Ahrntal (; it, Valle Aurina ) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in

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

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 ...

, located about northeast of the city 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 la ...

(''Bozen''), on the 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 ...

Geography

Ahrntal borders the following municipalities:

Mühlwald Mühlwald (; it, Selva dei Molini ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol, a province in northern Italy, located about northeast of Bolzano, on the border with Austria. Geography As of 31 December 2015, it had a population of 1,442 and a ...

, Prettau,

Sand in Taufers Sand in Taufers (; it, Campo Tures ) is a ''comune mercato'' (market town) in South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography Located about northeast of Bolzano, the town centre is situated in the Tauferer Ahrntal (Taufers) valley of the Ahr river, st ...

, Brandberg (Austria),

Finkenberg Finkenberg is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Finkenberg lies about 3 km southwest of Mayrhofen at the entrance to the Tuxer valley. Sightseeing * Garnet Chapel near the Penken The Penken is a mo ...

(Austria), and

Mayrhofen Mayrhofen is a town in the Zillertal (Ziller river valley) in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is located approximately an hour from the Tyrolean capital city of Innsbruck. Population Tourism The town offers a variety of summer and winter spor ...

(Austria).

Frazioni

The municipality of Ahrntal contains the ''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Luttach (Lutago), Steinhaus (Cadipietra), St. Jakob (San Giacomo), St. Johann (San Giovanni), St. Peter (San Pietro) and Weißenbach (Riobianco). Weißenbach is composed of picturesque alpine farmhouses, grouped around the foaming white

glacial stream A glacier stream is a channelized area that is formed by a glacier in which liquid water accumulates and flows. Glacial streams are also commonly referred to as "glacier stream" or/and "glacial meltwater stream". The movement of the water is influ ...

from which its name is derived. With a population of around 550, it sits at an elevation of above sea level.

Topography

To the north, west and southwest the municipality is surrounded by the

Zillertal Alps The Zillertal Alps ( it, Alpi Aurine; german: Zillertaler Alpen) are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps on the border of Austria and Italy. Name The range is named after the Zillertal (Ziller river valley) on its north. Geography The ...

. The main chain of these Alps at the head of the valley also forms the border with

. Amongst the most important mountains in the municipality are the Turnerkamp (3,418 m), the Hornspitzen, the Schwarzenstein (3,369 m), the Großer Löffler (3,379 m), the Wollbachspitze (3,210 m) and the Napfspitze (3,144 m). The ranges to the west and southwest, including the Speikboden massiv, separate the village of Ahrntal from

in the Mühlwalder Tal. To the southeast are the

Durreck Group The Durreck Group in South Tyrol is an independent mountain range within the Venediger Group. To the north and west it is bounded by the Tauferer Ahrntal, behind which the peaks of the Zillertal Alps stand. To the south it is separated by the val ...

, a subrange of the

Venediger Group The Venediger Group (german: Venedigergruppe) is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. Together with the Granatspitze Group, the Glockner Group, the Goldberg Group, and the Ankogel Group, it forms the main ridge of the High Tauern. The hi ...

with the

Durreck The Durreck (, also called the ''Durreckspitze'', it, Cima Dura) is the highest mountain in the Durreck Group, a South Tyrolean range that divides the Ahrntal valley in the north from the Reintal valley in the south. Location The Durreck lie ...

(3,135 m) and the Hirbernock (3,010 m) which form the boundary of the municipality of Reintal and its village of Rein in Taufers. Large parts of the Durreck Group are protected as part of the

Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park The Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park (german: Naturpark Rieserferner-Ahrn) is a nature reserve in South Tyrol, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is loc ...

History

The pride of the village is the Church of St. Jacob, dating from the 16th century. The church houses a valuable winged altar from 1516, which was restored in 1884. Also of note are both the modern extension to the church building and the newly arranged adjoining cemetery.

Place name

A name for the valley was first recorded in written sources in the 11th century. An ''Aurina vallis'' is mentioned in 1048, between 1070 and 1080 ''Ourin'' or ''Ouren'' appear in documents.

Coat-of-arms

The emblem is tierced of paly: in the first and third are four and half points of

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

on azure, in the second a vert pale with a wavy line of argent. The emblem show the position of the municipality along the green valley with the river Ahr and the mountains all around. The emblem was granted in 1969.

Notable people

* Simon Maurberger (born 1995) World Cup alpine ski racer.

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2011 census, 98.76% of the population speak German, 0.93%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and 0.31% Ladin as first language.

Demographic evolution

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References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities of South Tyrol Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park Articles which contain graphical timelines