Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano.

Geography

First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic and cultural capital of the valley. It is located at the confluence of the

Eisack The Eisack (german: Eisack, ; it, Isarco ; Latin: ''Isarus'' or ''Isarcus'') is a river in Northern Italy, the second largest river in South Tyrol. Its source is near the Brenner Pass, at an altitude of about 1990 m above sea level. The river draw ...

and

Rienz The Rienz (; it, Rienza ) is a river in South Tyrol, Italy. Its source is located at 2,180 m of altitude, in the Dolomites mountains, south of Toblach: near Toblach it enters in the Puster Valley, and, after , it meets the Eisack river in the cit ...

rivers, north of Bolzano and south of the

Brenner Pass The Brenner Pass (german: link=no, Brennerpass , shortly ; it, Passo del Brennero ) is a mountain pass through the Alps which forms the border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Eastern Alpine range and has ...

, on the Italy- Austrian border. It is flanked on the eastern side by the

Plose The Plose is a massif with several peaks near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. Its peaks are: Telegraph (), Pfannspitze () and Gabler (). It is bordered by the Eisacktal to the west, the Lüsner Valley to the north and east and the Aferer Valley ...

and Telegraph (Monte Telegrafo) mountains (2,504 m) and on the western side by the Königsanger (Monte Pascolo) (2,436 m) mountain. Brixen is especially known as a major skiing resort (the

). Other activities include hydroelectric power, orchards, and vineyards.

''Frazioni''

''Frazioni'' / incorporated villages: Afers (Eores), Albeins (Albes), Elvas, Gereuth, Karnol, Klerant (Cleran), Kranebitt (Costa d'Elvas), Mahr (La Mara), Mairdorf, Mellaun (Meluno), Milland, Pairdorf (Perara), Pinzagen (Pinzago), Plabach, Rutzenberg, St. Andrä (S.Andrea), St. Leonhard (S.Leonardo), Sarns (Sarnes), Tils (Tiles), Tötschling (Tecelinga), Tschötsch (Scezze), Untereben.

History

The area of Brixen has been settled since the Upper Paleolithic (

8th millennium BC 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

). Other settlements from the late Stone Age have been found and in 15 BC, the area was conquered by the Romans, who had their main settlement in the nearby Säben (Sabiona). They held it until around 590, when it was occupied by Bavarians. Kloster Säben S

The first mention of Brixen dates to 901 in a document issued by the King of Germany, Louis III the Child, in it a territory called ''Prihsna'' is assigned to Zacharias,

bishop of Säben A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. As time passed, "Prihsna" turned into the current name of Brixen. The bishops moved here from Säben in 992, after the Cathedral had been finished. In 1039, the Bishop of Brixen, Poppo, was elevated to Pope by emperor Henry III. However his reign lasted for only 23 days. In the same century, Brixen became the seat of an independent ecclesiastical principate which, in the following years, struggled for existence against the neighbouring county of Tyrol. In 1080, the synod of Brixen condemned

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

. In 1115, a first line of walls encircling Brixen was completed. The bishopric was secularized in 1803 and annexed by the Austrian Empire. Between 1851 and 1855, the Czech journalist and writer Karel Havlíček Borovský was exiled by the Austrian government to Brixen. After the end of World War I, Brixen was annexed by Italy.

Coat-of-arms

The oldest coat of arms dates back to 1297 with the lamb, known then from 1304 as a symbol of the lamb. On 13 November 1928, a shield with the city walls and a gate on the lawn in the upper half and the lamb in the lower was adopted. The emblem is a turned argent lamb with an or halo on a

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

background; the right foreleg supports a flag with a gules cross. The emblem was granted in 1966.

Main sights

* The Cathedral (10th century), dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, was rebuilt in the 13th century and again in 1745–54 along

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

lines. The ceiling of the nave has a large fresco by Paul Troger portraying the ''Adoration of the Lamb''. * The ''Hofburg'', a Renaissance Bishop's Palace (started in the 13th century), one of the main noble residences in South Tyrol. The Diocesan Museum has several artworks, including a presepe with 5,000 figures created for Bishop

Karl Franz Lodron Count Karl Franz von Lodron (18 November 1748 – 10 August 1828) was the last prince-bishop of Brixen Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Fi ...

. * The round parish church of ''Saint Michael'' (11th century). The Gothic choir and the bell tower are from the 15th century while the nave is from the 16th. The main artwork is a wooden ''Cireneus'' from the 15th century. * The Pharmacy Museum ( Pharmaziemuseum Brixen), located in a nearly 500-year-old townhouse, shows the development and changes of the local pharmacy. The Peer family (now the 7th generation) has run this pharmacy since 1787, always in the same location. The museum's carefully restored rooms illustrate the development of the pharmaceutical profession over the centuries and the changes in remedies used, from the testicles of a beaver and pieces of an ancient Egyptian mummy to modern plasters and lyophilisates. All the objects and medicines on display were in use over the centuries. The Museum also has a library for historical research and the archive of the Peer family. In a separate room there is a multimedia display of the history of the family. *The White Tower (also known as "Weißer Turm") was completed in 1591, but subsequently modified. The 72 meter tall tower, which is located next to the parish church of Saint Michael, is inside the city walls in the historic center of Brixen. It contains a complex

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

mechanism of 43 bells, which ring every day at 11.00 a.m. and can play more than a hundred different tunes. On the top floor there is a large roof where it is possible to observe the circumstances. The Tower also has a lunar clock. The architecture of the tower belongs to the Gothic Architecture and is one of the few remaining in South Tyrol. It is the cultural heritage monument with the number 14186 in South Tyrol. The White Tower is used as a museum since 2007. Outside the city is Rodeneck Castle, one of the most powerful of its time. It has precious frescoes from the early 13th century. Also important are ''

Reifenstein Castle Reifenstein Castle (German: ''Burg Reifenstein'', Italian: ''Castel Tasso'') is a castle in Freienfeld, near Sterzing, in South Tyrol (northern Italy). It is located near a dried marsh, in the valley of the Eisack. History The castle is mention ...

'' and '' Trostburg'' Castle in Waidbruck. In the latter lived the adventurer and minstrel Oswald von Wolkenstein.

Gallery

File:Brixen Dom Mariä Himmelfahrt (BD 14187 1 05-2015).jpg, Cathedral of Brixen File:Brixner Dom Innenraum 1.JPG, Inside the cathedral File:Fürstbischoefliche Hofburg in Brixen.jpg, Hofburg Brixen

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2011 census, the majority of the population speaks

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 **Ger ...

as first language (72.82%). The remainder of the inhabitants speak Italian and

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 (disambigua ...

as first languages, with percentages of 25.84% and 1.34%, respectively.

Culture

The rock band,

Frei.Wild Frei.Wild (pronounced FRY-vilt, the word ''Frei'' translates to "free" and the word ''Wild'' translates to "wild") is a German rock band from Brixen, South Tyrol, Italy. Its members belong to the German-speaking population of South Tyrol and the ...

, has its origin in Brixen.

Notable people

Maria Hueber Maria Hueber (22 May 165331 July 1705) was a Tyrolean religious sister, a pioneer in educating girls in and foundress of a congregation of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Brixen. Early life Hueber was born to the Brixen tower watchman, Nikola ...

(1653-1705) - religious sister, pioneer in educating girls in the Tyrol * Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) - Venetian

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos * Anton Pichler (1697–1779) - Tyrolean goldsmith and artist of engraved gems *

Joseph Ambrose Stapf Joseph Ambrose Stapf (1785, in Fließ – 1844, in Brixen ) was an Austrian Catholic theologian. He studied theology at Innsbruck, and in 1823 was named professor of moral theology and pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the ...

(1785-1844) - professor of moral theology, pedagogy at Brixen seminary *

Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer (10 December 1790 – 26 April 1861) was a German Tyrolean traveller, journalist, politician and historian, best known for his controversial discontinuity theory concerning the racial origins of the Greeks, and for ...

(1790–1861) - traveller, journalist, politician and historian. *

Johanna von Isser Großrubatscher Johanna von Isser Großrubatscher (27 December 1802 - 25 May 1880), identified in one source as "the lady who drew castles"," was an Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Drawing, graphic artist and writer. Life Johanna Maximiliana Großrubatscher was b ...

(1802-1880) - graphic artist and writer *

Josef Murr Josef Murr (6 June 1864, Brixen – 4 January 1932, Innsbruck) was an Austrian classical philologist and botanist. In 1887 he received his PhD from the University of Innsbruck, afterwards working as a high school instructor in several communities, ...

(1864–1932) - classical philologist and botanist *

Eduard Thöny Eduard Thöny (9 February 1866 - 26 July 1950) was a German caricaturist and illustrator known for his work for the journal ''Simplicissimus'', to which he was invited to contribute by Albert Langen. Born in Brixen, he studied at the arts academ ...

(1866-1950) - caricaturist and illustrator *

Fritz Tarbuk von Sensenhorst Friedrich Maria "Fritz" Tarbuk von Sensenhorst (16 August 1896 – 1 March 1976), also known as Friedrich Maria von Tarbuk-Sensenhorst, was a lieutenant in the Imperial Austro-Hungarian Navy and captain in the Army, as well as an entrepreneur/b ...

(1896–1976) - lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian Navy, captain in the army and an entrepreneur *

Mary de Rachewiltz Mary de Rachewiltz (born Maria Rudge; July 9, 1925) is an Italian-American poet and translator. Early life and education De Rachewiltz was born Maria Rudge in Brixen, Italy, on July 9, 1925, the daughter of Olga Rudge, a classical violinist, and ...

(born 1925) - poet and translator * Reinhold Messner (born 1944) - mountaineer, adventurer, explorer, author and politician * Heinz Winkler (born 1949) - three-

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

chef *

Herbert Dorfmann Herbert Dorfmann (born 4 March 1969 in Brixen, South Tyrol) is an Italian agronomist and politician of the South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2009. Personal life After graduatin ...

(born 1969) - agronomist and Member of the European Parliament

Sport

* Denise Karbon (born 1980) - World Cup alpine ski racer * Roland Fischnaller (born 1980) - snowboarder at the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

Karin Oberhofer Karin Oberhofer (born 3 November 1985) is an Italian biathlete. She competes in the Biathlon World Cup. Oberhofer has won a bronze medal at the Biathlon World Championships 2013 (4x6 km relay). She also competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics (11th ...

(born 1985) - biathlete, bronze medallist in the Mixed relay at the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

* Dorothea Wierer (born 1990) - biathlete and former world champ)ion *

Ludwig Rieder Ludwig Rieder (born 19 June 1991) is an Italian luger. Rieder was born in Brixen, Italy, and competed in the Luge at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Men's singles, Men's double luge event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi as a pair with Patrick R ...

(born 1991) - luger, competitor at the

Dominik Fischnaller Dominik Fischnaller (born 20 February 1993) is an Italian luger who has competed since 2002. He has won silver and two bronze medals at Junior World Championships. Fischnaller won the Junior Luge World Cup for the 2010–11 season. His best Lug ...

(born 1993) - luger, bronze medallist at the

Kevin Fischnaller Kevin Fischnaller (born 2 December 1993 in Brixen, Italy) is an Italian luge athlete who has competed in the Luge World Cup for Italy since 2011. During the 2014-15 Luge World Cup he won a bronze at Iglis in the men's spirit event. On 25 Nov ...

(born 1993) - luger, competitor at the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

Transport

Brixen has a railway station on the Brenner Railway, which connects the town to Verona and

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

. It has an individual fare structure for public transport within the Tirol-Südtirol zone. Italy *Regional Train ( Trenitalia Regional): Brennero/Brenner - Fortezza/Franzensfeste - Bressanone/Brixen - Chiusa/Klausen - Bolzano/Bozen - Trento - Rovereto - Verona - Isola della Scala - Nogara - Bologna Germany/Austria/South Tyrol (D for Germany, A for Austria) On 11 December 2016, ÖBB took over Deutsche Bahn's night trains. The Munich-Milan service was withdrawn. *Night Train ( DB CityNightLine) Munich-Milan/Rome: Munich (D) - Kufstein (A) - Jenbach (A) - Innsbruck (A) - Brixen/Bressanone - Bolzano/Bozen - Trento/Trient - Verona - Peschiera del Garda - Brescia - Milan *Intercity Train ( ÖBB Eurocity) Munich-Verona/Venice: Munich (D) - Kufstein (A) - Jenbach (A) - Innsbruck (A) - Brenner/Brennero - Franzensfeste/Fortezza - Brixen/Bressanone - Bolzano/Bozen - Trento - Rovereto - Verona - Padua - Venice *Intercity Train ( ÖBB Eurocity) Munich-Verona/Bologna: Munich (D) - Kufstein (A) - Jenbach (A) - Innsbruck (A) - Brenner/Brennero - Franzensfeste/Fortezza - Brixen/Bressanone - Bolzano/Bozen - Trento - Rovereto - Verona - Bologna *Regional Train (Südtirol Bahn Regio-Express) Bolzano/Bozen-Innsbruck: Bolzano/Bozen - Brixen/Bressanone - Franzensfeste/Fortezza - Sterzing/Vipiteno - Brenner/Brennero - Innsbruck *Regional Train (Südtirol Bahn Regio) Brixen/Bressanone-Lienz: Brixen/Bressanone - Franzensfeste/Fortezza - Mühlbach/Rio di Pusteria - Vintl/Vandoies - Ehrenburg/Casteldarne - St. Lorenzen/San Lorenzo di Sebato - Bruneck/Brunico - Olang/Valdaora - Welsberg/Monguelfo - Niederdorf/Villabassa - Toblach/Dobbiaco - Innichen/San Candido - Lienz (A) * Train connects at Verona with ÖBB EuroNight Rome-Vienna: DB CityNightLine splits into two trains (first half couples with ÖBB Rome-Vienna and leaves for Vienna or Rome; second half continues to Munich or Milan). Vienna-Rome splits into two trains (first half continues to Rome or Vienna; second half couples with DB CityNightLine for Milan or Munich). By road, the town has two exits on the

Brenner Autobahn The Brenner Autobahn ( it, Autostrada del Brennero or it, AutoBrennero, en, Brenner motorway) refers to a major European truck route that connects Innsbruck in Austria to Verona in northern Italy. Numbered as the A13 in the Austrian section, th ...

that connects Brixen to the

Twin towns - sister cities

Brixen is twinned with: * Bled, Slovenia, since 2004 * Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic, since 1992 *

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

, Germany, since 1969

Sports

*Brixen hosted the

2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics is the sixth edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics. They were held at Brixen-Bressanone Sport Arena in Bressanone, Italy from 8–12 July 2009. Athletes had to be aged 16 or 1 ...

. *Brixen hosted the 16th Unicycle World Convention and Championships (UNICON) in July 2012.

References

External links

*
Homepage of the municipality

Photos from Brixen

WebCam picture from Bressanone - Brixen
{{Authority control Municipalities of South Tyrol