bressanone). The Pusteria Valley is a ski paradise with its administrative center in Brunico (Bruneck). Venosta is a unique valley with ski resorts in the summer and the tallest church tower in Tyrol in the town of Silandro. Other districts are no less attractive areas with wonderful vineyards and picturesque valleys.
South Tyrol
How to get there
The only international airport in the province of South Tyrol is located in the capital Bolzano and serves flights from all over Europe.
Story
Archaeological excavations show that people lived in these territories back in the Stone Age. Being a strategically advantageous area, the province at different periods was part of the Roman Empire, a place of settlement for barbarian tribes, was ruled by France, was divided into separate regions, until, in the end, it fell into the hands of the Tyrolean counts, who took control of all the surrounding lands.
The next difficult stage in the history of South Tyrol was a long-lasting property conflict of sorts between the Bavarian Wittelsbachs and the Austrian Habsburgs, who claimed power in these places. The Habsburgs turned out to be stronger, and in the 19th century South Tyrol became part of Austria-Hungary. However, after the end of the First World War, in which the Austrians were defeated, the lands went to Italy. Thus, the Tyroleans turned into an ethnic minority, they were forbidden to use their language, all German names were replaced with Italian ones. Long years of suppression of any manifestations of Tyrolean culture did not stop after World War II.
Only by 2001 was the issue of the national identity of the population living in these territories resolved. Alto Adige became South Tyrol, and German became an official language like Italian.
Cuisine and restaurants
Despite belonging to Italy, local cuisine was greatly influenced by its former “owner” Austria. Almost all dishes refer to traditional Austrian gastronomy. The most popular recipes among the local population are goulash, strudel and dumplings. All kinds of soups with the addition of vegetables, smoked loin; meat dishes in the form of bacon, various kinds of sausages, sausages; A potato stew with meat and onions called gröstl is a delicious highlight of South Tyrol.
Various types of bread are a distinctive feature of the local cuisine. Schuttelbrot is a flatbread made from rye flour, prepared only in South Tyrol and deserves the same attention as herbal cheeses made from cow's milk.
Among drinks, wine is the most popular. Numerous vineyards produce mainly red wine. You can also find the famous Italian grappa and grape vodka in restaurants and bars.
Guides in South Tyrol
Popular hotels in South Tyrol
Entertainment and attractions in South Tyrol
Stelvio National Park was founded in 1935. This is the largest nature reserve in Italy, which borders many other similar protected areas, in particular the Swiss National Park. A visit to it will be interesting for fans of wildlife.
To get acquainted with the cultural richness of the province, you should definitely visit the capital Bolzano, as well as the cities of Brixen and Brunico. Numerous monasteries are located both within the city limits and outside. So, in Bolzano, for example, you can see the Abbey of Muri-Gris and the Church of St. Augustine. Marienberg Abbey, founded in the 12th century, is located near the administrative center. The Novacella Abbey near Bressanone has served as an educational institution for centuries. For thousands of years, monks have been passing on their knowledge to the younger generation. The abbey now houses a secondary school. The Zeben Monastery is located on a rock and is an active convent.
Locks
Other cultural sites that deserve attention are castles. Sigmundskron Castle is one of the symbols of the entire province of South Tyrol. It is located on the banks of the Adige River, towering above the surrounding lands. Fontana or Brunnenburg Castle was built in the 13th century and is also of interest. Klebenstein Castle is located inside the city of Bolzano, as are the castles Marec, Rafenstein and Runkelstein. In addition, it is worth seeing Kurburg, next to the Marienberg Abbey, Prösels, located in the Dolomites, Salorno and Tyrol.
