Innichen (; ; , all tied to Saint Candidus) is a municipality and a village 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 ...

. It is located in the Puster Valley on the

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

River, on Italy's border with

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 ...

. It hosts Italy’s International Snow Sculpture Festival each year.''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 Drei Zinnen–Tre Cime di Lavaredo.

Geography

Innichen borders the municipalities of Toblach, Innervillgraten (Austria), Sexten, and Sillian (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 Imperial State, 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 th ...

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

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

in 1919. Innichen is still the site of a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery founded in 1691.

Coat-of-arms

The emblem shows an

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 ...

tower with the Ghibelline merlon on two levels, with the portal and the

portcullis A portcullis () is a heavy, vertically closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications. It consists of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood and/or metal, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway. ...

; 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 versio ...

countryside and

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 ...

. 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 (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Isar river in ...

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

Albert I of Germany Albert I of Habsburg () (July 12551 May 1308) was a List of rulers of Austria, Duke of Austria and Duchy of Styria, Styria from 1282 and List of German monarchs, King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Ru ...

in 1303.Heraldry of the World: Innichen
/ref>

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2024 census, 82.39% of the population spoke German, 17.21% Italian and 0.40% Ladin as their first language.

Twin towns

Innichen is twinned with: *

, Germany, since 1969

People

* Beatrice Borromeo (born 1985), journalist * (1933–2008), sociologist * Daniel Glira (born 1994), ice hockey player * Jannik Sinner (born 2001), professional tennis player

Media

The Italian television series '' Un passo dal cielo'' was partially set in Innichen.

Transports

The Innichen railway station is one of the border stations between Italy and Austria.

References

External links

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