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Home , Algund, Bleichert, Brixen, Bruneck, East Tyrol, Eisack

South The other side of

South Tyrol The other side of Italy “In the Southern Tyrol, the weather cleared up, the sun of Italy made itself felt; even at a distance the hills became warmer and brighter, I saw vines rising on them, and I could now often lean out of the carriage windows.” from: Heinrich Heine, Travel Pictures II, Chapter XIII (1828-1832) Local colour page 20

Chapter 1 Mountains Chapter 4 Eminences Sheer brashness page 23 A class of their own page 67 : The Pale Mountains 24 Ötzi: The man from the glacier 68 Myths and Legends: Absolutely fabulous 27 : ’s equine blondes 69 King : The roses have betrayed me 29 Castles: Tyrol of yore 72 Mining: In the bowels of the mountain 32 Romanesque frescoes: Heaven on earth 74 Perspectives: Sweeping vistas 33 Mountain lifts: Electrical alpenglow 75 Water: Crystal clear 34 Matteo Thun: The consummate designer 76

Chapter 2 Joie de vivre Chapter 5 Tradition Harmony at the frontiers page 37 The art of self-preservation page 79 Autonomy: Bad times, good times 38 Alpine farming women: Farming women’s proclamation 80 Mediterranean joie de vivre and Alpine staidness: 39 Customs and traditions: Witching hours 81 Three perspectives and one fulcrum Tradition: Red hat band, green hat band 82 Extract from: Joseph Zoderer, ‘Die Walsche’ (The foreign Italian Girl) 42 Geraniums: The fire in the bay window 86 Ladins: é pa mé da dì – I just want to say 44 Dialect: As spoken by South Tyroleans 87 Rut Bernardi “la ie pa da r” (That’s laughable) 45 Handicrafts: Skill and dexterity 88 Knödel and Spaghetti: Alpine simplicity and Mediterranean refinement 48 Commentary: The Holey Land 90 Provincial capital: /Bozen 49 Knödel and Speck: Poor man’s food 94

Chapter 3 Chapter 6 A new dawn Rural scene page 51 A new dawn page 97 Wine: In the vineyard 52 The towns: Town and village portraits 98 Recipe: white wine soup 55 Architecture: The hot tin roof 100 Törggelen: The fifth season 56 Contemporary art: Concept art 102 Gardens and spas: The promenades and the Tappeiner 59 : Showcasing the home country 103 Apples: Golden orbs 60 Messner Mountain : Museum summit 104 ‘Waale’ – age-old irrigation channels: The farmer as an engineer 61 Alpine farms: Summer pastures 63 Baths culture: Revitalising rural treatments 64 Information on South Tyrol page 107

For orientation: at the end of the book you will find a map of South Tyrol to help you to find villages, towns, valleys and mountains. Each chapter contains geographical indications and coordinates under the heading ‘Fact box’ (i.e., Bolzano/Bozen [C4]).

| 7 The Alpe di Siusi/ against the backdrop of Sassolungo/ and the Sasso Piatto/Plattkofel: ’s vastest expanse of Alpine pastureland is paradise for hikers

8 | 9 Scenic ski runs: Downhill runs, cross-country ski and walking trails, in winter the Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm offers plenty for everybody

10 | 11 Warm bathing nestling amid South Tyrol’s vineyards: the lake Lago di Caldaro/Kalterer See to the south of Bolzano/Bozen

12 | 13 South Tyrol’s provincial capital and its vinescape: Bolzano/Bozen

14 | 15 Between heaven and earth: ski slopes, cross-country ski trails, toboggan runs with unimpeded views of mountains ranging in height from 3,000 to 10,000 feet

16 | 17 As far as your feet will take you: South Tyrol’s mountains are connected by 13,000 kilometres of hiking trails

18 | 19 Local colour Introduction

Gritty – that is a good word to describe South Tyrol/Südtirol. The region is made of sturdy material, it has structure. Rocks give it its form, quickly changing varieties of stone from por- phyry through marble and granite to Dolomite define the land- scape and vegetation. The inhabitants have tilled the land with their hands to make the cultivated land alternate with stone, colour and vegetation. Nature and culture intermingle. People cling to tradition and custom. New projects are started. In 1999 Count Goess-Enzen- berg decided to extend and modernise his Manincor estate wine cellars near Caldaro/Kaltern, built to designs by Walter Angonese, Rainer Köberl and Silvia Boday. Landscape, and functionality all play a central role in the planning, for it is built by expanding the original edifice. The South Tyrolean artist Manfred Alois Mayr entered the building site at the in- tersection of the old and new. The painter said he would find the colours himself. At Manincor he removed layers of colour, searched for traces of hues from the history of the wine estate,

20 from the tradition of winegrowing in South Tyrol, documented soil, poverty, of the omnipresence of the Church and the pride the building process. Then he presented his colour concept. of a people who have defied emperors, soldiers and dictators He wanted to spray a giant wall dividing the old from the new and who, to a large extent, now determine their own way au- building with Bordeaux mixture – turquoise. His was given the tonomously. The houses were whitewashed, brightly-coloured go-ahead. What is more: the counts were enthusiastic. Bor- costumes were only worn on Sundays, the fascists wore black, deaux mixture – copper sulphate and dehydrated lime – was their party buildings were Pompeian red. the first fungicide to be used in vineyards and today the old Farmers’ aprons are blue in South Tyrol. Aprons. Boys were walls in wine estates are still tinged with blue from bluestone. given their apron on their first day at school. It was said that a The Enzenberg family owned the copper mine in the Val Au- man without his apron is only half dressed. In 1997 the farm- rina/ and until it closed in 1893 it supplied Bor- ers in Val Venosta/ Valley were given a new fruit co- deaux mixture to winegrowers in all South Tyrol. operative. The style of the architect Arnold Gapp was alien to An example of how history, tradition, progress are intertwined. the farmers. Manfred Alois Mayr was once again consulted. He Manincor is a South Tyrolean example par excellence, though painted a part of the building lapis lazuli blue. At last – painted there are others. They constitute a current of thought and the colour of their aprons - the building had a proper face for ideas in contemporary culture: South Tyrol is seen as a modern the farmers. They recognized their work in the colour. Sudden- region able to develop its own unmistakable image from its ly contemporary architecture was comprehensible. past. “I transport stories/ with colour”, says the artist Manfred Alois Mayr. These stories relate tales of nature, the

Local colour | 21 South Tyrol’s tallest ‘skyscraper’: ‘King Ortles’ in Val Venosta/Vinschgau Valley

22 Chapter 1 Mountains Sheer brashness In South Tyrol all perspectives emanate from the mountains. It was the townsfolk who first climbed the summits and open up unimagined perspectives to the mountain folk.

Nobody knew what it was like on the Ortles/ mountain until 1804. In that year the chamois hunter Josef Pichler from was likewise curious. He climbed his first the Val Passiria/Passeiertal Valley became the first to climb the summit by secretly following two tourists up to the Moos- summit. He managed to stay there for four minutes. It was icy. Stock summit in the Valli di Tures & Aurina/ He climbed it again in 1805, this time he waved a flag and eve- Valley. rybody believed him: the Ortles, almost four thousand metres Townspeople were the first to develop a passion for the moun- – or over thirteen thousand feet – high, the tallest mountain in tains 200 years ago. They strove for the summits, guided by all Tyrol had been conquered. To celebrate the triumph a pyra- rural youths. An unlikely rope team resulted: the tourist had mid of rocks was built rather than a summit cross. the summit in his sights, while the guide was on the lookout The mountain folk in southern Tyrol were not particularly for crystals and chamois. One made the summit famous, the elated at this. Until well into the 19th century many people other depended on the mountain for his livelihood. In this way regarded as the height of brashness. What people lost their dread of the mountains. All peaks have been was the point? Was there even air to breathe up there? Before climbed and named and entered on maps with indications 1786 no farmer had ever climbed a summit. Even on the Alpine of their elevations, climbing routes and refuges. People have pastures and passes they believed they had come too close to long realised that mountains did not open their way across the Heaven and erected crosses as a sign of repentance. In South earth’s surface like teeth. South Tyrol’s most famous moun- Tyrol there seemed to be a point in excavating tunnels into tains, the Dolomites – officially granted a UNESCO World Nat- the mountains to extract silver, copper, marble, but who other ural Heritage status in 2009 – even rise as fossilised coral reefs than a good-for-nothing would venture up there into the bar- formed at the bottom of an ancient sea. Today everybody can ren world of rock. Either God or the Devil inhabited the moun- access and experience the mountains in all their facets in safe- tain. No one knew for sure. ty thanks to walking trails and lift systems. Mountains which From this perspective South Tyrol is a veritable paradise for once struck awe into beholders are now perceived as beauti- such good-for-nothings. By far the greater part of South Tyrol’s ful. They have become objects of wonder as well as leisure and terrain lies above the 3,400 foot elevation line and only three recreational destinations and must be protected. Vast areas per cent of the region is settled. The remainder consists of of natural and man-made have been placed under fields, , Alpine pastures and rock. South Tyrol boasts protection in eight nature reserves and the Parco Nazionale more than 300 ‘three-thousanders’ (summits exceeding 3,000 dello Stelvio/Stilfserjoch National Park. metres or 9,843 ft). All perspectives emanate from the moun- South Tyrol’s highest mountain, the Ortles finally received a tains. Prospects and vistas. Everything is immediate in South summit cross in 1954. The stone pillar which was initially in- Tyrol, summit and valley, narrow boundaries and vastness. The tended to crown the summit lay packed in crates for years be- world-famous climber hadn’t even started side the road down in the valley. In 1899 it was erected on the school when, in his village in the Val di Funes/Villnösstal Valley, Passo Stelvio, the pass which connects South Tyrol with Lom- he stood beneath the Le Odle/Geisler-Spitzen pinnacles and bardy, though no longer as a sign of the mountain having been wanted to find out where they finished. The extreme climber conquered, but as a monument to the emperor in .

Mountains | 23 The Dolomites The ‘Pale Mountains’

The architect Le Corbusier described the Dolomites as the world’s finest example of architecture. In fact the Dolomites really were ‘built’. They are mountains formed of fossilised al- gae and coral reefs. They grew for 250 million years at the bot- tom of the warm Tethys sea, forced skyward as tectonic plates crashed, finally to stand white and majestically as the ‘pale mountains’, weird and different to the surrounding mountains. In 1788 scientists discovered why: the mountains were formed of limestone containing magnesium. They were named the Do- lomites after the French geologist Deodat de Dolomieu. They became immediately popular, their sagas famous, the crenel- lated /Drei Zinnen (The Three Peaks) found their way onto postcards and sent around the world, while the famous actor from /Gröden Valley immortalised the Sassolungo/Langkofel summit in his mountain films. The Dolomite valleys have been settled since the Iron Age. Rhaetians, Romans, Lombardi all left their marks, and in the First World War the front line between the Austrian and Italian armies ran across these mountains. The valleys are inhabited by the , the oldest settlers in the Dolo- mites who make up South Tyrol’s third linguistic group.

Fact box: » Four of South Tyrol’s eight nature reserves are situated in the Dolomites. www.provincia.bz.it/parchi.naturali » There are 80 secured climbing routes in South Tyrol, the first of which were built during the First World War along the Dolomite and Ortles fronts. 14 Alpine schools offer climbing tours in complete safety. www.guidealpine-altoadige.it

24 Unesco Natural World Heritage Site: the Dolomites with the Tre Cime di Lavaredo/Drei Zinnen

Mountains | 25 King Laurin or the evening sun: which makes the Catinaccio/Rosengarten glow?

26 Myths and fables Absolutely fabulous

Nature is in command in the mountains. When she is angry life is terrifying, anyone who tries to oppose her is either a hero or must perish or be punished with perdition. Before science began to explain natural phenomena everyday life was domi- nated by mysterious powers, by spirits which turned the milk sour, by wild men who challenged the gods, by witches who celebrated Walpurgis nights on the Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm alpine pasture. These characters feature in countless legends. The same stories were told and embellished over again on long winter evenings. Even today people’s imaginations run riot at scenic points or at the sight of rock formations which have giv- en rise to fables. The heart of the great realm of magic lies in the long-secluded Dolomite valleys. For example the pinnacles of the Latemar are enchanted dolls, and it is the curse of the dwarf king Laurin rather than the evening sun which causes the Catinaccio/Rosengarten massif to glow at twilight.

Fact box: » South Tyrol’s stories can be read at www.suedtirol.info/sagas » On the trail of fables: South Tyrol’s mountains are linked by 13,000 kilometres of hiking trails amid unspoilt nature, five times the distance from Bolzano to London and back. Alone 300 meander around the Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm [D/E 5], Europe’s vastest expanse of Alpine pasture- land. The valleys boast 600 kilometres of paved cycle pathways. www.suedtirol.info/trekking_en

Mountains | 27 “The roses have betrayed me”

28 Fable: King Laurin’s Rose Garden as told by Martin Bertagnolli

Once-upon-a-time a dwarf king called Laurin lived inside the Catinaccio/Rosengarten mountainmassif. He owned immense riches. Above all he had a magic hood which could make him invisible. There was a magnificent garden in front of the gate- way to his bastion of rock, where myriads of roses were in flower all year round, enclosed by a golden thread of silk. Woe betide anybody who dared pick even one rose! One day he caught sight of the stunningly beautiful princess Simhild in a neighbouring castle. He fell in love with her and snatched her away. From then on Simhild was forced to live in Laurin’s kingdom, and there was nothing but sorrow at the castle of her brother, Dietleib. While he was searching for his sister Dietlieb came across the king of the Goths, . With him and other knights he made his way to Laurin’s kingdom. Dietrich marvelled at the magnificence of the roses fenced round by a thread of gold, though his men broke it and tram- pled on the flowers. Beside himself with rage, Laurin came charging at them on his small white steed. It came to an un- equal fight. However, once the knights had pulled off his magic hood Laurin fell to the ground helpless and shouted incensed: “The roses have betrayed me!” Left with no option he led the victors into his fortress where they freed Simhild. Laurin uttered a curse on the rose garden and its beauty was extinguished for ever. He pronounced that nobody, neither by night nor by day, should ever again cast his eyes on the rose garden’s magical splendour. But he forgot to include the twi- light. And that is why the mountain which is pale during the day still lights up and glows red as the sun sets.

Mountains | 29 In the heart of the Dolomites Nature Reserve: the weird pinnacles of the Odles/Geisler-Spitzen in the Val di Funes/Villnösstal Valley

30 Mountains �����| 31 Mountain mines In the bowels of the mountain

Dark galleries and the glow from the mine lamp characterised the life of miners. For centuries they travelled deep into the bowels of South Tyrol’s mountains to extract copper, lead, zinc and silver. Above ground the miners’ villages developed their own way of life. In its heyday Europe’s highest mine at an elevation beyond 6,600 feet on the Monte Neve/Schnee- berg mountain employed up to 1,000 men. Today this nether world on the Schneeberg Monte Neve in the Ridanna/Ridnaun and Val Passiria/Passeiertal Valley, the silver mine at Villandro/ in the Valle Isarco/ Valley and the mining museum at Predoi/ in the Valle Aurina/Ahrntal Valley can all be explored in complete safety wearing a hard hat and head lamp. There is even a cavern deep inside the former Pre- doi copper mine which provides hay-fever sufferers and oth- ers with a place to breathe allergen and pollen-free air. The main street of Lasa/Laas in the Val Venosta/Vinschgau Valley is paved white. Lasa marble is still extracted there. It is held to be the world’s most weather resistant white marble, testified to by the numerous monuments hewn out of this precious rock so beloved by the Habsburgs, in New York, London, Berlin and Craving for the mountains: tank up on energy at dizzy heights Vienna.

Fact box: » South Tyrolean mountain mining museum [D2+G1], www.museominiere.it » Silver mine at Villandro/Villanders [D4], www.bergwerk.it » Lasa/Laas Marble [A3], www..lasa.bz.it

32 Perspectives Sweeping vistas

In the valley one’s view is drawn upwards by the mountains. High up between the sky and the earth the view is sweeping. From the summit of South Tyrol’s no. 1 ski mountain, the Plan de Corones/, the winter views range through 360 de- grees and makes every ski aficionado’s heart beat faster. From the beginning of December to mid April winter sports enthu- siasts can savour a spectrum of mountain perspectives from 3,300 to 10,000 feet elevation while out downhill and cross- country skiing, tobogganing, snowshoeing, snowboarding and on horse-drawn sleigh rides. The dramatic interplay between the elements expressed by clouds is almost worthy of an Os- car when seen from the Rotsteinkogel summit (4,806 ft) near the mountain village of Verano/Vöran, located between Bol- zano/Bozen and /Meran high above the Val d’/ Valley. The artist Franz Messner has set up his open air ‘Knottnkino’ or ‘Rock Cinema’ here with 40 seats secured to the rocks: until sunset films are ‘projected’ here featuring everything the weather has to offer, against a sweeping back- drop ranging from the Ortles massif across to the Dolomites.

Fact box: » South Tyrol boasts 30 ski resorts. With a total of 1,200 kilometres of downhill runs the Dolomiti SuperSki association comprises the world’s largest inter-connected ski area. The [F6] circuit leads skiers across four Dolomite passes around the Sella Massif and in sum- mer becomes a challenging circular mountain bike trail. The Ortler Ski Arena comprises 15 resorts. The Val Senales/ glacier resort [B 2/3] near Merano is open almost throughout the year. www.suedtirol.info/winter_en » Each year two Dolomite runs host World Cup ski races: the ‘Saslong’ run in Val Gardena/Gröden Valley, www.saslong.org and the giant slalom ‘Granrisa’ run in , www.skiworldcup.it. » The Anterselva/Antholz Valley [G2] is the venue for the annual cross- country skiing Biathlon World Cup, www.biathlon-antholz.it. Info for cross-country skiers in South Tyrol at www.suedtirol.info/winter_en » Tyrol’s very first mountain refuge was built on the Ortles [A2] – at the time ’s tallest mountain – in 1805. Today 92 Alpine refuges provide hikers and mountaineers with victuals and accommodation; the most spectacular huts include the Becherhaus (10,482 ft/3,195m), the Müllerhütte (10,318 ft/3,145m) and the Payerhütte (9,908 ft/3,020m). All refuges at www.suedtirol.info

Mountains | 33 Water Crystal clear

In the beginning water was the landscape designer, humans were at its mercy. Thousands of streams and rivulets in South Tyrol wind down or thunder from mountain to valley. Water trickles from the fountain in every village square. Hundreds of sparkling mountain are catchment basins for snowmelt water. The greater part of South Tyrol’s electricity is hydro- electric generated. Drinking water arrives from the spring to the tap in just a few hours without additives or preservatives. 30 mineral springs are recognised. Their water has been used since time immemorial for rural and curative baths, or is bot- tled and sold. The numerous waterfalls are enveloped by a hiss- ing chill, for example in the Gilfenklamm ravine near Vipiteno/ , Europe’s only marble gorge; the waterfalls on the Rein stream near Campo Tures/; or the water- fall at Parcines/ which in spring thunders 318 feet to valley, one of Europe’s tallest. In the Venosta/Vinschgau Valley, water courses flow in a more orderly manner: centuries ago farmers dug an intricate system of irrigation channels called Waale which are now popular as pretty walking trails.

Fact box: » Walking recommendations to lakes, waterfalls and beside Waale at www.suedtirol.info/trekking_en » The Lago di Caldaro/Kalterersee Lake [B5] to the south of Bolzano/ Bozen is the warmest bathing lake in the . Information on bathing lakes at www.suedtirol.info/swimming » More on water and mineral springs at www.provincia.bz.it/acqua

34 Water in ordered courses: Ancient irrigation channels or ‘Waalen’ bring water to fields in the Val Venosta/Vinschgau region

Mountains | 35 German and Italian: in South Tyrol culture is the attitude to life

36 Chapter 2 Joie de vivre Harmony at the frontiers Three intertwined languages and customs, histories which begin to resemble each other. German, Italian and Ladin people live together in South Tyrol. Alpine and Mediterranean lifestyles have learnt to get along.

When South Tyroleans use the word ‘we’ the meaning could be a little complicated. In South Tyrol history has brought to- conduct. European politicians did much to garner Tyrol’s favour, gether three cultural spheres. How do we belong together? while jumping at every opportunity to conquer the region. The South Tyrolean journalist Claus Gatterer (1924-1984) de- Tyrol was first mentioned in 1271, then in 1330 the houses of voted considerable space to this question in his novel ‘Beau- Wittelsbach, Habsburg and Luxemburg contended for the tiful world, wicked people’: “‘We’ – they were the people in hand in marriage of the heiress Margarete of Tyrol. The power- the valley, ‘our’ people”. In the village of Sesto/ of the ful made concessions resulting in the granting of Tyrol’s own 1920s which Gatterer describes, they were all those who were Magna Carta or Bill of Rights, the ‘Freiheitsbrief’ of 1242. When German, that is, all Tyroleans, as well as Ladin and Italian peo- Tyrol passed to Habsburg rule the Tyroleans were even ex- ple who had long been inhabitants of the valley, just as much empted from military duty on condition that they took charge as the scissor grinders and pot menders. However there was of their own defence of the province stretching from Kufstein another ‘We’, the official ‘We’, actually ‘Noi’ – we, the on the Bavarian border to Lake Garda. Tyrol was proud of its as desired by the Italian state. Claus Gatterer: “They were we, special status. As soon as any ruler tried to impinge on their at the time. A bewildering human landscape, a reflection of a rights the Tyroleans fell back on the old documents. In this muddled time.” frontier region – which Tyrol had been throughout history South Tyrol’s modern history begins in 1919 when the area to from a linguistic, cultural and political perspective – every tiny the south of the Passo Brennero/ was taken away curtailing of liberty was quickly noted and acted upon. from the Austrian Tyrol and annexed by Italy. The new frontier The South Tyroleans were not prepared for the events of the parted the ways of a region which had belonged to Austria for 20th century. The fascist Italianisation policy stifled any as- five centuries. pirations towards cultural and political independence. South The alpine region has always been a frontier. From the Roman Tyrol’s struggle for autonomous status was long and hard, but perspective the north lay beyond Tyrol, while for the Holy Ro- now people belonging to the German, Italian and Ladin ethnic man Emperors who travelled to Rome to be crowned by the groups live together speaking their own respective languages pope, the south lay beyond the Brennero. This ‘Land im Ge- and cultivating their own cultures. As often happens, people birge’ or ‘Land in the Mountains’, to use Tyrol’s traditional found common ground first of all in the kitchen. Tyrolean name, was assured a permanent central position in Europe’s housewives tried pasta and minestrone; their Italian counter- power structure by means of two Alpine passes. Merchants, parts developed a liking for ‘Speck’ and ‘Knödel’. A new atti- pilgrims, princes with their retinues, adventurers and soldiers tude towards life, a new ‘we’ life developed starting with the passed through Tyrol, paid tolls and customs duties, availed steam emerging from the cooking pots and grew steadily. This themselves of accommodation and the assurance of safe region at the frontier has once again attained a special status.

Joie de vivre | 37 Autonomy Bad times, good times

South Tyrol became part of Italy in 1919. As part of the secret drawn up in 1915 the future victors of the First World War had promised the Italian delegation a state border at Brennero to entice them into the war on their side. Once the fascists gained power in 1922 they embarked on a harsh programme of Italianising South Tyrol. Anything which soun- ded German was forbidden. This culminated in the 1939 agree- ment between Hitler and Mussolini to resettle South Tyrol’s population in the German Reich. South Tyroleans were faced with an option, either to become completely Italian, renounc- ing their language and customs, or to emigrate. Nazi propa- ganda proved effective: 85 percent of German-speaking South Tyroleans opted for the Reich, which by then included Austria. The exit from South Tyrol slowed down after the outbreak of war. After the Second World War the Brennero was once again proclaimed the national border. Protracted negotiations towards achieving autonomous status began, resulting in a second autonomy statute in 1972. It took further 20 years for South Tyrol to obtain complete jurisdiction over all the areas established in the statute. Today South Tyrol’s autonomous sta- tus is regarded worldwide as a model for minorities.

“Grüss Gott” and “Buona Sera”: both ethnic groups come together for an aperitif

Fact box: » 480,000 people live in South Tyrol and there are three official lan- guages: 70 percent of the population speak German as their mother language, 26 percent speak Italian and four percent Ladin. Five per cent of South Tyrol’s population are foreign citizens. » More detailed information on South Tyrol’s history at www.suedtirol.info/history

38 Mediterranean joie de vivre and Alpine staidness Three perspectives and one fulcrum

Landscapes shape people. People shape their environment. In South Tyrol people and the countryside merge seamlessly. At one moment people behave in an Alpine down-to-earth man- ner, the next in an easy-going, carefree Mediterranean way. South Tyrol is characterised by an atmosphere which is diffi- cult to pinpoint, German and Italian headlines at the newsa- gent’s, a ‘Grüss Gott’ when one had expected ‘Buon giorno’, an interplay of atmospheres established for example by taking a macchiato at 10am, an aperitif after work, a game of cards at the regulars’ table in the pub. Germans, Italians and Ladins all have their own histories and memories. As time went by the walls became more leaky, habits and customs became in- tertwined, histories began to resemble each other, even the languages became enlaced. This subject was taken up in lit- erature. Joseph Zoderer wrote two great novels based on Ger- man-Italian love relationships which focused on the balancing act between personal affection and collective conformity. Gianni Bianco wrote the first South Tyrolean novel from an Italian perspective.

Joie de vivre | 39 Può bastare una parola per entrare in un mondo. Chissà quan- te volte, al supermercato, ci si è trovati davanti a uno yogurt della Mila, la più grande cooperativa lattiera dell’/ Südtirol. Ma quando si scopre che quel nome non è nato a caso, perché è formato dalle iniziali della parola “latte” in tedesco e in italiano, si piomba nel vivo della realtà altoatesina. Una terra a cavallo tra due nazioni, Austria e Italia. Un luogo dove si parlano due lingue, anzi tre: perché tra queste montagne vive anche una piccola, ma fiera, comunità ladina. Settemila e 400 chilometri quadrati che si estendono dalle Alpi al fondovalle dell’Adige, dove le diversità culturali sono nette, ma nella vita quotidiana si mischiano spesso. E sin dai tempi antichi. Nel Medioevo le merci tedesche e quel- le italiane si fronteggiavano sotto i portici di Bolzano, ognuna dalla propria parte, perché questo territorio è stato sempre crocevia di scambi e passaggi tra Nord e Sud. Lo scrittore meranese Joseph Zoderer, che pubblica in tedesco e in italiano, dice che si sente nato “tra la neve e le palme. I piedi nell’Adriatico, dietro la schiena una catena di montagne”. E chiunque arrivi qui si accorge subito che anche nel maso del- la valle più sperduta troverà sia canederli che tagliatelle, burro di malga ma anche olio e pomodori. Una terra, l’Alto Adige/

German-Italian conversation in Egna/Neumarkt: sport from the ‘Gazetta’, local news from the ‘’

40 Südtirol, dove vivono tre comunità diverse, ma indissolubil- mente legate dalla Storia e soprattutto dal territorio. Che qui tutti amano visceralmente, e lo si può capire: già solo passeg- giando per Bolzano, alla vista si impone dappertutto un’incre- dibile corona di montagne e i vigneti arrivano fino in città.

Irene Meli, giornalista di GEO Italia

Joie de vivre �����| 41 The foreign Italian girl Extract from Joseph Zoderer’s ‘Die Walsche’* Hanser 1982 *from the German ‘Welsch’ meaning foreigner – in this case The foreign (Italian) girl; the Anglo-Saxon word Welsh to describe the inhabitants of Wales is identical in origin. Recently she had had to shout at Silvano: stay at home until he finally understood. He stayed at home in the Italian neighbour- hood which the Germans called Shanghai. I’m a spineless hussy, she maundered as if reciting a litany, almost in the rhythm of the rosary, the murmur emanating from the adjoining room where they had laid out her father, the teacher. She couldn’t forbid Silvano from coming to her fa- ther’s funeral - a solemn occasion for a man from the south, a matter of course, of respect and reverence, even though her father had once given the spaghetti Silvano had cooked in the teacher’s house the wolfhound to eat, placing it on the floor right here beside the living room table; and even though he had regarded the Italian as superficial and full of hot air. She had not treated him like a real person, certainly not like her beloved, but as a ‘Walscher’ who did not belong here in this world, the German milieu, as one who would be better off staying outside; she had elbowed him out, though in real- ity only pushed him aside; to avoid more trouble she had not let him in, certainly to spare him harassment. She conformed, wronged him, she who had apparently not given a damn and despite the gossip, despite her father’s opposition, had lived as she liked, namely with Silvano who in the end could never be turned into a German. And she had not married him, she, now in her mid 30s. The burial of her father was expected to signal an end to all this. And so she had to face the approaching clouds alone, and to deal alone with the things which had to be dealt with when somebody dies to live a quiet life. She had come up to this God-forsaken hamlet at a thousand three-hundred metres el- evation alone, far away from high and low tide, out of fear for what the others thought, to this mountain dump of a place that her father never managed to get away from, although when he was younger he often proclaimed: Out into the world, out into the wide world at all costs. The place she returned to was not heaven, she knew that well enough. The people had not changed, they had only become outwardly friendlier, and even Ploser had pulled down his old farmstead, house and barn to build a bed-and-breakfast guest house.

Joie de vivre �����| 43 Ladins é pa mé da dì – I just want to say

Ladin is South Tyrol’s third language after German and Italian. Around 18,000 people speak Ladin in Val Gardena/Gröden Val- ley and /Gadertal Valley. It is the region’s ancient lan- guage: when the Romans conquered the Alpine valleys their language, Vulgar , became superimposed on the Rhaetian language spoken at the time by the inhabitants of the Alps. Migrating German tribes pillaged and plundered their way south, driving the Ladin people deep into the Dolomite valleys where they preserved their language in seclusion and poverty, developing a rich culture of legends and handicrafts. The Ladin people in South Tyrol were at last recognised as an official lan- guage group in 1951. Today Ladin is one of Europe’s ‘smallest’ languages. The ‘Museum Ladin’ in Val Badia showcases the his- tory of the Ladin people. Once upon-a-time they lived together with the marmots and were one with them, accor-ding to a leg- end which recounts the origins of the Ladin world; generations of Ladins listened to it on dark winter evenings. The various strands of Ladin have been drawn together to produce a writ- ten language. One of its champions is the woman of letters from Val Gardena Rut Bernardi: “é pa mé da dì” (it’s for me to say).

Fact box: » The Ladin Dolomite valleys embrace the three Italian provinces of Sou- th Tyrol, and . There are five spoken and written dialects, two in South Tyrol: Maréo/Badiot in Val Badia [F 3-6] and Gherdeina in Val Gardena [E4-F6]. In total around 30,000 people in the Dolomite region speak Ladin. » The Museum Ladin at San Martino in Badia/St. Martin in Thurn [F4] provides vivid insight into the history and culture of the Ladin people. www.museumladin.it

44 la ie pa da rì é pa mé da dì la ie da tò y jì n ne sà pa co fé a dì mo a vó te n di o no l cë ne va pa mé a jì do si pe la ne ie pa da rì co n e sà no ëi y no si fi da dì la ie mé da tò y de ne dì no: oh It’s laughable I just want to say one just has to accept it and go one still doesn’t know da d ì dò how to have it said to you one day or perhaps not your head doesn’t follow your own foot It’s no laughing matter if neither you nor your child can say it one just has to accept it Extract: Rut Bernardi, Das ist doch zum Lachen (What a laugh), and cannot reject it 2007 from: Dolomite a summit book, p. 98 one has to repeat it

Joie de vivre | 45 Ortisei in Val Gardena/Gröden Valley is called St. Ulrich in German, Urtijei in Ladin: South Tyrol’s languages, German, Italian and Ladin co-exist most immediately here

46 Joie de vivre �����| 47 Knödel and spaghetti Alpine simplicity and Mediterranean refinement

The on the southern side of the Alps has always pro- vided a wealth of ingredients historically not available in north- ern countries, and South Tyrol’s cuisine was influenced by the Mediterranean diet long before the region became part of Italy. The region’s cuisine is no longer the rather substantial fare needed to sustain mountain farmers as they toiled on the steep slopes, but has evolved in response to modern demand for elegance and delicacy. Some chefs prefer to specialise in Tyrolean, Ladin or Mediterranean cuisine, while in many res- taurants Italian and local dishes coexist on menus as equals. Certain ‘poor man’s’ dishes made from leftovers have become delicacies, even served in Michelin star restaurants, such as ‘Knödel’ dumplings typically made from stale white bread, now served in myriad variations (i.e., plain, speck, beetroot, cheese, ricotta, spinach ‘Knödel’). South Tyrol’s identity question is re- solved, at least at the dinner table.

Identity in the kitchen: a mixture of Italian, Ladin and Tyrolean fare

Fact box: » Each year more and more Michelin stars are showered on South Tyrol’s restaurants – 15 stars in 2009. Alone in Alta Badia [F 3-6] three restaurants sport Michelin stars, Hubertus at San Cassiano/St. Kassian is distinguished with two, while even the tiny village of Vandoies di Sopra/Obervintl [E2] in the Val Pusteria/Pustertal Valley boasts two Michelin-star restaurants. » Further information of South Tyrol’s gastronomy and recommendations at www.suedtirol.info/recipes

48 Provincial capital Bolzano/Bozen

South Tyrol’s provincial capital, Bolzano, is the place where the German and Italian languages and cultures coexist most close- ly. This is reflected in the town’s architecture. A century ago Bolzano, an old trading town with its arcaded walkways from the late , its building facades strongly inspired by northern Europe but with southern influences, was almost entirely limited to the eastern side of the River Talvera/, across the river there were just fields and orchards. From 1922 Bolzano was redesigned, the fascists wanted to use the town as a bridgehead to conquer South Tyrol. The ‘Città nuova’ or new town to be built on the western side of the River Talfer was designed in a new, ‘rationalistic’ style of architecture aimed at symbolising modern Italy. The regime’s star archi- tects, including Marcello Piacentini worked on the project. As a result the new part of the town is characterised by an almost complete ensemble of fascist ‘power architecture’ unique in Italy. Here an Italian aura envelops everything in contrast with the town’s historical centre: the bars, pubs, shops and the at- titude towards life. Politically the new streets were an affront, though kept in perspective they froze the history of a town and its region and embellished little Bolzano with an element A question of style: both German of modern urbanity. The best view of the town’s two faces is and Italian masters worked on Bolzano/Bozen’s Gothic cathedral provided by the newly built Museion, the Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art against the breathtaking backdrop of the nearby Dolomite mountains.

Fact box: » South Tyrol’s provincial capital, Bolzano [C4] has 100,000 inhabitants, 73 per cent of whom belong to the Italian ethnic group, 26 per cent are German and 0.7 per cent Ladin. 30 per cent of all foreigners in South Tyrol live in Bolzano. Information on history, sights and events at www.bolzano-bozen.it

Joie de vivre | 49 Merano/Meran’s Jugendstil or Art nouveau style Kurhaus: a cornucopia of nature with palm trees and glacier ice

50 Chapter 3 Landscape Rural scene

There was a time when this region was terribly beautiful. Terri- bly because travelling downhill from the Passo Brennero/Bren- yard, farmstead to farmstead. In the Valle Isarco/Eisacktal and ner Pass the rocks came closer and closer to the road, there the Val Venosta/Vinschgau valleys fruit and grapes are grown were constant landslides and travellers encountered “a bleed- at elevations reaching 3,300 feet, in Italy’s northernmost wine- ing Saviour every quarter of an hour”, as Louise von Göch- growing areas vineyards reach into distinctly Alpine scenery hausen wrote in her Journey to the South in 1788. Beautiful with drastic differences between day and night time tempera- because the same rocks evoked grandiose sensations. Terror tures, yielding wines which are among Europe’s most aromatic prevailed long. Who could live there? The Medici duke Cosimo with vibrant acidity. Above 1,000 metres elevation (3,281 ft) III only just survived a rock fall. Goethe rode through the night the main activities are arable and livestock farming. In early at haste from Brenner towards the south on his ‘Italian Jour- summer animals and their herdsmen set off for the high pas- ney’. Only when he was south of Bolzano/Bozen he observed: tures. Townspeople have been leaving for medium altitudes to “Everything which tries to vegetate in the higher mountains escape the summer heat for centuries, farmers extend their has more strength and vitality, the sun shines hot, and one pastures to well beyond the tree line. The grass is better there, comes to believe in a God once again.” Nature is under control, life more frugal. Terrible or beautiful? we can once again walk the earth in safety. Around 1800 a new ideal of beauty germinated in Europe’s This region rises skyward almost everywhere. The landscape well-heeled society. By then mountains were deemed beau- embraces the whole gamut of vegetation, from the sub-Med- tiful, fresh air made the body, the lush vegetation, the soul iterranean to arctic tundra. A single view takes in palm trees beautiful. The routes into the valleys had become safer. This and glacier ice. Alpine ruggedness yields to smooth contours. was Merano/Meran’s heyday. According to the 1821 ‘Yearbook The Alps protect South Tyrol from the northern winds and the of German Spas’, the town with the mild winter climate had air is immediately milder, the light more brilliant, not a great become a place “where fashion wills you to become healthy”. feat with 300 sunny days per year; the south is close and pal- Dung heaps and henhouses vanished from the town, in future pable. Vines climb the slopes overlooking the Adige/Etsch and the only scents were to be those emanating from the fragrant Isarco/ Rivers, accompanied by apricot, apple and pear promenades. Spa guests’ first assignments were taking walks trees, interspersed with almond, cypress and fig trees. Aspara- and eating grapes; for a time they were even allowed to pick gus is in season in spring, chestnuts in autumn. the grapes themselves. Many wallowed and were awestruck by South Tyrol’s landscape is a mosaic rich in contrast. Each piece the scenery, few conquered the summits. Subsequently travel- of earth has been wrested from nature, the geology and cli- lers came into the region and did not want to continue their mate change in the tiniest areas, often from vineyard to vine- journey south.

Landscape | 51 Wine In the vineyard

Lagrein, Vernatsch and Gewürztraminer, three grape varieties which originated in South Tyrol. Each performs well, though in different conditions: loves hot, eroded red porphyry soils, Gewürztraminer prefers clay while Vernatsch yields best results on alluvial, gravelly soils. In a region where only a tiny area can be cultivated and with correspondingly high costs, wine producers can only survive by producing top quality. At elevations between 700 and 3,300 feet above sea level the soil compositions and micro- vary enormously; the only constant is the 300 sunny days per year. The result? 20 different grape varieties yield sinewy Alpine wine with Medi- terranean charm. Around two-thirds of the region‘s total wine production comes from wineries located along the South Ty- rolean wine route, the scenic road which meanders from Bol- zano/Bozen to the rolling hills of Appiano/Eppan and Caldaro/ Kaltern as far as the province’s southern border, providing views of historical wine villages and ultra-modern wine es- tates. This is where the Romans learnt to store wine in wooden casks, later in southern founded their wine estates in southern Tyrol. In South Tyrol grapes grow where one would least expect: the provincial capital, Bolzano, is the region’s third largest winegrowing municipality.

Best site: over 20 grape varieties yield Alpine wines with Mediterranean allure

52 Fact box: » Vineyard area: 5,100 hectares, corresponding to 0.7 % of Italy’s total area under vines; 98 % of the vineyard area is registered for the produc- tion of DOC wines; 20 grape varieties produce 55 % red and 45 % white wine; average annual production approx. 400,000 hl; six sparkling wine producers together make around 200,000 bottles per year using the classic method of secondary fermentation in the bottle; last year 26 South Tyrolean wines were awarded the highest accolade, ‘Tre Bicchieri’ by Italy’s top wine guide, ‘Gambero Rosso’. Further information on South Tyrol’s wines available at www.vinialtoadige.com » Three monasteries in South Tyrol make wines from their own estates, each with its own specialities: Muri Gries at Bolzano [C4] specialised in red wines, www.muri-gries.com, the Augustinian at Nova- cella/Neustift [D3] near Bressanone/ specialised in white wines, www.kloster-neustift.it, the monastery cellars of Pircher at Lana [B4] specialised in distilling superb brandies, www.pircher.it. » The Bolzano Wine Tasting/Bozner Weinkost is the most important event showcasing South Tyrol’s wines, www.weinkost.it. The internatio- nal Meran/o WineFestival&Gourmet event showcases European wines in general, www.meranowinefestival.com. » South Tyrolean marc brandies are made exclusively from South Tyro- lean grape skins www.suedtirol.info/grappa_en

Landscape �����| 53 “The typical red wine is lightly earthy in its earthly nature, manly in character, austere to rough-hewn, like a strong labourer’s hand. A Vernatsch wine such as Kalterer See always remains a youth with a downy beard, while Lagrein is born with hair already on its chest.”

Klaus Platter, winemaker and director of the provincial estate of Laimburg, has discovered human traits in wine.

Designer label signed by the artist: Paul Flora’s ‘Gschleier’ Vernatsch wine label for the Girlan winegrowers’ co-operative

54 Recipe: Terlan white wine soup ½ l meat consume 4 egg yolks 50 ml cream ¼ l from Terlano/Terlan croutons made from a stale white bread roll, crust removed 1 tbs. butter ground cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, salt

Sauté the croutons in butter until golden and sprinkle with cin- namon. Pour the meat stock and wine into a saucepan. Beat the egg yolks with the cream and add to the soup. Heat the mixture over a low flame and continue stirring until it becomes creamy. Season with salt and a little nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour into soup bowls and serve garnished with croutons and a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Landscape �����| 55 Törggelen The fifth season

It is autumn, the grapes have been picked and crushed. Ac- cording to legend this is the time when dwarfs, the ‘Wein- Nörggelen’, come down from the mountains, drink the new wine and even steal it. Their thirst for the new wine knows no bounds and while the dwarfs go about wine filching, the hu- mans go ‘törggelen’. The name of this South Tyrolean custom derives from the Latin word for wine press, ‘torculum’, which passed into South Tyrolean as ‘Torggl’. ‘Törggelen’ is thought to have begun in the Valle Isarco/Eisacktal Valley: winegrowers sent their livestock to the high pastures in the care of moun- tain farmers, who were regaled with farmhouse fare and new wine on their return in autumn. Or perhaps the farmers simply celebrated a successful harvest, met to taste and compare each other’s new wine. In its modern form Törggelen begins with a bracing walk up to a farmhouse tavern called a ‘Buschenschank’ and ends with savouring local fare and new wine or grape juice along with roast chestnuts in jolly company. The main course used to be Speck and ‘Kaminwurzen’ (smoked sausages) while today guests can choose from the entire range of South Ty- rolean rural dishes: barley soup, boiled bacon, boiled sausage, sauerkraut and ‘knödel’ dumplings; and for dessert, sweet ‘krapfen’ – deep-fried pastry parcels filled with jam.

Fact box: » Chestnuts play an important role in Törggelen. Chestnut trees have been cared for since the Middle Ages; they were often handed down as an inheritance and were regarded as a farmer’s old age pension. There are Chestnut Trails at Lana [B4] between Bolzano and Merano/Meran and in the Valle Isarco Valley [B 3/4] where plenty of information on chestnuts can be obtained. More on Törggelen at www.suedtirol.info/toerggelen_en » A Buschenschank is a rural tavern, often open seasonally. Traditionally it is identified by a bunch of juniper branches hanging over the front door. It is taken down when the season is over and the homemade wine is sold out www.redrooster.it.

56 Flame-roasted: chestnuts, called ‘Keschtn’ locally, are just as much a part of Törggelen as sweet fresh grape juice

Landscape | 57 80 cultivated landscapes from all over the world and a museum in the castle: the gardens of Trauttmansdorff castle at Merano/Meran

58 Gardens and spas The promenades and the Tappeiner path

Not hot, not searing, the air in Merano/Meran is just right for well-born sallow consumptives. The physician who first scientifically studied this phenomenon was a personal doc- tor and was consequently genuinely interested in his patient. Empress Elisabeth of Austria followed in the wake of Princess Schwarzenberg in savouring Merano’s salubrious climate, fol- lowed by prominent guests including Schnitzler, Rilke, Kafka to mention just a few. By 1900 Merano had become a noble international spa resort. The riverside area where Merano’s washerwomen bleached linen has given way to the famous spa promenade – one promenade for the winter, another for the summer. The Tappeiner path leads up along the side of the Monte di Merano/Küchelberg mountain overlooking the town, one of Europe’s longest promenades known among the towns- people as ‘The Tappeiner’. Similar pathways were built in Bol- zano/Bozen. Walks in the open air were prescribed to guests, who took walks at the foot of the glaciers beneath blossom- ing winter magnolias, palms, cactuses, olive trees, drank sour whey in Merano or ate ‘curative’ grapes, up to three kilos per day. Today Merano is still a combination of air, landscape, ar- chitecture. Plants from all over the world thrive in the botani- cal gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle. A nostalgic walking trail called the Sissiweg leads from there into the town as far as the new thermal baths, the Terme Merano. Take a little ‘me time’ and the atmosphere of the Belle Époque returns immediately.

Fact box: » Information on Merano/Meran’s [C3] promenades at www.merano.eu » The gardens on the slopes around Trauttmansdorff Castle were proclai- med Italy’s most beautiful garden in 2005. The Provincial Museum for the History of – called the Touriseum is accommodated in the castle. www.trauttmansdorff.it, www.touriseum.it » The thermal baths complex ‘Terme Merano’ was designed by the star architect Matteo Thun. Natural South Tyrolean products such as grapes, hay and whey are used in treatments in the spa department. The complex’s own apple cosmetic line is new. Information at www.termemerano.it » The labyrinth garden in the Kränzel wine estate at Cermes/ [B4] near Merano is ideal for meditation and self-discovery. The maze comprising vine hedges of ten grape varieties form the heart of the complex. www.labyrinth.bz

Landscape | 59 Apples Golden orbs

South Tyrol’s orchards fill the central valleys. Some 40 million apple trees thrive in the Val d’Adige/Etschtal Valley between /Salurn in the south and the Val Venosta/Vinschgau valley system in the west, and in the Bressanone/Brixen val- ley basin in the Valle Isarco/Eisacktal Valley. Together these orchards comprise Europe’s largest self-contained apple growing area. The warm, sunny climate with 300 sunny days per year give the apples the appropriate sweetness and col- ouring, while the chilly nights provide for their fresh aromas, tangy flavour and crunchy pulp. In all 16 varieties are grown at altitudes ranging from 700 and 3,300 feet above sea level; the best known are Golden Delicious, Gala, Red Delicius and Braeburn. The climate is both the fortune and bane of the fruit growers: the farmer is on his guard while cyclists and walkers relish the white splendour of the valley and hillsides ablaze in blossom against the backdrop of snow-clad mountains, for frost may strike even in mid May. When it does, overhead irri- gation systems are turned on, cocooning the fragile blossoms in delicate cases of ice, to thaw out unharmed in the morning sun. Farmers usually sense the weather in advance. Between mid August and the end of October 900,000 tonnes of apples are harvested in South Tyrol, corresponding to one tenth of the entire EU apple crop. Around half of the harvested is ex- ported. Southern Tyrol began exporting fruit as long ago as the 16th century, with express delivery companies transporting the Alpine-Mediterranean apples to the courts of Austria and Rus- sia.

Fact box: » Information on apple cultivation and excursions and walks in the apple- growing areas at www.suedtirol.info/apple » ‘Entirely South Tyrolean Apples’ is the motto of the Terme Merano’s [C3] cosmetic range, www.termemerano.it 16 apple varieties, 40 million apple trees: every tenth European apple comes from South Tyrol

60 Waale – age-old irrigation channels The farmer as engineer

South Tyrol’s western valley system, Val Venosta/Vinschgau valley, lies in the rain shadow of incredibly high summits ex- ceeding 12,000 feet. As a consequence the region is semi-arid with rainfall levels of around 500 millimetres per year, simi- lar to Sicily. Centuries ago innovative farmers endeavoured to make their fields fertile by diverting glacier water from streams in the high mountains through an intricate system of irrigation channels complete with weirs and sluice gates, some measuring over 10 kilometres. They are often visible as green strips across the otherwise steppe-like landscape of the apt- ly-named Monte Sole/Sonnenberg mountain. The use of the water is subjected to bylaws overseen by a ‘Waaler’ who tradi- tionally allocates the flow, checks for damage etc. Sheep were allowed to drink the water for as long as it took the shepherd to eat his hard ‘Paarl’ bread rolls. The system worked well. Corn from the Sonnenberg Monte Sole was highly sought-after and exchanged against wine from Caldaro/Kaltern. Today apple or- chards have replaced cornfields and are irrigated using modern state-of-the-art methods, making the ‘Waale’ redundant. Sev- eral are still lovingly maintained and their maintenance path- ways provide relaxing walks.

Fact box: » Information on ‘Waal’ pathways in Val Venosta/Vinschgau Valley [A/B 1-3] at www.valvenosta-altoadige.info » South Tyrol sculpture pathway: the landscape art project at Lana [B4] near Merano leads beside the Brandis Waal in places and is one of South Tyrol’s finest walks. www.lana-art.it » A department of the ‘Vintschger Museum’ at Sluderno/ [B2] is dedicated to water, www.ferienregion-obervinschgau.it

Landscape | 61 Beyond the timberline: 95,000 cows, sheep, goats spend their holidays on the high pastures

62 Alpine farms Summer pastures

Early summer is the time to make the first hay to feed live- stock through the winter. To save it, sheep, goats, calves and numerous cows are driven up to summer pastures called ‘Al- men’, often beyond the timberline where they find ample - ing. Their ‘summer holidays’ last three months, during which herdsmen live a simple life in seclusion. All help with milking and the Senn, a kind of dairyman, makes butter, cheese, and cooks. Today the occupants of these picturesque log-built farmhouses offer hikers a place to rest and savour Alpine fare: ‘Schmarrn’ (shredded pancake), ‘Knödel’ dumplings, ‘Melch- ermuas’ pudding or Speck with fresh mountain cheese and crunchy ‘Schüttelbrot’. The use of these summer pastures is as old as the settlement of the mountain region. Depending on the area ‘Almen’ belong to individual farmers or are owned communally. For centuries some 3,000 sheep have been driven from the Val Senales/Schnalstal Valley across the 9,950 feet- high Hochjochferner glacier to their summer pastures in the Austrian Vent Valley. Their departure in June and return in September are truly spectacular events. The trek across snow fields, rock and ice gullies takes two days. In almost all valleys the animals are greeted back in autumn with a lavish festival, a parade of livestock and herders, led by a decorated cow called the ‘Kranzkuh’. The animals are reclaimed by their owners, butter and cheese wheels are divided among the farmers, the hands and herders receive their ‘mountain money’, the Kranz- kuh’s garland is hung over the cowshed door.

Fact box: » South Tyrol’s Alpine pastures are situated above the timberline, where each year some 95,000 animals spend the summer months. Grazing protects the landscape from erosion and becoming overgrown, keeping the high regions accessible as a place for leisure and relaxation. The ‘Almabtrieb’ or return to valley takes place between early September and the beginning of October. Alpine pasture walks at www.suedtirol.info/trekking_en » South Tyrol is home to 80,000 milk cows. Their milk is processed into butter, cheese and yoghurt. More information at www.suedtirol.info/milk » The ‘Almencard’ in the Gitschberg-Jochtal area [D/E 2-3] offers free guided walks to 30 Alpine farms and pastures, the use of three cable cars and participation in events. www.malghe.it

Landscape | 63 Baths culture Revitalising rural treatments

According to rural custom there’s a herb for every ailment. Farmers noticed this long ago. Hay packs were applied wher- ever they felt a dragging pain and those who could afford it slept on a hay mattress, unlike the farm hands who slept on straw. Then, around 100 years ago, the hay bath was discov- ered: after a long day’s toil haymakers on the Alpine meadows retired worn out to a bed of fresh hay and were surprised when they woke up completely revived, all aches and pains gone. When summer went, so did the beneficial effects of wilting hay which, when it is warmed, releases the fragrant compound cou- marin, vitamins, tannins and essential oils which combine to soothe rheumatic and muscle pains, stimulate the circulation, strengthen the immune system. Today hay baths can be taken all year round, as warmth and moisture are introduced to the hay from external sources. Back in the Middle Ages Tyrolean farmers took time for a ‘Badl’, in those days a water bath. Even servants had a right to a bath holiday. The Val d’Ultimo/- tal Valley became famous for its nine baths. Later the German chancellor Bismarck fell in love there, completely. It could have resulted in a wedding, had Bismarck not been such a staunch protestant and the potential bride’s father from Val d’Ultimo such a devout catholic…

Fact box: » The hay, herbs and flowers which go into a hay bath come from un- fertilised Alpine meadows. The most important include lady’s mantle, mugwort, yarrow, pasque flowers, arnica, gentian, primroses, soapwort and various types of buttercup. Farmsteads and hotels offering hay and water baths at www.redrooster.it and www.suedtirol.info/wellbeing

64 Meadow treatments: the effects of hay baths were discovered a century ago

Landscape | 65 He has climbed all 14 of the world’s ‘Eight Thousanders’ and at the same time the peak of celebrity: Reinhold Messner

66 Chapter 4 Eminences A class of their own In South Tyrol all paths lead upwards. It is in people’s character. The trick is to keep ahead of the others. There are South Tyroleans without equal, and others who fear no comparison.

This brings us to the heroes. Or perhaps originals would be a better description. At one time ‘Court Tyroleans’ were kept adroit in demonstrating that artificial snow is made from clean by the city dwellers to provide entertainment with jokes and water: the chef Martin Mairhofer in the Val Pusteria/Pustertal yodelling performances. ‘Südtiroler’ (South Tyrolean man) serves sorbets made using pure artificial snow. and ‘Südtirolerin’ (South Tyrolean woman) were common job Retaining the view of the valley from a high vantage point. In names. They were of course inglorious originals. These ‘South medieval times many powerful local rulers spied from castles Tyroleans’ were poor but resourceful, making their origin to high up on the mountainsides and decided who should be al- their job and attracting attention. Today’s South Tyrolean lowed to pass through Tyrol and who not. So many that South originals do not sell themselves cheaply, though even they are Tyrol boasts the highest concentrations of castles in all Europe. preoccupied with their origin, with their environment, their As trade and politics found new routes the Tyroleans were left homeland’s history, with the instincts and stubbornness of the alone among themselves, cut off from sources of easy money. inhabitants. Lack of money resulted in several artistic gems surviving, for Reinhold Messner and Ötzi – both are unique. The once-in-a- example Romanesque frescoes in Val Venosta/Vinschgau Val- lifetime climber encountered the moist mummy before it was ley which can still be admired simply because in the 7th century discovered on the Similaun Glacier. Messner is one of South there was no money available to have the churches repainted. Tyrol’s harshest critics, though also a staunch South Tyrolean, Nature also holds several records, such as the Dolomites, the while if Ötzi had made it onward for another 92.56 metres to 2,000 year-old larches in the Val d’Ultimo/Ultental Valley, the the border he would now be an Austrian. Ötzi and Messner steppe plants on Monte Sole/Sonnenberg mountain in Val represent two elements of an immense theme: in South Tyrol Venosta Valley, the 350 year-old vine at Prissiano/Prissian the mountains are omnipresent. During the 1930s Luis Trenker, above the Val d’Adige/Etschtal Valley which still yields its own- South Tyrol’s mountaineering freak par excellence, brought er an abundant supply of wine. The pinnacle of fame is climbed the colossuses to life on the silver screen. He set new stand- by sure-footed personages like Ötzi and Reinhold Messner. In ards for films in which mountains play the leading role. the same way the architect and designer Matteo Thun fits per- As an element of nature, the mountain sets the rules and man fectly into this landscape with his concepts. The ‘Kastelruther adapts. For example Haflinger horses were first bred as moun- Spatzen’ with 15 million records sold are one of the most suc- tain working horses and for military purposes. Refuges which cessful traditional folk groups in the German-speaking area. cling to the rock faces at altitude, and audacious cable car sys- The composer and Oscar winner from Val tems prove that the mountains can be conquered. This also Gardena/Gröden Valley and nephew of Luis Trenker revolu- gives rise to a certain amount of hubris: 90 per cent of ski runs tionised disco music. He lives in Los Angeles but remains an are covered by snow-making systems. South Tyrol is a world original South Tyrolean. leader in developing snowmaking technology, though also

Eminences | 67 Ötzi The ‘Man from the Glacier’

He ‘lives’ under extreme conditions, behind eight-centimetre- thick bullet-proof glass at minus six degrees centigrade and in an atmosphere of 98 percent humidity. The purpose of this chamber in the Archaeological Museum is to replicate the conditions prevailing in the rock hollow in the Val Senales/ Schnalstal Valley glacier where a German couple discovered Ötzi in 1991. It was only when his naturally mummified remains were examined in a laboratory that the sensation became ap- parent: the man from the glacier lived 5,300 years ago. He is the world’s oldest moist mummy, he had been consumed by the ice 600 years before King Cheops had his pyramid built in Egypt. We now know he was being pursued up into the high mountains where he knew the terrain, and was murdered. He is a long-term patient for scientists, who expect Ötzi to sup- ply new impulses in the spheres of anthropology, genetics, and medicine. Research into Ötzi’s DNA is hoped to result in new findings in the sphere of hereditary diseases and conditions such as Parkinson’s or infertility. Sets of operating instruments made of titanium and other precision implements have been developed especially to carry out research into Ötzi. Ötzi’s life and times have been vividly brought to life in the active muse- um ArcheoParc in the Val Senales Valley near Merano/Meran.

Sensation of Ötzi: the world’s oldest moist mummy is researched and marvelled at in Bolzano/Bozen

Fact box: » The mummy was given the nickname ‘Ötzi’ because the glacier in which he was discovered is in the Ötztal Alps. » The mummy and the objects he was carrying on his person – an axe, bear fur cap, clothing, bow and arrows – as well as a life-size recons- truction can be seen in the Bolzano/Bozen Archaeological Museum [C4]. www.iceman.it » Information on the ‘ArcheoParc’ [B2] active museum at www.archeoparc.it. » The Eurac Institute for mummies and Ötzi the ‘Iceman’ coordinates and documents all research projects in co-operation with the Museum of in Bolzano. Ötzi has been photo-documented from twelve perspectives with zoom and 3-D functions, all of which can be seen at www.eurac.edu

68 Haflinger South Tyrol’s equine blondes

The Haflinger is South Tyrol’s very own horse breed and an all-rounder per excellence: attractive in appearance, sturdy, impeccable in character, a strong-nerved leisure and family horse. The first Haflinger was named ‘249 Folie’, born in 1874 in Val Venosta/Vinschgau Valley as son of an Arab stallion and a local brood mare. The ministry for military and agricultural af- fairs set up stud farms all over Austria. Strong draught and war horses were required. The Vinschgau breeder passed muster. His golden chestnut horse met the Austrian army‘s perception of the ideal military horse and was described as a “Beefcake with Arab nobility”. The new foals were bought above all from farmers on the Tschögglberg mountain overlooking Merano/ Meran where the village of Avelengo/ is located, hence the name ‘Haflinger’. Farmers carried spa guest from Merano up to the cool regions on ‘Haflinger’ horses. Later on breeders from the Val Sarentino/ Valley selected animals to pro- duce the characteristic blond mane.

Fact box: » Information on riding stables and riding schools in South Tyrol at www.suedtirol.info/horseriding » The South Tyrolean Haflinger Breeders’ Association provides information on the history of the breed at www.haflinger.eu » The farmers’ galloping race with Haflinger horses at Merano’s race course [C3] looks back on a long tradition. The race course is one of Europe’s finest, specialised in steeplechases. www.meranomaia.it

Eminences | 69 Enlightenment: public house and church on the Monte Santa Croce/Heiligkreuz-Kofel in Val Badia Valley

70 Eminences | 71 Castles Tyrol of yore

In medieval times Tyrol was an Alpine choke-point between north and south, and as such was continuously fought-over. Emperors and popes courted the favour of allies, local nobles outrivaled each other. Castles were built to oppose castles, country houses were fortified. Many fortresses sat defiantly on rock spurs, today fortified manors nestle amid lush vineyards; some accommodate museums, others have been transformed into hotels and restaurants. South Tyrol boasts the highest concentration of castles and sumptuous fortified country houses in all Europe, 450 in number. The first and largest castle was Castle Firmiano/Schloss Sigmundskron to the south-west of Bolzano, mentioned in 945, while over two centuries later Castel Tirolo/Schloss Tirol Castle overlooking Merano/Meran became the centre of political power as the family seat of the Counts of Tirol. Later in the 15th century, as history had moved on, the powerful Tyrolean classes declared that they would only swear allegiance to the owner of Castel Tirolo Castle. To- day the castle accommodates the Museum for Regional His- tory. Castel Coira/Churburg Castle at Sluderno/Schluderns in the Val Venosta/Vinschgau Valley is a real gem. Rebuilt in the renaissance style in the 16th century, it now houses an impres- sive private armoury. However, by far the finest depictions of everyday courtly life in the Middle Ages are contained in the secular frescoes in Castel Roncolo/Schloss Runkelstein Castle in Bolzano, and in Castel Rodengo/Schloss Rodenegg Castle near Bressanone/Brixen.

Fact box: » 150 of South Tyrol’s 450 castles and noble residences can be visited, 80 of which are occupied. Appiano/Eppan [B4] is the municipality with the most castles and aristocratic country houses, 180 in an area with just 13,000 inhabitants. » Addresses of castles and noble residences as well as castle hotels and restaurants can be found at www.suedtirol.info/castles

72 Merano/Meran and environs: Castel Monteleone/Lebenberg Castle above Cermes/Tscherms was built in the 13th century

Eminences | 73 Romanesque frescoes Heaven on earth

Around 1200: pilgrims are everywhere, all searching for God. Churches, monasteries and convents are painted with depic- tions of heaven and hell in the most striking colours. Val Ven- osta/Vinschgau Valley, the region’s western valley system, is South Tyrol’s stronghold of Romanesque fresco painting. The quality of Romanesque art has survived better here than any- where else, with a concentration without comparison in Eu- rope. Abbazia di Monte Maria/Kloster Marienberg near Malles/ forms the unsurpassed opening. The crypt fres- coes served as a model for the painters of the Monastery of St. John in the neighbouring Müstair Valley, and for the castle chapel of Castello d’Appiano/Schloss Hochep- pan Castle to the south of Bolzano. Monte Maria paintings also influenced those in the small church of San Giacomo/ St. Jakob on the Kastelaz hill at Termeno/Tramin in the south of South Tyrol. In those days nobody spoke of freedom in art. The contents were determined by the Church, the person com- missioning the painting decided the motifs and the painters executed the task. The patron‘s sense of fashion is evident in the chapel of Castel d’Appiano Castle: Ulrich von Eppan was a passionate crusader and brought home with him samples of the latest Byzantine craze. In those days the Byzantine style Unique in Naturno/: the fresco mystery of St.Procolo/St. Prokulus church is was the standard in western painting. Influences are found in unresolved the Chapel of San Giacomo near Glorenza/ and in the mysterious frescoes in the San Procolo/St. Prokulus church at Naturno/Naturns near Merano/Meran.

Fact box: » The Stairways to heaven project has drawn up a route linking the most interesting cultural sites with Romanesque art in South Tyrol, Graubün- den (Grijons) and : www.stairwaystoheaven.it » From the brush to stone: the cathedral precinct of Bressanone/Brixen [D3] with its cloister and several chapels is South Tyrol’s largest medieval church complex. The Romanesque monastery church of San Candido/ [H3] has survived almost entirely in its original state, www.innichen.info. The portals of Castel Tirolo Castle’s [C3] great hall and chapel are among the most remarkable works of Romanesque stone masonry in the entire Alpine area, www.casteltirolo.it.

74 Mountain lifts Electrical alpenglow

It seemed impossible to catch up with Switzerland, where the mountains had been subjugated by all kinds of transport. And then the unexpected happened. On 29th June 1908 the cable car up to the Colle mountain from Bolzano/Bozen en- tered service, the world’s first passenger aerial cable car sys- tem, a month before the Swiss Wetterhorn cable car opened. This pioneering enterprise was born of necessity. The financer Josef Staffler built a hotel in the hamlet of Colle high above Bolzano/Bozen and awaited guests. A road up the mountain was out of the question and Staffler couldn’t afford a cable railway. The only alternative was the air. At the time South Ty- rol’s cable car expert was Luis Zuegg. In 1912 the industrialist planned the cable car from Lana up to the Monte San Vigilio/ Vigil-Joch Mountain, while during the First World War be built cable cars to supply soldiers, including the one on the Passo dello Stelvio/Stilfser Joch. When the materials became scarce he tautened the fixed cable and had the new system patented as the -Zuegg-System. By 1940 the companies Zuegg and Bleichert had built 35 aerial cable car systems in Europe, the USA and South Africa. Today 377 lift systems are in opera- tion in South Tyrol. The South Tyrolean company Leitner is involved in the development of new cable car systems world wide.

Fact box: » A cable car still connects Bolzano with the summer holiday resort of Colle [C5]. A gondola belonging to the first generation can be seen at the top terminal. Information on all three cable cars from Bolzano up to its home mountains available from www.bolzano-bozen.it » Information on South Tyrol’s cable car pioneers can be obtained from the trustees of South Tyrol’s technical cultural heritage at World record: the first aerial passenger cable car on Bolzano’s Kohlern mountain entered www.technikmuseum.it service in 1908 » The only working historical cable railway in South Tyrol is on the Men- dola/Mendel mountain [B5], built in 1903. It is one of Europe’s steepest railways.

Eminences | 75 Matteo Thun The consummate designer

Luxury is simply precious. Matteo Thun, born and raised in Bol- zano/Bozen, architect and designer, has tried his hand at all kinds of forms. With Ettore Sottsass he founded the Memphis design movement setting new benchmarks for the interplay of shapes during the 1980s, he was the creative director of Swatch, entered New York’s Hall of Fame in 2004 and is now one of the world’s top designers and architects. Matteo Thun demands the prohibition of inappropriate encroachments on the landscape. In architectural terms this means building in harmony with nature. Thun’s projects in the Alps illustrate this principle. Thun captures the soul of the place, asks himself how large a house may be in proportion with its surroundings and in his answers he considers elements such as trees and rock faces. Three hotels in South Tyrol bear Thun’s signature: the Vigilius Mountain Resort above Lana in the Val d’Adige/Et- schtal Valley in the form of a horizontal tree, the Pergola Resi- dence near Merano/Meran which estles symbiotically among vineyards, and the Merano thermal baths complex, the ‘Terme Merano’, where he had the wood and stone treated to look as though water had smoothened their surfaces through ages of attrition. Thun’s luxury is the art of renouncing, of simplicity. It seems the only thing he can’t renounce is well-being.

Fact box: » All you need to know about Matteo Thun at www.matteothun.com » Vigilius Mountain Resort near Lana [B3] at www.vigilius.it » Pergola Residence in Algundo/ [B3] at www.pergola-residence.it » Matteo Thun designed the interiors of the Terme Merano and its Hotel Steigenberger [C3], www.termemerano.it » The Matteo Thun’s ‘Binoculars’, a spectacular viewing platform in the gardens of Castel Trauttmansdorff/SchlossTrauttmansdorff Castle [C3] overlooking Merano, www.trauttmansdorff.it

76 Thun’s Pergola Residence near Lagundo/Algund: luxury is the art of minimalism

Eminences | 77 Farmstead in the Valli di Tures e Aurina/Tauferer Ahrntal Valley: 65 percent of South Tyrol’s farmsteads are located above 4,900 feet elevation

78 Chapter 5 Tradition The art of self-preservation Since time immemorial modernity has influenced life in the valley, while in the higher regions people clung tenaciously to their way of living. Knowledge about nature and everyday tradition there is written in people’s DNA.

Home, ‘Heimat’, meaning one’s dwelling, village and South Ty- rol in general, is a strong and popular word. A roof over one’s the Alpine pastures life went around in circles. Supplication head, ground and a floor under one’s feet, home in South Ty- processions and days on which the weather presaged the com- rol need not be large, but is an inherited piece of land, often ing season came around each year – including droving animals tiny, which one can call one’s own. “S’Hoamatl” in a mountain up to their summer pastures and back again in autumn, and of farmer’s mouth means house and farm, the feeling that he be- course it was essential to be present at the Sagra/Kirchtag fair longs here and nowhere else. Few mountain people leave their (on the anniversary of the consecration of the local church) be- farms. The number of abandoned farms is lower here than in cause they interrupted the solitude on the farm. Nobody want- most other European regions. ed to abolish these dates from the calendar. The fascist dictator Farmers are forced to live frugally. 65 per cent of farmsteads Mussolini tried. From 1923 he forbade everything which was lie at elevations exceeding 5,000 feet, many of which are in or appeared Tyrolean and in 1939 he agreed on a programme such steep terrain that it is said even the hens need crampons, with the Nazi leader Hitler to resettle the South Tyroleans in children have to be tethered to stop then falling down the the German Reich. This was the point at which the South Ty- mountainside and that after heavy rainfall the soil which has roleans began to appreciate all that was dear to them in their been washed away has to be brought back up. Many farmers ‘Hoamatl’, traditions, dialect and beliefs. Life remained uncer- live alone, roads, electricity and satellite TV have not yet ar- tain even after 1945. Consequently time stood still for a while rived in the high regions and for this reason country women in in South Tyrol. At home on the mountain farmstead the state the valley rarely wish to become farmers’ wives. Many run their seemed remote and without doubt memories of hard times farms on a part-time basis. Work in the cowshed is either the have been instrumental in keeping alive many customs and task of the farmer’s wife if there is one, otherwise it is taken traditions which elsewhere have been consigned to oblivion. care of by the farmer after a day’s work in the factory or at Festivals are celebrated like in the past, rural women make lace the ski lift. Holidays are used to make hay. Of course there are together, traditional music bands in Tyrolean costume strike volunteers from the towns who join in the farm work for the up in village squares on Sundays, and there is still the tradi- experience, though their numbers can hardly compensate for tional ‘Tante Emma’ (Aunt Emma) local general store. the now defunct extended family. Many feel the burden, the South Tyroleans have always remained true to themselves, out clock ticks on the mountain farmstead just as it does in the of sheer need, from respect, though also to differentiate them- valley, but time is completely different: the well-beaten path selves from others. Preservation is legally regulated in South to the barn, the father’s words in one’s ear at every move, the Tyrol: historical buildings have been protected since 1850. wedding picture of the grandparents in the parlour. One feels Under normal circumstances farms are inherited as complete one simply owes it to those who have slaved away there in the units rather than broken up among family members, usually past to stay on the farm. passed on to a son, though since 2001 daughters have also en- While in the valley life went on looking towards the future, on joyed rights of inherited. In one way or another, ‘S’Hoamatl’ must be preserved.

Tradition | 79 Alpine farming women The farming women’s proclamation

The farmstead reigns supreme, followed by the farmer and his wife. Her domain was once the kitchen and garden, while now she is an entrepreneur in her own right who joins in the work to ensure the survival of the farm. Today two-thirds of farms are run on a part time basis, with secondary income derived from farm holidays and opening up the parlour as a ‘Buschen- schank’, that is, a farmhouse . Few farms are self-sufficient, though still the farming women find they have enough. They do not need to read labels to find out which wool goes into their felt slippers, they do not buy vacuum-packed herbs and many bake bread once again according to old recipes. These farmers’ wives have long-since burnished their self-esteem and made the fruits of their work accessible on-line: their mes- sage from a woman’s perspective goes: “Learn – grow – live with farming women”. These farming women pass on precious information accumulated over centuries in farmstead tours, tastings of their own farm produce, in cookery and crafts les- sons. The farmstead as a classroom is an extremely promising project for the future and at the same time a journey back to the beginnings of life.

Keeps centuries-old knowledge alive: the farmer’s wife as entrepreneur

Fact box: » The service website ‘Learn – grow – live with farming women’ at www.lernen-wachsen-leben.sbb.it. » There are 25,000 farmsteads in South Tyrol, 80 per cent of which are family-run. Every second farmstead comprises less than five hectares. 12,500 farmsteads are ‘closed’, that is they can only be passed on to the next generation complete and should be capable of maintaining a fa- mily of four. Support for farmers is supplied by a voluntary work group (VFA) at www.bergbauernhilfe.it » 1,350 farmsteads offer farm holidays and insight into the farming life- style. Addresses at www.redrooster.it

80 Customs and traditions Witching hours

There is a time for everything in mountain communities. When farmers talk about the weather it does not mean they have got nothing else to discuss, and if they parade through the village with masks it does not mean they are stark raving mad. In addi- tion to religious holidays the rural calendar contains plenty of cult festivities surviving from pre-Christian times. and carnival period customs have survived best. For example the entire farmstead is ‘smoked’ on the evening of the feast of the Epiphany (6th January): the family follows a pan full of em- bers and incense to drive out evil spirits and ask for benedic- tion. In the Val Sarentino/Sarntal Valley masked youths called ‘Klöckler’ (not only in Val Sarentino) have paraded from house to house during Advent making a din and bringing good wish- es ever since the 16th century. ‘Klosn’ begins on the evening of St. Nicholas’s day in the village of Stelvio/ in Val Ven- osta/Vinschgau Valley, when masked youths in Santa Clause’s (‘Klos’s’) retinue make mischief while jangling bells and chains. Driving out daemons, stimulating fertility – the wild goings on are actually the men’s preserve. Similarly, since 1591 ‘Egetmann Hansl’ with his bride – a man dressed up as a woman - has been leading his wedding parade through the village of Ter- meno/Tramin in the South of South Tyrol every second year on Shrove Tuesday, with 700 villagers summoned to take part. The Val Venosta Valley custom of ‘Scheibenschlagen’ – launching burning wooden discs from the mountainside into the night sky – goes back to prehistoric times and takes place on the first Sunday in Lent. Growing and thriving – rituals serve the purpose of turning the wheel further.

Fact box: » The museum of ethnic anthropology in the village of Teodone/Dieten- heim [F2] near Brunico/ documents rural everyday life in past centuries using historical farmhouses and craftsmen’s workshops. The noble residence ‘Mair am Hof’ is dedicated to folk art and piety. www.volkskundemuseum.it » Information on customs and traditions at www.suedtirol.info/culture

Tradition | 81 Tradition Red hat band, green hat band

Brass bands set the tone in South Tyrol. 211 music bands per- form at church and popular festivals. 10,000 men and women are band members and every second musician is under 30 years old. The municipality of Appiano/Eppan to the south of Bolzano/Bozen with just 13,000 inhabitants even has four village bands. The village band of Monguelfo/Welsberg in the Val Pusteria/Pustertal Valley is no longer a male domain, given that over half of its members are female. Bands play in tra- ditional South Tyrolean costume, the diversity of which is fa- mous throughout the Alps. It is usually hand-made and each village has its own distinctive design. Wearing of traditional costume is cultivated above all by folk dancing and local civil defence militia groups, and music bands. At one time tradi- tional costume conveyed a wealth of information about the wearer, even whether a man was ‘available’: in the Val Saren- tino/Sarntal Valley a red hat band still signifies that a man is single, a green band that he is married. Local bands – often from a village, or in the case of Bolzano and Merano/Meran from a town , can attain high professional standards and their directors are often top musicians. Today their reper- toire often extends beyond marches and waltzes to challeng- ing contemporary compositions. The first concert of the year is traditionally performed in the village square in spring, after which hardly a Sunday goes by without a concert – always ad- mission free.

Fact box: » The Association of South Tyrolean Music Bands unites all the region’s 211 music bands.

82 Brass band music in costume: 10,000 men and women play in a South Tyrolean traditional music band

Tradition | 83 Card table: four South Tyroleans, each with five cards at a game of ‘Watten’

84 Luck and pluck win the game: Watten, South Tyrol’s national pastime

Tradition | 85 Geraniums The fire in the bay window

Every year in early summer a fire of red geraniums blazes on the balconies and window ledges of farm- and guesthouses. In South Tyrol this display of colour belongs to the house just as much as a holy water font belongs in the parlour. ‘Brennende Liab’ or ‘Burning Love’ is the poetic name South Tyroleans af- fectionately give to their geraniums. The crimson flowers hang over the pine timberwork, just like they did in June 1939 when Hitler and Mussolini agreed on the relocation of the South Tyroleans to the German Reich. Anybody remaining at home had to become Italian in heart and soul. South Tyroleans were faced with the choice, or ‘Option’ as it is referred to in his- torical circles: leave or stay. Discussions raged among families and – after they had decided – on the fronts. The geraniums flowered between them. The flower was used by both sides as a symbol for the homeland and exploited for propaganda pur- poses. In a poem Hans Egarter, one of those who decided to stay, symbolised his allegiance to his homeland with the ‘burn- ing love’. The Nazi propaganda, in contrast, snatched the last geranium from the bay window: “The allegiance to Germany was strongest” as a poem there declared and 85 per cent of South Tyroleans really did opt for Germany. 75,000, a third of the population, left their homeland. Over 20,000 returned af- ter 1945. Time healed this fissure in South Tyrol’s society very slowly. One thing did survive the turmoil unharmed: as always ‘Brennende Liab’: the red geraniums belong to the houses just as much as a holy water font ‘burning love’ blazes in bay windows. belongs in the parlour

86 Dialect As spoken by South Tyroleans

To the untrained ear German spoken in Bolzano is hardly dis- tinguishable from the dialect heard in . In reality over 40 flavours of Tyrolean German are spoken in South Ty- rol’s valleys, variations which derive from the southern Bavar- ian group of dialects. Austrian Tyroleans are surprised at the number of Italian words and expressions which have found their way into the vernacular during the 20th century, making South Tyrolean a variegated mixture of Austrian-German and Italian culture.

Fact box: » An introduction to ‘Südtirolerisch’ – or rather Sidtiroulerisch at www.oschpele..org

Tradition | 87 Handicrafts Skill and dexterity

A great number of South Tyroleans were forced to acquire skills because of adversity. The copper mine in the village of Predoi/ Prettau in the Valle Aurina/Ahrntal Valley closed in 1893 and suddenly 60 men were out of work. Women were forced to become breadwinners and learnt how to make lace. The parish priest had the idea. Women sat up late into the night work- ing on their lace pillows. Lace was often exchanged against groceries. Today the ‘Predoi Lace-making School’ society has 39 female and two male members. Summer courses offer chil- dren the opportunity to learn the skill. A pricked-out pattern is tacked onto a firm pillow, and each twist of the bobbins – often several hundred – is held in place by a pin. In Val Gardena/ Gröden Valley farming families began to diversify in the 17th century by turning their hands to wood carving. The valley was remote, life austere, the winter long. Father, mother and chil- dren carved wooden figures of saints and toys. As time went on millions of wooden figures were exported from the valley and people from Val Gardena Valley sold their wares them- selves. The Unika Association was founded in 1994 and now a large number of Val Gardena craftspeople are members. Unika runs an exhibition room in Ortisei/St. Ulrich and organises a sculpturing fair each year in September.

Fact box: » There are 13,000 crafts enterprises in South Tyrol, including artistic craftspersons. Information on art handicrafts at www.werkstaetten.it » Houses of lace-makers are identified by the symbol of the Valle Aurina Valley cultural mile [F/G 1-2], www.ahrntal.it » Sculptors, sculpture painters, gilders and ornament carvers have joined together in the Unika association. Information on art wood-carving in Val Gardena Valley [E 4-6] at www.unika.org » The Museum Ladin at S. Martino in Badia/St. Martin in Thurn [F4] houses the largest collection of Val Gardena Valley toys: 630 pieces from the period from 1750 to 1920. www.museumladin.it

88 Shift of focus in Val Gardena/Gröden’s artistic wood carving tradition: the search for the original

Tradition | 89 The Holey Land It is ages since they last got around to mountain climbing: in the Val Passiria/Passeiertal Valley holidaymakers retire to the club house rather than a mountain cabin. A latent cold war around golf slumbers beneath the idyll of lofty peaks. A South Tyrolean bucolic story in nine tees.

by Lukas Kapeller

1. A golfer is standing in the wood, completely still and silent – the only sounds come from a couple of cowbells jan- gling in the distance. But Dr. Meier can’t hear them. His IPod in his trouser pocket, earbuds inserted, a seven iron in his hand, he chips a basket full of golf balls onto the green. Missed again! A good dozen balls surround the little white flag. “Never mind, I’m only practising”, he says. Dr. Meier, an orthopaedic surgeon from Bremen, family man, handicap 16, has come for a week’s holiday in South Tyrol. Not to hike, climb or tour on his motorbike like he used to, but to play golf. “That’s it with these mountain golf courses”, he says, “where the steep terrain goes up and down all the time.” Weather permitting he still takes to the fairway. If not be does so anyhow.

90 2. Anybody wanting to build a golf course in South Ty- rol needs to be farsighted. And such people are difficult to find here. High mountains, narrow valleys and lush vineyards on the slopes: each South Tyrolean’s horizon is blocked by at least one mountainside. Golfing in South Tyrol is like Formula One racing in Monte Carlo, a cramped affair. If a golf course ever comes to be built, then it must be on up-and-down ter- rain. Plots of land are scarce and expensive, above all those The that they own. “I need at least between 60 and 80 hectares Holey for a decent 18-hole golf course”, says Hannes Schnitzer of the association Golf in South Tyrol which competes for those plots of ground which are large enough to attract golfing tourists to South Tyrol. And here we are only talking about those with nine 4. Life is tough for livestock farmers in South Tyrol, in or 18 holes. At first glance South Tyrol and golf hardly seem to contrast with fruit-growers, who account for ten per cent of go together. Neither at second glance: there are no latifundia Europe’s entire apple production. Naturally the thriving busi- in Alto Adige, the southern part of the holy Province of Tyrol. ness with apples resulted in conflict between farmers and golf Farmers with estates of five hectares of meadowland are re- course builders. “It’s not worthwhile building a golf course in Land garded as large landowners. “Anybody intending to build a golf the valley bottom”, says Schnitzer. A fruit grower with 50 hec- course has to deal with a myriad of farmers”, says Schnitzer, tares of orchard earns far more from his apples than he ever “and it’s like herding cats to get them all in agreement.” could with a golf course. Consequently the only choice open to an investor is to make an offer to a large number of farmers. The best chances of success are on mountain plateaus, where livestock farming rather than fruit-growing is the norm. Apart from Lana and the Val Passiria Valley, the seven largest golf courses are located at elevations of up to 5,600 feet. There of course investors have to do battle with environmentalists.

3. The Passeier golf course where Dr. Meier is trying to perfect his chip shot was also a highly contested area. In the 1990s the South Tyrolean daily newspaper Dolomiten wrote of a Val Passiria Valley golf war. It was built in any case, against the opposition of various farmers and local people. Even the parish priest is said to have fulminated against the golf course from the pulpit. This is how the operator Karl Pichler summed up the battle fought against his golf course during the opening celebration in 1996: “Six years, almost as long as the Second World War - thank God there were no casualties, though we made up for this by the numbers who were annoyed and of- fended”. Today the facility stretches peacefully and lush green with 18 holes from San Martino/St. Martin as far as San Leonar- do/St. Leonhard, over six kilometres. “They were tough times”, says Georg Blaas. He is one of seven farmers who leased their land for 30 years. Today he is the secretary in the club house, while the other farmers work as green keepers. “We worked hard early morning until late at night. It became difficult to earn a living from agriculture”, says Blaas, “though today I get a good rent for my land.”

Tradition | 91 5. “Golf courses are built in the only places we have left to protect”, complains Andreas Riedl, general manager of the South Tyrolean umbrella organisation for the protection of na- ture and the environment. Riedl stresses that he has nothing against golfing in the valley floor, for “a golf course is still more environmentally friendly than an apple orchard.” But it is pre- cisely because of the profit yielded by apple-growing that none are built there. Another factor, according to the golf marketer Schnitzer, “Golf is the only sport in South Tyrol which makes no demands on the public purse. The investments are always come from private sources”. Nevertheless the golfing lobby is blazing a trail towards more holes. There is no lack of plans: en- thusiasts may soon be able to tee-off at Braies/, Montico- lo/Montiggl and Settequerce/Siebeneich near Bolzano/Bozen. “Projects appear and vanish again, but are ready for use when the political constellation between the mayor and provincial government is favourable”, says the environmentalist Riedl.

6. Georg Blaas cannot find anything wrong with that. When the Val Passiria Valley golf course opened in 1996 he ex- changed the smell of the cowshed for brightly-coloured polo shirts. “I also enjoyed being a farmer”, he says, “but now I no longer have to get up at five in the morning and worry about getting kicked in the head while milking.” Today he can earn a decent living from the golf course, as can the people who live in San Leonardo. Except for one: Franz Berger , owner of a small farm in the Val Passiria Valley who is still inwardly against the golfing barons, in spite of lucrative offers for his land. “It’s just that Franz is a livestock farmer, heart and soul”, explains his wife, “the others aren’t”.

92 7. Guests have to play around Berger’s seven hectares of meadow. When the golfers finally walk to the car park, tired after the 18th hole, they take a shortcut by strolling straight across his land. Actually the operators had promised him a fence years ago, though none has been forthcoming. “Then you are the small, stupid farmer”, says Berger. They finally put up a net in spring, “but they always find a gap somewhere.” He gets most annoyed when golf balls land on his fields. “Then the balls golfers can’t find end up in our fodder, and we have to look for them in the barn.” In autumn the operators intend to build a golf hotel with around a hundred beds. “They’ll build right on top of our dung heap, then I’ll have to move it”, adds the farmer with a leery smile. By now the farmer just laughs it away: “There’s no point arguing with them.”

8. The view from the club house is rather like a look into the past: steep rock faces hemming in the valley from west to east, surmounted by dense forest, solitary farmsteads in be- tween nestling amid lush green pastures. It is historical terrain. The Sandwirt public house, birth place of Tyrol’s hero , is situated just one or two golf strokes from the club house. There is a museum beside the inn celebrating the life of the freedom fighter. The guest book contains the words: “May Tyrol continue to live, prosper and preserve its traditions.”

9. In the meantime Dr. Meier has done enough chipping and is now practising with the driver. With regular strokes he drives the balls high into the overcast Alpine sky. Dr Meier does not notice the farmstead where Franz Berger removes golf balls from his feeding trough each week. “It didn’t bother my game”, he says.

Tradition | 93 ‘Knödel’ and ‘Speck’ Poor man’s fare

It seems extraordinary, but this is how Knödel – Tyrol’s famous dumplings – were invented: a platoon of marauding merce- nary soldiers burst into a farmhouse. They were famished, and the farmer’s wife has nothing proper to feed them with. Never- theless, as expected she found a few ingredients to whip up a meal: stale bread, onions, eggs, belly pork, flour. She chopped up the bread, bacon and onions, mixed everything together, added a few herbs from the garden and salt, made round balls and simmered them in salted water. The soldiers departed satisfied. After that the woman obviously cooked Knödel fre- quently and obligingly passed on the recipe. Nevertheless it is difficult to make good Knödel according to a recipe, for it is important to develop a feeling, to sense when the mixture is too moist or too dry. With Speck the history is reversed: South Tyroleans are only just running out of pigs and Speck meat must now be imported. Genuine South Tyrolean ‘Bauernspeck’ or farmhouse ham and bacon, has become a rarity given that it is produced from pigs which are born and reared on South Tyrolean farmsteads, fed entirely on GM-free fodder. 14 feed lot operations have signed up to this principle and supply the meat to be processed into South Tyrolean ‘Bauernspeck’: each year around 700 pigs are slaughtered. Traditionally the whole animal is used, in addition to the hind leg the neck, shoulder, chops and belly are processed into Speck. The first official mention of ‘Speck’ is found in trade registers and legislation regulating butchers dating from around 1200. At the time meat was preserved by smoking in northern countries, and by salt- ing in Mediterranean regions. South Tyroleans, on the other hand, both smoked and salted their meat, producing dry-cured ham combining features of both: a little salt, a little cold smoke Fact box: and plenty of fresh air are the secrets of producing Speck. At » The word Knödel derives from the Middle High German ‘Knode’ me- one time Speck was a precious food to aid survival through the aning knot. In South Tyrol they are made in 36 variations of savoury and sweet dumplings. Knödel first appeared in art in a 13th century fresco hard winter, while today it belongs on every Tyrolean platter of in Castel Appiano/Schloss Hocheppan Castle’s chapel [B4], depicting a cold cuts. Its flavour is strongly influenced by the way it is cut: maid eating dumplings: www.hocheppan.com. thinly sliced, cut into thick squares, like matchsticks or diced? » 2.5 million hams of Speck are produced each year bearing the South Tyrol logo. South Tyrolean ‘Bauernspeck’ or farmhouse ham and bacon has become a niche product, available from 28 shops and at www.gutesaussuedtirol.com. Full information on Speck and sales at www.speck.it » Farmhouse inns look back on a long tradition: farming families open their parlours and cellars for 180 days a year, during which they serve their wines and regional fare. Addresses at www.redrooster.it

94 Südtiroler Speck (cured ham): milder than northern smoked ham, more savoury than Italian prosciutto

Tradition | 95 Atmosphere of change around 1980: artists demonstrate in Bolzano/Bozen

96 Chapter 6 A new dawn A new dawn South Tyrol remained a world apart for many years. Tradition is cherished. Then suddenly everything came together harmoniously: the region decided to perceive itself and its surroundings differently. It decided to enter the modern world.

“we really are a generation trapped in limbo. We can’t go backwards and are in terror of moving forwards”. the better we get to know and understand each other, and N.C.Kaser, 1978 the more we feel we belong together.” From 1989 onward of- ficial South Tyrol began to change. Old politicians retired. Ne- The Germans. The Italians. Two planets. For decades politics gotiations with Italy on South Tyrol’s autonomy statute were in South Tyrol was geared towards ensuring that the two lan- about to be concluded. Once the rights of the German minor- guages and cultures were kept apart. This entailed protecting ity in South Tyrol had been safeguarded the new politicians the German and Ladin identities against anything which could prepared to break out of the shell and set the course for an endanger them. Schools and clubs were divided according to educational and cultural offensive to make South Tyrol a cos- language groups, no fresh influence could touch customs and mopolitan, self-assured and independent intellectual and ac- traditions. Trouble began to brew in the shell in which South tion space. A new South Tyrolean culture has been built on this Tyrol had enclosed itself. foundation since then. All major cultural facilities have been In the 1970s students, liberal left-wing persons, artists began built since 1989, the towns saw themselves for the first time as to crack open the shell. They began to arouse public interest centres of culture. Shared purposes drew the language groups and put the old questions about living together in South Tyrol together. German and Italian historians began to co-operate in a new light. While the political leaders clung to the principle in reviewing South Tyrol’s history. There was an awakening of of partitioning society, dissenters searched for a new space for regional self-awareness. Discussions began on contemporary the reality of South Tyrol’s situation. The Germans. The Ital- forms of culture and their significance in social development. ians. Friends, lovers, parents who no longer knew what they Culture attained a new status: culture became a profession. were: Italians or Germans? They found they shared the same South Tyrol was a building site. An experiment. With an un- concerns, the same thoughts, the first narrow bridges were certain denouement. South Tyroleans began to like the new built, individual theatre people came out in favour of the stand- form of co-existence. But they needed time. Joseph Zoderer ard language and dialect was banished from the stage, the Ital- had been studying German-Italian relations in his novels for ian director Marco Bernardi staged bilingual plays for the first years. As much as they would like to, nobody describes how time, authors and artists compared themselves with counter- involved the relationships are as well as he does: parts elsewhere in Italy and in other German-speaking coun- tries. The author Norbert C. Kaser became a figurehead and “He felt surrounded by a place which, by virtue of his German lan- an unconventional thinker. At the same time the Green Party guage, seemed to belong to him since his birth, while for Mara it politician and one of the most highly-regarded Europhiles, had to be a place which he, as it were, bequeathed to her; yes, she Alexander Langer, viewed as something of a nightmare at should think it was her own, although she was half Italian.” home, declared: “The more we have dealings with each other, Joseph Zoderer, The Pain of Familiarisation, 2002

A new dawn | 97 The towns ‘stadtstiche’ or town and village portraits

South Tyrol’s towns are small and laid-back with mountain views, town and countryside lie close together. Nevertheless around 1970 protests stirred here, where the alien and the fa- miliar encounter each other more forcefully than in villages. Norbert C. Kaser, an author from Brunico/Bruneck fostered the new wave of South Tyrolean literature in Bressanone/ Brixen, playwrights and producers challenged accepted norms in Merano/Meran, Bressanone and Brunico, new publishing houses and newspapers opened, artists and students became provocative in Merano and Bolzano. The ruckus worked. The towns changed their tones, they now wanted to be towns with their own culture, their own history, each with its own aura. The provincial capital, Bolzano, became the capital of culture. In the space of 20 years Bolzano was given a research centre, a university, a municipal theatre, a concert hall, the town’s demand for music was finally satisfied, a museum for contem- porary art, a cinema centre and – as icing on the cake – a per- manent children’s theatre opened. Brunico opened up with a new town hall in a new town square, vitalised its thermal baths centre with a Mediterranean piazza. Much has changed since 1975 when Norbert C. Kaser wrote his famous ‘stadtstiche’ – town and village portraits. Only Glorenza/Glurns remains un- scathed, where the town walls have fended off new influences: within them nothing has changed, the town has survived as quaint as it has ever been.

Fact box: » South Tyrol’s eight towns: Bolzano/Bozen [C4], Merano/Meran [C3], Bressanone/Brixen [D3], Brunico/Bruneck [F2], Vipiteno/Sterzing [D2], Chiusa/Klausen [D4], Glorenza/Glurns [A2] and since 1985, / Leifers [C5]. Information on individual towns at www.suedtirol.info/towns » An overview of major cultural events are available at www.suedtirol.info/events

98 Bressanone/Brixen: South Tyrol’s new literature begins in the bishopric town

A new dawn | 99 Architecture The hot tin roof

A Tyrolean roof is steep, Fascists build flat roofs. And there’s an end to it! That was the extent of all discussions about ar- chitecture during the 1980s: South Tyroleans continued to build ‘farm houses’ even though they were no longer farmers. Othmar Barth was one of the few architects in the region who implemented the ideas of the German ‘Bauhaus’ or school of building style combining crafts and fine arts. He is regarded as the trailblazer among young architects who introduced a con- temporary style of architecture with a regional imprint: they treat historical buildings with respect, use only local materials in their designs and ensure their buildings blend in with the local landscape. The first to show courage to introduce new ideas were the Church and architects from the Val Venosta/ Vinschgau Valley, then other parts of South Tyrol followed suit. The most recently completed large-scale building projects by South Tyrolean architects include the town hall (municipio/ Rathaus) at Brunico/Bruneck in the Val Pusteria/Pustertal Val- ley, the Vigilius Mountain Resort hotel above Lana in the Valle d’Adige/Etschtal Valley, the new church of Saltusio/Saltaus in the Val Passiria/Passeiertal Valley. Projects with which archi- tects enter a dialogue with old buildings when rebuilding or refurbishing are held in high esteem, including the innovative wineries in the areas of Appiano/Eppan and Caldaro/Kaltern, several provincial museums, the extended parish church of Laives/Leifers to the south of Bolzano/Bozen and Castel Fir- miano/Schloss Sigmundskron Castle near Bolzano. The ensem- ble of stations along the newly reactivated Val Venosta/Vinsch- Valley railway is unique: industrial dinosaurs are fed with cutting-edge technology.

Fact box: » First attempts at modern architecture in South Tyrol began around 1920: the North Tyrolean Lois Welzenbacher and the South Tyrolean painter Hubert Lanzinger built in the Alpine Bauhaus style in the hamlet of Tre Chiese/Dreikirchen [D4] overlooking the Valle Isarco/ Eisacktal Valley, www.briol.it. From 1934 architects designed new town districts of Bolzano [C4] in the fascist ‘Rationalist’ style. » The ‘Art House’ (Kunsthaus) in Merano [C3] hosts regular exhibitions focusing on contemporary architecture in South Tyrol and international architectural trends, www.kunstmeranoarte.org, as does the Chamber of Architects foundation in Bolzano [C4], www.arch.bz.it. » An architectural prize ‘New Building in the Alps’ has been awarded at Sesto/Sexten [H4] in the Alta Val Pusteria/ Valley since 1992. www.neuesbauenindenalpen.com

100 Contemporary architecture with regional character: the new town hall at Brunico/Bruneck

A new dawn | 101 Contemporary art Concept Art

In 1979 a group of young people occupied an old factory site in Bolzano/Bozen, demanding a youth centre for all three languages and cultures. The town council had the building cleared, a car park was planned. There was better to come: in 2008 the new Museion opened on the same site, the museum for modern and contemporary art, an open house which excit- ed discussion. The glass cube designed by the Berlin architects Krüger, Schuberth, Vandreike is sited at the very point where the River Talvera/Talfer divides Bolzano’s ‘German’ medieval centre from the ‘Italian’ side of the town built in the 1930s. It is the ideal place to foster art as a vehicle to resolve social ten- sion. Both Germans and Italians have the courage to approach contemporary art. The Museion was founded in 1985 as a pri- vate society, in the same year the ‘Galerie Museum’ opened in Bolzano, then came ‘kunst meran’ in 2001 followed by the ‘Designgalerie Lungomare’ in Bolzano in 2003. In 2008 politics set a further signal: South Tyrol became a venue for the Mani- festa 7, the European Biennale of contemporary art. There is no way back. With the two Museion bridges over the River Talvera the connection between times and cultures can no longer be severed.

Glass house: the Museum for modern and contemporary art in Bolzano/Bozen views art as a means of bridging social differences

Fact box: » Museion [C4]: the focus of the collection and the programme of exhi- bitions is on post 1960 art. The museum has made its name well beyond South Tyrol’s borders with its emphasis on ‘Language in Art’. www.museion.it » Galerie Museum [C4]: the association ‘ArGe Kunst’ shows above all experimental and interdisciplinary art initiatives. www.argekunst.it » kunst meran [C3]: the cultural initiative beneath Merano/Meran’s ar- cades is a platform for national and international art and architecture. www.kunstmeranoarte.org » Lungomare [C4]: is a workshop for culture and design, exploring the relationships between design, architecture, town planning, art. www.lungomare.org

102 Museums Showcasing the homeland

It all began with the Man from the Glacier. Ötzi came, and suddenly South Tyrol needed an archaeological museum. The mummy took up residence in 1998. South Tyrol considered other treasures which to date had been sent to the Ferdinan- deum in Innsbruck for safekeeping, but which would now stay and be put on display in South Tyrol. Most of South Tyrol’s 80 museums opened after 1989. Basic knowledge on South Ty- rol’s history, geography, ethnic anthropology and economy has been collected, organised and researched in nine provincial museums. Other museums developed from private collections, for example the pharmacy museum in Bressanone/Brixen, the type writer museum in Parcines/Partschins near Merano/ Meran, and the women’s museum in Merano. The museums have increased South Tyroleans’ awareness of their history and opened new, scientific accesses to themes which before had only been experienced emotionally. Recently the ‘Museum Passeier’ in the Val Passiria/Passeiertal Valley has imposed dis- tance. The museum commemorating Andreas Hofer – a hero who led the Tyroleans in their revolt against the ungodly Napo- leonic troops, though who some regard as a pawn in the hands of the powerful who misjudged the signs of the time – shows this historical event in a new light. Good Tyroleans, evil en- emies: the events of 1809 no longer appear so clear-cut.

Fact box: » Information on South Tyrol’s provincial museums at www.museiprovinciali.it » All South Tyrolean museums at a glance at www.provincia.bz.it/guida-musei

A new dawn | 103 Museum summit

Reinhold Messner likes life lived at the limits. He became the first to climb all of the world’s 14 ‘eight-thousanders’ (sum- mits exceeding 8,000 metres), crossed ice and sand deserts and continued to reduce his equipment, all that should remain was himself and nature and his own emotional rollercoaster. Messner is extreme. In everything he says, in everything he does. He calls his latest project his “15th eight-thousander”: an ensemble of museums intended as a setting to experience the mountains between conquest and culture. Four mountain mu- seums – three in South Tyrol, one in the neighbouring - each with a main theme: rock, ice, art and culture. A fifth museum featuring mountain folk will open in Castel Brunico/Schloss Bruneck Castle in 2010. The main centre of the project is the MMM Firmiano/Firmian accommodated in Castel Firmiano/Schloss Sigmundskron Castle to the south of Bolzano. All museum exhibits – art works, mementos, relics – are from Messner’s private collection. Messner has almost reached his objective. Reached his objective? “The summit of a mountain is only a turning point”, Messner once said. And so we expect him to set off once again in search of a mountain.

Fact box: » All five mountain museums at www.messner-mountain-museum.it

Reading recommendations: » Messner, Reinhold, Free Spirit: A Climber's Life. Seattle, WA, USA: Mountaineers’ Books. » Messner, Reinhold (1998). The Crystal Horizon: Everest – The First Solo Ascent. Seattle, WA, USA: Mountaineers’ Books. » Messner, Reinhold (1999). All Fourteen 8,000ers. Seattle, WA, USA: Mountaineers Books. » Messner, Reinhold (2000). My Quest for the Yeti: Confronting the Himalayas' Deepest Mystery. New York, NY, USA: St. Martin's Press. » Messner, Reinhold (2001). The Big Walls: From the North Face of the Eiger to the South Face of Dhaulagiri. Seattle, WA, USA: Mountaineers’ Books. » Messner, Reinhold; trans. by Tim Carruthers (2002). The Second Death of George Mallory: The Enigma and Spirit of . New York, NY, USA: St. Martin's Griffin » Messner, Reinhold (2003). The Naked Mountain. Seattle, WA, USA: Mountaineers’ Books.

104 The mountain in a cultural context: Castel Firmiano/Sigmundskron Castle is the centre piece of Reinhold Messner’s Mountain Museum project

A new dawn | 105 106 Information on South Tyrol What you need to know about South Tyrol A round trip in 60 seconds

Area Largest high meadow A total of 7,400 km², only 8 % of which is habitable; 80 % of the area Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm (52 km2 = 8,000 football fields) is mountainous. Main rivers Climate Adige/Etsch (153 km), Isarco/Eisack (95.5 km), Rienza/ (80.9 km) On average South Tyrol enjoys 300 sunny days per year. The ve- getation ranges from palms and vineyards through broad-leaf and Nature reserves coniferous up to the hostile high alpine environment of ice Scillar-Catinaccio/-Rosengarten, Gruppo di Tessa/Texelgruppe, and barren rock. Puez-Odle/Puez-Geisler, Fanes-Senes-Braies/Prags, Monte Corno/ Trudner Horn, Dolomiti di Sesto/Sextner Dolomiten, Vedrette di Inhabitants Ries-Aurina/Rieserferner-Ahrn, Parco nazionale dello Stelvio/Natio- 500,000 nalpark Stilfser Joch www.provinz.bz.it/naturparke Towns Bolzano/Bozen (capital), Merano/Meran, Bressanone/Brixen, Art Brunico/Bruneck, Vipiteno/Sterzing, Laives/Leifers, Chiusa/Klausen, , St. Prokulus, Hocheppan: South Tyrol boasts Glorenza/Glurns Europe’s greatest concentration of Romanesque frescoes.

Languages spoken Education German (70 %), Italian (26 %), Ladin (4 %) Since 1998 young people have been studying at Europe’s first trilin- gual university in Bolzano, Bressanone and Brunico. Lectures, exams History and seminars take place in German, Italian and English. At the end of the First World War, South Tyrol was given to the Italian ally by the victorious side. Until that time, the region had Quality products been part of Austria for over five centuries. The following years were typically characterised by Mussolini’s policy of ‘Italianisation’. Apples German and Ladin speakers living in South Tyrol were given the South Tyrol is the largest self-contained cultivation area in Europe, option to emigrate to or remain in South Tyrol where which grows apples. Thanks to the ideal climatic conditions, more they would be required to integrate into Italian culture losing their than a dozen varieties are cultivated and are considered far more language and cultural heritage. The Second World War saw the region flavoursome than apples grown in neighbouring regions. witness numerous protests and tough political power struggles with the government in Rome. South Tyrol’s autonomy is now regarded as Wine a model for minorities across Europe. South Tyrol’s wine production is a split of 52% red wine and 48% white wine. One in ten award-winning Italian wines comes from Highest mountain South Tyrol, one of the smallest wine-growing areas in Italy. Cima Ortles/Ortler in Val Venosta/Vinschgau Valley(3,905 m) Milk Dolomites South Tyrol has as many mountain farms as hotels. Dairy products The characteristic rock of the pale mountains is formed of fossilised supplied by mountain farmers are guaranteed non-GM. algae and coral reefs. In 2009 Unesco designated the Dolomites as a world natural heritage property. Speck Speck or preserved meat was devised hundreds of years ago, out of Dolomiti-Superski a necessity to preserve meat over the winter months. Today almost With 1,200 kilometres of downhill runs the Dolomiti Superski associa- every mountain farmer in South Tyrol still produces his own Speck. tion comprises the world’s largest area of interconnected ski resorts. The Sella Ronda circuit takes skiers across four Dolomite passes around the Sella massif.

Largest lake Lago di Caldaro/Kalterer See lake (1.47 km2, warmest bathing lake in the Alps)

Information on South Tyrol | 107 Scenic South Tyrol Holiday areas

Val Venosta/Vinschgau Bolzano/Bozen and surroundings At 3,905 metres, the Cima Ortles/Ortler – South Tyrol’s highest mountain Two cultures meet in Ötzi’s home town and there is a perfect merging – is regarded as one of the landmarks of the Val Venosta valley along of distinct cultures and lifestyles between the 100,000 inhabitants. with the church spire in Lago di Resia/ lake. Orchards and The surrounding landscape and especially to the south of the capital sloped vineyards dominate the landscape in the lower valley while in is typified by old wine-growing villages and sloping vineyards accom- higher areas, apricots, berries and vegetables are grown. Centuries’ old modating over 200 castles, palaces and ruins. Plateaus, mountain irrigation channels, Alpine paths and mountain bike routes wind through villages and valleys perched at up to 1,550 metres invite visitors to the cultural landscape, which is strewn with romantic chapels, medieval enjoy the light breezes during the summer. Southern South Tyrol is castles and abbeys. The varied landscape has certainly had its effect on the most Mediterranean region and its mild climate makes Lago di its inhabitants, and natives of Val Venosta are renowned for being parti- Caldaro the warmest bathing lake in the Alps. cularly creative and innovative. It is little wonder then, that most of South Tyrol’s artists and architects come from the western half of the region. Information Bolzano and surroundings: Area vacanze Bolzano, Vigneti e Dolomiti/Südtirols Süden Information Val Venosta: Via Pillhof 1 Area vacanze Val Venosta I-39057 Frangarto/Frangart Via Capuccini 10 phone: +39 0471 633 488 I-39028 Silandro/ [email protected] phone: +39 0473 620 480 www.stradadelvino.info [email protected] www.valvenosta-altoadige.info

Catinaccio/Rosengarten Latemar Follow the trail of the Dwarf King Laurin and the Lago di Carezza/ Merano/Meran and surroundings lake nymphand on the way, experience more than 530 km This is surely the most striking region of contrasts with palm and of marked hiking paths as they wind through the Rosengarten and olive trees in the valley and snow and ice on the surrounding peaks: Latemar massifs, forming the densest network of paths in South The stunning landscape surrounding Merano, which also captiva- Tyrol. Small mountain villages with characteristic village centres skir- ted noneother than Empress Sisi. The town itself is just as full of ted by hamlets and old farmhouses are starting-points for walks as contrasts as the entire region: art nouveau architecture on one side well as mountain hikes and climbing tours. Members of the Servite of the Passirio/ River, contemporary design on the other. The Order still live in South Tyrol’s most important pilgrimage site, Maria surrounding villages have views of vineyards and orchards with Weissenstein convent in Monte San Pietro/Petersberg. ridges and irrigation channels offering infinite hiking trails. An enti- rely different world is revealed within isolated valleys such as the Val d’Ultimo/Ultental or Val Passiria/Passeiertal valley, with traditional Information Catinaccio Latemar: farms dotted around the landscape. Area vacanze Rosengarten Latemar Ponte Nova di Sotto 9 I-39050 Ponte Nova/Birchabruck Information Merano and surroundings: phone: +39 0471 610 310 Area vacanze Merano e dintorni/Meraner Land [email protected] Via Palade 95 www.rosengarten-latemar.com I-39012 Merano phone: +39 0473 200 443 [email protected] www.meranodintorni.com

108 Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm Ladin valleys 365 Alpine pastures, chalets and farms are scattered across an area Ladin, the third language spoken in South Tyrol, is still spoken in two the size of 8,000 football pitches. The Alpe di Siusi is the largest valleys – Val Gardena/Gröden and Alta Badia. Linked by the Passo Alpine pasture in Europe and represents an enormous outdoor arena Gardena/Grödnerjoch mountain pass, these two valleys are among for visitors of all ages. Even the villages of Castelrotto/, the best known Dolomite regions and are particularly popular thanks Siusi/Seis and Fiè/Völs, a mere 30-minute drive from Bolzano and to their impressive and legendary mountainous terrain. Hotels and Bressanone, are characterised by the prevailing - restaurants are the main source of income for this region and inha- scape. There are twice as many farmers living here as proprietors and bitants are hard-working and very focused on the traditional way the great feeling of pride and attachment to the region is displayed of life. Val Gardena is typified for its ancient art of wood carving, both in everyday life and at traditional events such as the “Oswald whilst Alta Badia is best known for its award winning restaurants. von Wolkenstein Ritt” riding spectacle or peasant weddings. The Ladin Museum in S. Martino in Badia/St. Martin in Thurn relates the intricate story of the history and traditions of the Ladin people.

Information Alpe di Siusi: Area vacanze Alpe di Siusi Information Ladin valleys: Via del Paese 15 Area vacanze Val Gardena I-39050 Fiè allo Sciliar/Völs am Schlern Str. Dursan 80 c phone: +39 0471 704 122 I-39047 S. Christina [email protected] phone: +39 0471 777 777 www.alpedisiusi.info [email protected] www.valgardena.it

Area vacanze Alta Badia Valle Isarco/Eisacktal Col Alt 36 The valley south of the Brennero/Brenner pass owes its name to the I-39033 Corvara Isarco, South Tyrol’s second-longest river. As far back as the middle phone: +39 0471 836 176 ages, this area was used by kings, traders and merchants as a resting [email protected] place to recover from the strenuous journey towards the south. The www.altabadia.org three small towns of Bressanone, Vipiteno and Chiusa with their elegant shops, cultural treasures and cafés also originate from this period. The steep slopes along the edge of the valley are particularly conducive to growing apples, grapes and chestnuts. Chestnuts are sampled during the period of “Törggelen” – a tradition of tasting new wine in autumn. High-perched, hidden side valleys reveal small villages with mountain backdrops.

Information Valle Isarco: Area vacanze Valle Isarco Bastioni Maggiori 26 a I-39042 Bressanone phone: +39 0472 802 232 [email protected] www.valleisarco.info

Information on South Tyrol | 109 Eastern South Tyrol is home to the green Val Pusteria valley, which ants are as original as the cultural landscape: rooted to the soil and stretches as far as in Austria. Small villages line the valley aware of traditions yet always forward looking and open to new expe- with the lively town of Brunico/Bruneck at the upper end and ex- riences, which is illustrated by the diverse range of extreme sports pansive fields, woodlands and pastures, which roll into isolated side such as ice-climbing and rafting. The dialect here is more distinctive valleys around the rest of the area. The Rienz/Rienza river divides and characteristic than anywhere else in South Tyrol. the area into the thickly-forested Alpine ridge to the north and the pale Dolomites towards the south. The hiking area is distinguished by easily-accessible mountain lakes such as Lago di Braies/Pragser Wild- see and peaks such as Tre Cime/Drei Zinnen peaks. The local dialect Via Aurina 95 is just as colourful as the landscape – making the local inhabitants I-39030 Cadipietra/Steinhaus particularly endearing and charming. phone: +39 0474 652 081 [email protected] Via 11a www.tures-aurina.com I-39031 Brunico phone: +39 0474 555 447 [email protected] www.plandecorones.com

Piazza del Magistro 1 I-39038 San Candido/Innichen phone: +39 0474 913 156 [email protected] www.altapusteria.infoValli di Tures e Aurina valley lies on the south- ern face of the Alps making it the most northern holiday region in South Tyrol. Around 80 mountains of at least 3,000 metres enclose a virginal natural landscape strewn with Alpine pastures, mountain lakes, waterfalls and the Vedrette di Ries-Aurina . The inhabit-

110 What makes South Tyrol so unique A selection of holiday tips

Dolomites baths. Returning to your accommodation healthily tired, sauna treat- When the first explorers arrived in the Dolomites they found pin- ments in South Tyrol revive body and soul ahead of an intensive day nacles and peaks of a kind never seen before: huge towers with of activity tomorrow. smooth walls, razor sharp edges, icy gullies and high ridges soaring above scree and flowery alpine meadows. The Tre Cime di Lavaredo/ Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm Drei Zinnen, the Odle/Geisler-Spitzen and the Catinaccio/Rosengar- Europe’s vastest expanse of Alpine pastureland straddling the ten are among the worlds most striking mountains. The Sella massif 7,000 foot elevation line nestles beneath some of the most striking encompasses three ski resorts and can be ‘circumskied’ with a single Dolomite peaks. It is a favourite resort for the whole family both in ski pass. In 2009 UNESCO granted the Dolomites World Natural Her- summer and winter offering ski runs for all levels, extensive cross- itage status. Following the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn and Monte country ski trails, myriad walking trails and chocolate-box Alpine San Giorgio in Switzerland, the Pale Mountains are UNESCO’s third huts along the way offering delicious fare. World Natural Heritage in the Alps. Trauttmansdorff Castle Castles and stately country houses An impressive botanical garden, a park with Alpine and exotic plants In the 13th century Tirolo/Tirol Castle sitting on the mountainside and trees, water and terrace gardens, as well as the northernmost above Meran gave its name to the old Province of Tyrol. For centuries palm trees on the southern side of the Alps. Its captivating scents Tyrol’s history was closely connected with the castle. South Tyrol and tranquillity can be savoured from April to November. boasts almost 800 castles, fortified country houses, manors and ruins, a concentration unique in Europe. Today many of them accom- Culinary delights modate museums, are venues for exhibitions or have become castle Whether you are at a rustic Alpine cabin or in an elegant gourmet hotels and restaurants. restaurant, South Tyrol’s cuisine combines delicious Alpine fare, and the finest Italian culinary delights. Historical centres and smart shops Labyrinthine streets, picturesque arcaded walkways, ancient walls Linguistic wealth and bustling shopping streets: each town has its own atmosphere 70 per cent of South Tyrol’s inhabitants speak German as their and character. South Tyrol’s smallest town, Glorenza/Glurns with just first language, while Italian is spoken for the most part in Bolzano, 850 inhabitants, still has the most compete town wall in the entire Merano and in Bolzano’s commuter belt in Laives/Leifers and villages Alpine region. Pavement cafes in the piazza beckon with cappuccinos to the south of the town. A saunter through Bolzano reveals most and apple strudel after extensive shopping sessions in elegant shops clearly the transitions between Germanic and Italian life styles. and traditional stores. South Tyrol’s oldest language evolved from contact between the native Rhaetian population and their Roman conquerors. Today Ötzi, the Man from the Glacier 18,000 people in the Dolomite valleys of Val Gardena/Gröden and The 5,300 year-old mummy was found in a glacier above the Val Val Badia still speak Ladin as their first language. Senales/Schnalstal Valley in 1991 and can now be seen along with his clothing, weapons and belongings in the Archaeological Museum in Superb wines Bolzano. He now attracts 250,000 visitors each year. The ArcheoParc Each year South Tyrol’s vinous delights are showered with top inter- in the Val Senales Valley near Merano/Meran, in sight of the place national awards. They mature deep in cellars beneath picturesque where Ötzi was discovered, acquaints visitors with life in the early wine manors amid the region’s magnificent vinescape, for example Bronze Age. along the wine route. They can be savoured directly at wine estates, in wine bars or in their most rustic form in rural surroundings at Tradition and a new dawn farmsteads in autumn during the annual ‘Törggelen’ tradition of Experience a village festival, march with the local music band, help relishing traditional fare and new wine. out on a mountain farmstead: tradition is still very much alive in South Tyrol because past values are still very relevant. At the same MMM – Messner Mountain Museum time the desire to move forward is strong and perceptible, recognis- Reinhold Messner has already opened four museums, each with its able in the contemporary style of buildings such as the Museion, the own main theme: rock, ice, religion, art and culture. The fifth, due to museum for modern and contemporary art in Bolzano/Bozen. open in 2010, will be accommodated in Brunico/Bruneck Castle and devoted to mountain people and societies. The heart of the project Relax naturally is set up in Sigmundskron Castle near Bolzano, focusing on man’s Alpine pampering: herbal steam baths, mugo pine saunas and hay relationship with the mountains.

Information on South Tyrol | 111 What, where, how

Information & bookings Holiday areas For queries relating to accommodation, bookings, recreational activities, events:

Südtirol Information Valli di Tures e Aurina/ Tauferer Ahrntal Piazza della Parrocchia, 11 Valle Isarco/ Eisacktal I-39100 Bolzano Plan de Corones/ phone: +39 0471 999 999 Kronplatz Alta Pusteria/ Val Venosta/ Meraner Hochpustertal [email protected] Vinschgau Land Alta Badia Val Gardena/ Bolzano Gröden www.suedtirol.info Vigneti e Alpe di Siusi/ Dolomiti Seiser Alm

/ Rosengarten Latemar Südtirols Süden

Getting there

» Val Venosta: www.valvenosta-altoadige.info » Merano e dintorni: www.meranodintorni.com » Bolzano, Vigneti e Dolomiti: www.stradadelvino.info » Rosengarten Latemar: www.rosengarten-latemar.com » Alpe di Siusi: www.alpedisiusi.info » Val Gardena: www.valgardena.it » Alta Badia: www.altabadia.org » Plan de Corones: www.plandecorones.com » Alta Pusteria: www.altapusteria.info » Valle Isarco: www.valleisarco.info » Valli di Tures e Aurina: www.tures-aurina.com

Route planner, train and bus timetables, airports, low-cost flights, transfers: www.suedtirol.info/gettingthere

112 Accommodation Car rental There is an extensive data base comprising accommodation in South Hertz – Bolzano Tyrol including establishments that accept online reservations: phone: +39 0471 254 266 » All accommodation: www.suedtirol.info www.hertz.it

Holiday specialists: Avis – Bolzano, Bressanone, Merano » Farm holidays: www.redrooster.it phone: +39 0471 212 560 » Belvita Alpine Wellness Hotels: www.belvita.it www.avisautonoleggio.it » Family hotels: www.familienhotels.com » Activity hotels: www.vitalpina.info Maggiore – Bolzano » Camping sites: www.campingsouthtyrol.com phone: +39 0471 971 531 » Mountain bike hotels: www.bike-holidays.com www.maggiore.it » Private accommodation: www.kleinundfein.org » Youth hostels: www.jugendherberge.it » Idyllic places: www.idyllicplaces.com » Good and convenient: www.einfach-suedtirol.info Bank holidays » 1 January: New Year’s Day » 6 January: Feast of the Epiphany » March/April: Easter Sunday and Easter Monday Weather » 25 April: Liberation Day Forecasts, mountain weather, pollen levels: » 1 May: Labour Day » May/June: Whit Sunday and Whit Monday Meteological service » 2 June: Republic Day phone: +39 0471 271 177 » 15 August: Assumption Day (Ferragosto) www.suedtirol.info/weather » 1 November: All Saints’ Day » 8 December: Feast of the Immaculate Conception » 25/26 December: Christmas

Public transport » Public transport: www.sii.bz.it » Train from Bolzano to Malles/Mals: www.vinschgerbahn.it Emergency numbers » Mobilcard – a ticket for all public means of transport belonging to Ambulance, doctor on call, mountain rescue: 118 South Tyrol Integrated Transport System: www.mobilcard.info : 112 Police: 113

Information on South Tyrol | 113 Suggested readings

Landscapes of the Dolomites and Eastern South Tyrol South Tyrol Insight Guide A Countryside Guide Insight Guides Dietrich Hollhuber APA Publications Sunflower Books 2005

Travellers Mountain Huts in South Tyrol Thomas Cook Mountain huts of the South Tyrolean Alpine Club “AVS”, the Italian Alpine Club “CAI” and privately owned huts Hans Kammerer Tappeiner 2008

Short Walks in the Dolomites 40 selected Walks Gillian Price Cicerone Press Walking in the Dolomites 28 multi-day routes Gillian Price Cicerone Press 2008

Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites: Vol. 1 North, Central and East John Smith, Graham Fletcher Cicerone Press Trekking in the Dolomites Dolomites Trekking – Av1 & Av2: Italy Trekking Guides Henry Stedman Trailblazer Publications 2005

Dolomites West and East Selected climbs Ron James Alpine Club Guide Book Our History: Südtirol/South Tyrol 1914-1992 in brief Martha Stocker Athesia 2007

Cleaver A Novel Tim Parks Harvill Secker 2006 The Dolomites Mountains of Coral Andrea Innocenti/Michele Cecchi Bonechi 2000

ALTO ADIGE MARKETING S.c.p.a DESIGN: inQuadro S.a.s., Bolzano TEXT: Gabriele Crepaz PHOTOGRAPHY: Clemens Zahn, Thomas Grüner, Toni Stocker/Alpinschule Ortler, Helmuth Rier, Alessandro Trovati, Frieder Blickle, Max Lautenschläger, Andree Kaiser, Stefano Scatà, Freddy Planinschek, Dolomiti Superski, Tourismusorganisationen Südtirol, Handelskammer Bozen, „100 Jahre Seilbahn Kohlern“ Kuratorium Technische Kulturgüter, Alexander Langer Archiv, suedtirolfoto.com/Othmar Seehauser, Udo Bernhart PRINTED BY: ATHESIADRUCK Srl, Bolzano

114 Information on South Tyrol | 115 Gritty – that is a good word to describe South Tyrol. The region is made of sturdy material, it has structure. Rocks give it its form, quickly changing varieties of stone from porphyry through marble and granite to Dolomite define the landscape and vegetation. The inhabitants have tilled the land with their hands to make the cultivated land alternate with stone, colour and vegetation. Nature and cul- ture intermingle. People cling to tradition and cus- tom. New projects are started.