Bozen-Bolzano
Encyclopedia
Bolzano is a city and the capital of South Tyrol
, a province in northern Italy.
Bolzano is the seat of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
, where lectures and seminars are held in English, German, and Italian.
In 2008 Bolzano was one of the locations, in the region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, where the seventh edition of the world renowned Manifesta
, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art was held.
The city is also the home of the Italian Army
's Alpini
High Command (COMALP
) and some of its combat and support units.
an Isarci people, a settlement was built by the Romans after the area's conquest by general Nero Claudius Drusus
in 15 BC, to whom the name of the settlement Pons Drusi ("Drusus Bridge") referred. The nearby village was called Bauzanum. With the end of the Roman empire a Bavarian immigration began and the first mentioning of a Bavarian count as ruler of Bolzano dates from 679. The area has been settled by German populations since then. Bolzano has been an important trading point since its elevation to a town on 24 June 1190 by bishop Konrad of Trient, due to its location in between the two major cities of Venice
and Augsburg
. Four times a year a market was held and traders came from the south and the north. The mercantile magistrate was therefore founded in 1635. Every market season two Italic and two Germanic officers (appointed from the traders who operated there) worked in this office. The city was a cultural crosspoint at that time, and still is to this day.
Before World War I, Bolzano was part of the Austro–Hungarian county of Tyrol
. It was annexed by Italy at the end of World War I and on 1 January 1927 became a provincial capital. At the time of its annexation, Bolzano was primarily a German-speaking city, with a pre-war population of 30,000 people. In the 1920s the city, along with the rest of the province, was subjected to an intensive Italianization programme
under orders from Benito Mussolini
. The aim was to outnumber the local German-speaking population by tripling the population with Italian-speaking immigrants drawn from the old provinces.
During World War II, Bolzano was the site of the Nazi
Bolzano Transit Camp
, a concentration camp for Jews and political prisoners.
as their first language
.
(including wine
, fruit
and dairy product
s), tourism
, traditional handicraft
(wood, ceramics) and advanced services. Heavy industry
(machinery, automotive, steel) installed during the 1930s has now been mostly dismantled. On the downside, the local economy is very dependent on the public sector
, and especially the provincial government.
Bolzano is the biggest city in South Tyrol, which is an autonomous province in Northern Italy with a special statute. This statute preserves the rights of the autochthonous German-speaking minority in Italy. This unique system has been admired by the Dalai Lama
, who visited the city on several occasions to study a possible application in Chinese-occupied Tibet. It has also been presented as role model for the successful and fair resolution of inter-ethnic conflict to other regions of the world.
Bolzano was ranked as having the second highest quality of life of Italian cities in 2007, with neighbouring Trento
topping the list.
and Romanesque
churches and bilingual signage give it a unique flavour of a city at the crossroads between Italian and Austrian cultures. This, and its natural and cultural attractions make it a renowned tourist destination.
Among the major monuments and sights are:
For more historical and geographical information, see South Tyrol
.
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City districts:
Neighbouring communities are: Eppan
, Karneid
, Laives
, Deutschnofen
, Ritten
, Jenesien
, Terlan
, and Vadena
.
Other important nearby towns are Brixen
, Bruneck
and Merano.
-E45
to Trento
and Verona
and to Innsbruck
(Austria) and Munich
(Germany).
The city is also connected to the Italian railway system
. Bolzano railway station, opened in 1859, forms part of the Brenner railway (Verona–Innsbruck)
, which is the main railway route between Italy and Germany. The station is also a junction
of two branch lines, to Merano and Mals, respectively.
Different airlines provide flights from Bolzano Airport
(IATA: BZO) to Rome
, Vienna
, Milan
and other destinations.
competition – the BOclassic
– which features an elite men's 10K and women's 5K races. The event, first held in 1975, takes place on New Year's Eve
and is broadcast live on television by Rai Sport Più
.
Handball
Ice hockey
Rugby
American Football
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
, a province in northern Italy.
Bolzano is the seat of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
The Free University of Bozen-Bolzano is a university located in Bolzano, Italy...
, where lectures and seminars are held in English, German, and Italian.
In 2008 Bolzano was one of the locations, in the region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, where the seventh edition of the world renowned Manifesta
Manifesta
Manifesta, the , is a European pan-regional contemporary cultural biennale, described in 2010 by the as "stunning in its scope and uncompromisingly experimental in its approach".-Manifesta History:...
, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art was held.
The city is also the home of the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
's Alpini
Alpini
The Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....
High Command (COMALP
COMALP
- External links :*...
) and some of its combat and support units.
History
Inhabited by the RaetiRaeti
The Raeti was the collective "ethnic" name used by the ancient Romans to denote a number of Alpine tribes, whose language and culture may have derived, at least in part, from the Etruscans. From not later than ca...
an Isarci people, a settlement was built by the Romans after the area's conquest by general Nero Claudius Drusus
Nero Claudius Drusus
Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus , born Decimus Claudius Drusus also called Drusus, Drusus I, Nero Drusus, or Drusus the Elder was a Roman politician and military commander. He was a fully patrician Claudian on his father's side but his maternal grandmother was from a plebeian family...
in 15 BC, to whom the name of the settlement Pons Drusi ("Drusus Bridge") referred. The nearby village was called Bauzanum. With the end of the Roman empire a Bavarian immigration began and the first mentioning of a Bavarian count as ruler of Bolzano dates from 679. The area has been settled by German populations since then. Bolzano has been an important trading point since its elevation to a town on 24 June 1190 by bishop Konrad of Trient, due to its location in between the two major cities of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
. Four times a year a market was held and traders came from the south and the north. The mercantile magistrate was therefore founded in 1635. Every market season two Italic and two Germanic officers (appointed from the traders who operated there) worked in this office. The city was a cultural crosspoint at that time, and still is to this day.
Before World War I, Bolzano was part of the Austro–Hungarian county of Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
. It was annexed by Italy at the end of World War I and on 1 January 1927 became a provincial capital. At the time of its annexation, Bolzano was primarily a German-speaking city, with a pre-war population of 30,000 people. In the 1920s the city, along with the rest of the province, was subjected to an intensive Italianization programme
Italianization of South Tyrol
In 1919, at the time of its annexation, the southern part of Tyrol was inhabited by almost 90% German speakers. Under the 1939 South Tyrol Option Agreement, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini determined the status of the German people living in the province...
under orders from Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
. The aim was to outnumber the local German-speaking population by tripling the population with Italian-speaking immigrants drawn from the old provinces.
During World War II, Bolzano was the site of the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
Bolzano Transit Camp
Bolzano Transit Camp
The Bolzano transit camp was a Nazi concentration camp active in Bolzano between 1944 and the end of the Second World War. It was one of the largest Nazi Lager on Italian soil, along with those of Fossoli, Borgo San Dalmazzo and Trieste.-History:...
, a concentration camp for Jews and political prisoners.
Linguistic distribution
According to the 2001 census, 73% of the city inhabitants speak Italian, 26.29% German and 0.71% LadinLadin
Ladin is a language consisting of a group of dialects spoken in the Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy in the border regions of the provinces Trentino, South Tyrol and Belluno...
as their first language
First language
A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...
.
Economy
The city thrives on a mix of old and new—high-quality intensive agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
(including wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and dairy product
Dairy product
Dairy products are generally defined as foods produced from cow's or domestic buffalo's milk. They are usually high-energy-yielding food products. A production plant for such processing is called a dairy or a dairy factory. Raw milk for processing comes mainly from cows, and, to a lesser extent,...
s), tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, traditional handicraft
Handicraft
Handicraft, more precisely expressed as artisanic handicraft, sometimes also called artisanry, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft. Usually the term is applied to traditional means...
(wood, ceramics) and advanced services. Heavy industry
Heavy industry
Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
(machinery, automotive, steel) installed during the 1930s has now been mostly dismantled. On the downside, the local economy is very dependent on the public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
, and especially the provincial government.
Bolzano is the biggest city in South Tyrol, which is an autonomous province in Northern Italy with a special statute. This statute preserves the rights of the autochthonous German-speaking minority in Italy. This unique system has been admired by the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, who visited the city on several occasions to study a possible application in Chinese-occupied Tibet. It has also been presented as role model for the successful and fair resolution of inter-ethnic conflict to other regions of the world.
Bolzano was ranked as having the second highest quality of life of Italian cities in 2007, with neighbouring Trento
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
topping the list.
Main sights
The city's with its medieval city center, GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
and Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
churches and bilingual signage give it a unique flavour of a city at the crossroads between Italian and Austrian cultures. This, and its natural and cultural attractions make it a renowned tourist destination.
Among the major monuments and sights are:
- Walther Square, with a statue of Walther von der VogelweideWalther von der VogelweideWalther von der Vogelweide is the most celebrated of the Middle High German lyric poets.-Life history:For all his fame, Walther's name is not found in contemporary records, with the exception of a solitary mention in the travelling accounts of Bishop Wolfger of Erla of the Passau diocese:...
, a German minstrel (minnesingerMinnesangMinnesang was the tradition of lyric and song writing in Germany which flourished in the 12th century and continued into the 14th century. People who wrote and performed Minnesang are known as Minnesingers . The name derives from the word minne, Middle High German for love which was their main...
) - the Lauben, a mile long street in the city center with medieval arcades along its entire course, now housing countless high street shops
- the South Tyrol Museum of ArchaeologySouth Tyrol Museum of ArchaeologySouth Tyrol Museum of Archaeology is a specialist archaeological museum in the city of Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol, northern Italy. It is the home of the preserved body of Ötzi the Iceman.- History :...
, which hosts the mummy of Ötzi the IcemanÖtzi the IcemanÖtzi the Iceman , Similaun Man, and Man from Hauslabjoch are modern names for a well-preserved natural mummy of a man who lived about 5,300 years ago. The mummy was found in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, near Hauslabjoch on the border between Austria and Italy. The nickname comes from the... - the Gothic Cathedral, started in 1184, expanded in the 14th century by architects Martin and Peter Schiche (completed in 1382)
- the Old Parish church of Gries, with the Altarpiece of Michael PacherMichael PacherMichael Pacher was an Austrian Tyrolean painter and sculptor active during the last quarter of the 15th century. His best-known work is the altarpiece at the church in the village of St. Wolfgang, Austria. This altarpiece contains scenes from the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary...
- the monastery of Muri-Gries, with baroque paintings of Martin Knoller
- various castles, including Castle Maretsch, Runkelstein Castle and Firmian/Sigmundskron CastleSigmundskron CastleSigmundskron Castle is an extensive castle and set of fortifications near Bolzano in South Tyrol. Today its ruins house the fourth mountain museum established by the South Tyrolean mountaineer, Reinhold Messner...
- Victory Monument, a Victory gate built on orders from Benito MussoliniBenito MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
in 1928 - Messner Mountain MuseumMessner Mountain MuseumThe Messner Mountain Museum or MMM is a museum project by Italian mountaineer and extreme climber, Reinhold Messner, in South Tyrol in northern Italy. The mountain museum is based at five different locations....
of Reinhold MessnerReinhold MessnerReinhold Messner is an Italian mountaineer and explorer from Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol "whose astonishing feats on Everest and on peaks throughout the world have earned him the status of the greatest climber in history." He is renowned for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without...
For more historical and geographical information, see South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
.
City districts and neighboring communities
- Centro-Piani-Rencio (German: Zentrum-Bozner Boden-Rentsch)
- Don Bosco
- Europa-Novacella (German: Europa-Neustift)
- Gries-San Quirino (German: Gries-Quirein)
- Oltrisarco-Aslago (German: Oberau-Haslach)
Neighbouring communities are: Eppan
Eppan an der Weinstraße
Eppan an der Weinstraße is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 45 km northeast of the city of Trento and about 8 km southwest of the city of Bolzano.-Geography:...
, Karneid
Karneid
Karneid is a comune in the province of South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 50 km northeast of the city of Trento and about 4 km east of the city of Bolzano .-Geography:...
, Laives
Laives
Laives is a town and a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 45 km northeast of the city of Trento and about 8 km south of the city of Bolzano.-Coat-of-arms:...
, Deutschnofen
Deutschnofen
Deutschnofen is a comune in the province of South Tyrol in the Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 70 km northeast of the city of Trento and about 30 km southeast of the city of Bolzano, on the border with Austria.-Geography:As of 30 November 2010, it had a...
, Ritten
Ritten
Ritten is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.-Territory:The 111 km² community is named after the high plateau , the Ritten or the Renon, on which most of the villages are located...
, Jenesien
Jenesien
Jenesien is a comune in the province of South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 50 km northeast of the city of Trento and about 4 km northwest of the city of Bolzano .-Geography:...
, Terlan
Terlan
Terlan is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 50 km north of the city of Trento and about 9 km northwest of the city of Bolzano.-Geography:...
, and Vadena
Vadena
Vadena is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 40 km northeast of the city of Trento and about 10 km southwest of the city of Bolzano.-Geography:...
.
Other important nearby towns are Brixen
Brixen
Brixen is the name of two cities in the Alps:*Brixen, South Tyrol, Italy*Brixen im Thale, Tyrol, AustriaBrixen may also refer to:*Bishopric of Brixen, the former north-Italian state....
, Bruneck
Bruneck
Bruneck is the largest town in the Puster Valley in the Italian province of South Tyrol. Bruneck lies at the confluence of the Ahr with the Rienz Bruneck is the largest town in the Puster Valley in the Italian province of South Tyrol. Bruneck lies at the confluence of the Ahr with the Rienz...
and Merano.
Transportation
Bolzano is connected to the highway A22Autostrade of Italy
The Autostrada is the Italian national system of motorways. The total length of the system is about 6,400 km. In North and Central Italy this is mainly as tollways, with the biggest portion in concession to the Atlantia group which operates some 3,408 km...
-E45
European route E45
The European route E 45 goes between Sweden and Italy, through Denmark, Germany and Austria. With a length of about , it is the longest north-south European route...
to Trento
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
and Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
and to Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
(Austria) and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
(Germany).
The city is also connected to the Italian railway system
Rail transport in Italy
The Italian railway system is one of the most important infrastructure in the country, with a total length of . The network is recently growing with the construction of the new high speed rail network....
. Bolzano railway station, opened in 1859, forms part of the Brenner railway (Verona–Innsbruck)
Brenner railway
The Brenner Railway is a major line connecting the Austrian and Italian railways from Innsbruck and Verona climbing the Wipptal , passing over the Brenner Pass and descending down the Eisack Valley to Bolzano and then down the Adige Valley from Bolzano to Rovereto and from there along the...
, which is the main railway route between Italy and Germany. The station is also a junction
Junction (rail)
A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
of two branch lines, to Merano and Mals, respectively.
Different airlines provide flights from Bolzano Airport
Bolzano Airport
Bolzano Airport is a small regional airport situated very close to the centre of the city of Bolzano in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region in Northeast Italy. The main destinations are domestic flights to Rome with various charter flights from destinations in Europe during the winter months...
(IATA: BZO) to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and other destinations.
Sport
The town is host to an annual road runningRoad running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
competition – the BOclassic
BOclassic
The BOclassic is an annual road running competition over the distance of 10 kilometres for men and 5 kilometres for women. It is held on New Year's Eve in Bolzano, Italy. The competition has only elite races, competed between a limited number of runners, but over 10,000 spectators gather in the...
– which features an elite men's 10K and women's 5K races. The event, first held in 1975, takes place on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
and is broadcast live on television by Rai Sport Più
Rai Sport Più
Rai Sport 1 is an Italian sports TV channel, launched in 1999 by the state-owned RAI television network. It broadcast Italian and international sports events in Italy on DTT channel 57 on Mux Rai B...
.
Local teams
Football- F.C. Südtirol-Alto AdigeF.C. Südtirol-Alto AdigeF.C. Südtirol-Alto Adige is an Italian association football club, based in the city of Bolzano, South Tyrol.In the season 2011-12 it plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione B.The team's colors are white and red....
plays in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione (Promoted to Lega Pro Prima Divisione in 2009-10 season) - F.C. Bolzano 1996 played 2008/09 in EccellenzaEccellenzaEccellenza is the sixth level of Italian football. It is a regional league, composed of 28 divisions divided geographically. All 20 regions are represented by at least one division except for Piedmont and Aosta Valley which share 2 divisions...
but was relegated
Handball
- SSV Bozen HandballTeam handballHandball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
A-Elite Liga
Ice hockey
- HC Bolzano Bozen Foxes plays in Serie A1
- EV Bozen 96 plays in Serie A2
Rugby
- Sudtirolo Rugby Cavaliers The Cavaliers plays in Serie C
American Football
- Giants Bolzano The Giants plays in IFL (Italian Football League), the first league of the FIDAF
External links
- Bolzano City Hall Official website (in Italian and German)
- Bolzano Tourist Board Official website