Innichen (; it, San Candido , lld, Sanciana) is a municipality in

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is located in the

Puster Valley The Puster Valley ( it, Val Pusteria ; german: Pustertal, ) is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. The ...

on the Drava River, about northeast of

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third ...

, on Italy's border with

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It hosts Italy’s International Snow Sculpture Festival each year.ce Luxe Adventure Traveller. 2016. Art: Italy’s International Snow Sculpture Festival By Jennifer Dombrowski
/ref> Innichen is renowned for its ski resorts, and it includes the natural park of Tre Cime.

Geography

Innichen borders the municipalities of Toblach,

Innervillgraten Innervillgraten is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federatio ...

(Austria),

Sexten Sexten (; it, Sesto ) is a ''comune'' in South Tyrol in northern Italy. The village is famous as a summer and winter sport resort in the mountains. According to the 2011 census, 95.37% of the population speak German, 4.36% Italian and 0.27% Ladin ...

, and

Sillian Sillian is a market town in the district of Lienz, in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography The municipality, at a height of about , is the main settlement in the East Tyrolean '' Hochpustertal'', the eastern part of the Puster Valley, stretch ...

(Austria).

History

Innichen is home to the Innichen Abbey, founded in the late 8th century (769) by duke Tassilo III of Bavaria, belonging to the Prince-Bishopric of Freising. The abbey itself was disestablished in 1785, while the surrounding estates were acquired by the

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised ...

after the Mediatisation of 1803 (''Reichsdeputationshauptschluss''). According to the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain, Innichen became part of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

in 1919. Innichen is still the site of a

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

monastery founded in 1691.

Coat-of-arms

The emblem shows an argent tower with the Ghibelline merlon on two levels, with the

portal Portal often refers to: *Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...

and the portcullis; above the door a coat of arms showing the head of a Moor, crowned with an or diadem on azure. The tower has settled on

vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versi ...

countryside and gules. This kind of representation points out that the site was once under the rule of the Bishops of

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the ...

owners of a large area in the region from 769 to 1803. The coat of arms was granted by King Albert I of Germany in 1303.

Society

Linguistic Distribution

According to the 2011 census, 85.06% of the population spoke

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 14.64% Italian and 0.30%

Ladin Ladin may refer to: *Ladin language, a language in northern Italy, often classified as a Rhaeto-Romance language *Ladin people, the inhabitants of the Dolomite Alps region of northern Italy See also *Laden (disambiguation) *Ladino (disambiguati ...

as their first language.

Twin towns

Innichen is twinned with: *

, Germany, since 1969

Notable residents

* Daniel Glira (born 1994), ice hockey player * Jannik Sinner (born 2001), tennis player

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of South Tyrol Ski areas and resorts in Italy