Rasen-Antholz (; ) is a municipality in

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

in northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Geography

The municipal area stretches along the Antholz valley, a northern side valley of the larger

Puster Valley The Puster Valley ( ; , ) 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 South Tyrolean municipalities of th ...

. In the northeast, the

Staller Saddle Staller Saddle (; ; ), at , is a high mountain pass in the High Tauern range of the Central Eastern Alps, connecting the Defereggen Valley in East Tyrol with the Antholz Valley in South Tyrol. The pass forms the border between Austria and Italy, i ...

mountain pass, at a height of leads into the

Defereggen Valley The Defereggen Valley (), or simply Defereggen (), is the middle of the three Bezirk Lienz, East Tyrolean high mountain valleys running from east to west. Its parallel-running neighbours are the Puster Valley and the Virgen Valley. The Defereggen ...

East Tyrol East Tyrol, occasionally East Tirol (), is an exclave of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, separated from North Tyrol by parts of Salzburg State and parts of Italian South Tyrol (''Südtirol'', ). It is coterminous with the administrative ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. The Antholz valley is confined by the mountains of the

Rieserferner Group The Rieserferner Group (, ) is a mountain range in the Austrian Central Alps. Together with the Ankogel Group, Goldberg Group, Glockner Group, Schober Group, Kreuzeck Group, Granatspitze Group, Venediger Group and the Villgraten Mountains the grou ...

in the north and the

Villgraten Mountains The Villgraten Mountains () or Deferegg Alps (''Deferegger Alpen''), also called the Defreggen Mountains (''Defreggengebirge'', archaically also with ''"ff"'') are a subgroup of the Austrian Central Alps within the Eastern Alps of Europe. Togethe ...

in the east, both part of the

High Tauern The High Tauern (plural, pl.; , ) are a mountain range on the Main chain of the Alps, main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of Salz ...

range in the

Central Eastern Alps The Central Eastern Alps (), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps () or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent regions of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and Slovenia. South of them is ...

. Notable peaks include the Hochgall, at , and the

Wildgall The Wildgall () is, at 3,273 metres above sea level, the third highest peak in the Rieserferner Group, a range in the western part of the High Tauern. It lies within the Italian provinces of South Tyrol in the Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park (''P ...

(Collaspro), at , as well as the

Ohrenspitzen The Ohrenspitzen are three peaks on the border between Tyrol, Austria, and South Tyrol, Italy. They are a part of the Rieserferner Group in the Central Eastern Alps The Central Eastern Alps (), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps () or ...

massif, at , in the northeast. Large parts of the northern and western mountain ranges belong to the Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park established in 1988. The

Antholzer Bach The Antholzer Bach (also ; ) is a stream in South Tyrol, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extend ...

stream runs through the valley from

Antholzer See The Antholzer See (; ) is a lake in the Antholzertal in South Tyrol, Italy. It belongs to the municipality of Rasen-Antholz. External links References Civic Network of South Tyrol
{{in lang, de, it Lakes of South Tyrol Rieserferner-Ahrn ...

(Lago di Anterselva) down to its confluence with the

Rienz The Rienz (; ) 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 city of Brixe ...

(Rienza) river at

Olang Olang (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northeast of the city of Bolzano. There is no settlement named Olang. Geography As of 31 December 2015, it had a population of 3,132 and an area of .All ...

. Rasen-Antholz is located east of

Bruneck Bruneck (; or Ladin language, Ladin: ''Bornech'' or ''Burnech''; or ''Brunopolis'') is the largest town in the Puster Valley in the Italy, Italian province of South Tyrol. Geography Bruneck rises up in the middle of a wide valley (perhaps a ...

, the administrative centre of the Puster Valley, and about northeast of the South Tyrolean capital

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

. It borders the following municipalities:

Gsies Gsies (; ) is a valley and ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northeast of Bolzano, on the border with Austria. Gsies held the FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 1994. Geography As of 30 November ...

Percha Percha (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and a village in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northeast of Bolzano. This Percha is not to be confused with Percha of the Federal Republic of Germany. Geography As of 31 December 2015, ...

Sand in Taufers Sand in Taufers (; ) 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, stretching from ...

Welsberg-Taisten Welsberg-Taisten (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northeast of the city of Bolzano. Geography As of November 30, 2010, it had a population of 2,809 and an area of . Welsberg-Ta ...

and

Sankt Jakob in Defereggen Sankt Jakob in Defereggen (Southern Bavarian: ''St. Jakoub in Dejfreggin'') is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Ita ...

in Austria.

Frazioni

The municipality of Rasen-Antholz contains six ''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...

'' (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets): Antholz Niedertal (Anterselva di Sotto), Antholz Mittertal (Anterselva di Mezzo), Antholz Obertal (Anterselva di Sopra), Neunhäusern (Nove Case), Niederrasen (Rasun di Sotto) and Oberrasen (Rasun di Sopra).

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2024 census, 98.05% of the population speak

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 1.36%

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

and 0.59% Ladin as first language.

History

Archaeological findings of a

Hallstatt Hallstatt () is a small town in the district of Gmunden District, Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Sa ...

cemetery near Niederrasen denote a settlement of the area already in the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. In 15 BC, present-day Tyrol was conquered by the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. About 590 AD, Bavarian tribes under their Duke Tassilo I entered the region. Rasen itself was first mentioned in a 1050 deed, the local Lords of Rasen served as ''

ministeriales The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a legally unfree but socially elite class of knights, administrators, and officials in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, drawn from a mix of servile origins, free commoners, and ...

'' of the Counts of Tyrol from the 13th century onwards. They resided at Altrasen Castle which was first documented in 1210. Count Meinhard II of Tyrol ceded it to his consort

Elisabeth of Bavaria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austria on 24 April 1854 until h ...

in 1259. Meanwhile, the Lords of Rasen had Neurasen Castle erected, which fell to the

Bishops of Brixen The Prince-Bishopric of Brixen () was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the present-day northern Italian province of South Tyrol. It should not be confused with the larger Catholic diocese, over which the prince-bishop ...

in 1342. Upon the extinction of the ''

Meinhardiner The House of Gorizia, also called the Meinhardiner, were a comital, princely and ducal dynasty in the Holy Roman Empire. Named after Gorizia Castle in Gorizia (now in Italy, on the border with Slovenia), they were originally "advocates" (''Vo ...

'' counts in 1500, Tyrol as a whole became a crown land of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

Coat-of-arms

The shield is

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). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

a pile reversed on

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

and

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 b ...

. It is the sign of the Lords of ''Rasen'', who ruled from 1353. The emblem was officially adopted on 10 August 1967.

Sports

Rasen-Antholz is known for the

South Tyrol Arena The South Tyrol Arena (in Italian language, Italian ''Arena Alto Adige''; in German language, German ''Südtirol Arena'') is a biathlon stadium in the municipality of Rasen-Antholz, in South Tyrol (Italy). The facility will host the biathlon comp ...

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

track, which opened in 1971. It hosted the

Biathlon World Championships The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The original team event, Team (time), was held for the last time in 1965, to be replaced in 1966 by the team event, Relay (4 × 7.5 km) ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. It is also a regular venue of the

Biathlon World Cup The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons until 1986–87 season were called the European Cup, alt ...

season, with the highest altitude of all World Cup meetings at a height of about . It will host biathlon for the

2026 Winter Olympics The 2026 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 at sites across Lombardy and North ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

. Antholz also hosted the finish of stage 17 of the

2019 Giro d'Italia The 2019 Giro d'Italia was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race organised by RCS Sport that took place mainly in Italy, between 11 May and 2 June 2019. The race was the 102nd edition of the Giro d'Italia and was the first Grand Tour of the ...

, which was won by

Nans Peters Nans Peters (born 12 March 1994) is a French cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Amateur career Before turning professional, he set a new record for most selections for the French national Under-23 team, being chosen 20 times: ...

Notable people

* Hubert Leitgeb (1965–2012), biathlete *

Wilfried Pallhuber Wilfried "Willi the Kid" Pallhuber (born 4 August 1967) is a former Italian biathlete. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin he competed in his fifth olympics. Biathlon results All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union. Olympi ...

(born 1967), biathlete *

Johann Passler Johann Passler (born 18 August 1961) is a former Italian biathlete. At the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, Passler won bronze medals in the 20 km and in the relay. At the World Championships, Passler won two gold medals and two bronze. Biathlon ...

(born 1961), biathlete *

Gottlieb Taschler Gottlieb Taschler (born 21 August 1961) is a former Italian biathlete. He competed at the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics. Currently he is a Vice-President of the International Biathlon Union. At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, he fini ...

(born 1962), biathlete *

Dorothea Wierer Dorothea Wierer (, ; born 3 April 1990) is an Italian biathlete competing in the Biathlon World Cup. Together with Karin Oberhofer, Dominik Windisch and Lukas Hofer she won a bronze medal in the Mixed relay at the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Soc ...

(born 1990), biathlete *

Dominik Windisch Dominik Windisch (born 6 November 1989) is an Italian former biathlete.IBU Profi ...

(born 1989), biathlete *

Andreas Zingerle Andreas Zingerle (; born 25 November 1961) is an Italian former biathlete. At the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, Zingerle won a bronze medal in the relay. At the World Championships Zingerle accumulated one individual gold medal and three golds and a b ...

(born 1961), biathlete *

Enrico Mattei Enrico Mattei (; 29 April 1906 – 27 October 1962) was an Italian public administrator. After World War II, he was given the task of dismantling the Italian petroleum agency Agip, a state enterprise established by Fascist Italy. Instead, Ma ...

he had a vacation house in Antholz

References

External links

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