Kiens (; it, Chienes ) 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 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 ...

, located 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 ...

Geography

As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 2,726 and an area of .Overall demographics and other statistics:

Italian National Institute of Statistics The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic ...

(ISTAT). Kiens borders the following municipalities: Pfalzen,

Rodeneck Rodeneck (; it, Rodengo ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography Rodeneck borders the following municipalities: Kiens, Lüsen, Mühlbach, Natz-Schabs, St. Lorenzen and Vintl. In Rodeneck there are 7 munici ...

, St. Lorenzen, Mühlwald,

Terenten Terenten (; it, Terento ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northeast of Bolzano. Geography As of December 31, 2015, it had a population of 1,743 and an area of .All demographics and other statisti ...

and Vintl.

Frazioni

The municipality of Kiens 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) Ehrenburg (Casteldarne), Getzenberg (Monghezzo), Hofern (Corti) and St. Sigmund (San Sigismondo).

History

The hamlet appears for the first time in the

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 ...

book of traditions (''Traditionsbuch'') in a deed issued in the years 1005—39 as ''″locus Kiehna″''.

Coat-of-arms

The emblem is based on that of the family Schöneck; on

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 ...

a curved pile

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 ...

. In the right corner take place a five-pointed argent star, symbolizing the five villages in the municipality. The emblem was adopted in 1961.

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2011 census, 96.73% of the population speak

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 ...

, 2.32% Italian and 0.95%

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 first language.

Demographic evolution

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:455 height:303 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:3000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:200 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from: 0 till:0 bar:1871 from: 0 till:0 bar:1881 from: 0 till:0 bar:1901 from: 0 till:0 bar:1911 from: 0 till:0 bar:1921 from: 0 till:1479 bar:1931 from: 0 till:1594 bar:1936 from: 0 till:1696 bar:1951 from: 0 till:1750 bar:1961 from: 0 till:1948 bar:1971 from: 0 till:2198 bar:1981 from: 0 till:2410 bar:1991 from: 0 till:2476 bar:2001 from: 0 till:2641 PlotData= bar:1861 at:0 fontsize:XS text: ? shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at:0 fontsize:XS text: ? shift:(-8,5) bar:1881 at:0 fontsize:XS text: ? shift:(-8,5) bar:1901 at:0 fontsize:XS text: ? shift:(-8,5) bar:1911 at:0 fontsize:XS text: ? shift:(-8,5) bar:1921 at:1479 fontsize:XS text: 1479 shift:(-8,5) bar:1931 at:1594 fontsize:XS text: 1594 shift:(-8,5) bar:1936 at:1696 fontsize:XS text: 1696 shift:(-8,5) bar:1951 at:1750 fontsize:XS text: 1750 shift:(-8,5) bar:1961 at:1948 fontsize:XS text: 1948 shift:(-8,5) bar:1971 at:2198 fontsize:XS text: 2198 shift:(-8,5) bar:1981 at:2410 fontsize:XS text: 2410 shift:(-8,5) bar:1991 at:2476 fontsize:XS text: 2476 shift:(-8,5) bar:2001 at:2641 fontsize:XS text: 2641 shift:(-8,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from ISTAT

Demographic evolutionData from the Municipality of Kiens.

St. Sigmund

St. Sigmund is a ''frazione'' of Kiens, its origins date back to 1050, when first it was called Burin and after Peuren, in 1317. The town is located where the valley widens into a large flat area, for that reason it enjoys excellent weather conditions throughout the year. From an architectural point of view, the buildings in the area are based on original South Tyrolean farmsteads style. Especially is notable the parish church (1449–89), where is present the oldest and best preserved

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

, dated around 1430. Another point of interest is the Church of Our Lady (german: Stöcklkapelle) dating back to 1621 and built in

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 ...

style. Behind the railway station, in the river

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 ...

, there are the Ilistra thermal baths (German: ''Ilstern''), which once featured facilities for cures. Also in this area is the church of St. Ulrich that dates back to 1491 and is well preserved.

References

External links

Official website of the municipality
(in German and Italian)
Official website of the ''frazione'' of St. Sigmund
{{Authority control Municipalities of South Tyrol