Neustift im Stubaital is a municipality in the district

Innsbruck-Land The Bezirk Innsbruck-Land is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in Tyrol, Austria. It encloses the Statutarstadt Innsbruck, and borders Bavaria (Germany) in the north, the district Schwaz in the east, South Tyrol in Italy to the south, and th ...

in the

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 ...

n state of

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

. It is the third largest municipality of Tyrol in area. It is a major tourist centre, with more than 1 million overnight stays per year.

Geography

Neustift is located 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal 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 Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

in the

Stubaital The Stubai Valley or Stubaital () is an alps, alpine valley in Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria. It is the central valley of the Stubai Alps. The river Ruetz (river), Ruetz flows through the valley. This 35-km long valley runs in northeastern dire ...

or Stubai Valley. This broad valley is one of the most scenic in Tyrol. At the entrance to the valley stand massive limestone formations. Around the upper valley, peaks of gneiss and granite rise above 3,000 metres (about 10,000 feet) to areas of permanent ice. Five glaciers covering form a large glacier ski area, the Stubai Glacier. Including the facilities here and in three other ski areas, the valley has 42 cable cars and ski lifts. Neustift is connected to Innsbruck by a bus line operated by Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe. Neustift im Stubaital consists of the following sections and villages: Kampl, Neder, Dorf, Scheibe, Milders, Oberberg, Stackler, Lehner, Schaller, Krössbach, Neugasteig, Gasteig, Volderau, Ranalt, and Mutterberg. The municipalities bordering on Neustift are Brenner, Fulpmes, Grinzens, Gschnitz, Längenfeld, Mühlbachl,

Ratschings Ratschings (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about north of the city of Bolzano, on the border with Austria. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 4,363 and an area of .All demograp ...

, Sankt Sigmund im Sellrain, Sellrain,

Sölden Sölden () is a municipality in the Ötztal valley of Tyrol, Austria. Geography At c. , it is the largest municipality in the country. The population of 3,449 (as of 2003) is outnumbered by tourists, of which 15,000 can be accommodated. Wit ...

, Telfes im Stubai, and Trins.

History

Origin

Around 1000, the Stubaital was first mentioned in writing as ''Stupeia''. By 1400, the district of Stubai was composed of five small communities: Telfes, Schönberg, Mieders, Fulpmes, and "im Tal" ("in the valley"). Although the name ''Neustift'' appears in records from the 14th century as "Niwenstift im tal ze Stubai", centuries passed before the modern name ''Neustift'' prevailed over ''im Tal'' as the name of the community. The inhabitants of Neustift are still known today as ''Tholer'' ("valley dwellers"). Place names in the region point to pre-Roman settlement. When Caesar Augustus and his legions pushed north in 15 BCE, the

mountain people Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...

living here and their region were subjugated as the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

province of

Raetia Raetia or Rhaetia ( , ) was a province of the Roman Empire named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west with Transalpine ...

. Subsequently, the Romans made an impact on the region through their administration and later through Christianization. Prehistoric finds from the early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

(c. 1800–1000 BCE) show that the valley was settled in ancient times. The many Rhaeto-Romance place names suggest that the German language did not prevail in the region until some time during the Middle Ages. These place names include the following: * Falbeson: val busana: pocket valley * Ranalt: rovina alta: high landslide * Pfurtschell: furcella: notch or gap * Tschangelair: cingularia: enclosure * Kartnall: curtinale: small courtyard * Kampl: campus: field During World War II, the

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

(SS) had a mountaineering training centre in Neustift, where prisoners from the

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

were put to work.

Coat-of-arms

The emblem of the town consists of a red shield, with a central horizontal white band like the Austrian flag, and a crossbow with two central black arrows crossing each other. The crossbow is a reminiscent of the hunting trips of Emperor Maximilian to Oberbergtal.

Population

Sights

St. George Church

Emperor Maximilian I hunted

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

chamois The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpa ...

, and

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

in the upper Stubaital. In 1505 he founded a chapel in Neustift, though the village did not receive its own priest until 1868. In 1516 the first church in Neustift was dedicated to Saint George by the bishop of

Brixen Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...

. In 1772 this church fell victim to a fire. In 1768 construction of a new church had already begun, since the original church was already too small. Pastor Franz de Paula Penz was the builder of the impressive Neustift parish church. He was one of the most celebrated architects of the late baroque in Tyrol. In 1812 Neustift became an independent parish. Externally, St. George's Church, in the village centre, seems very plain. However, the interior is quite rich, decorated with frescos by well-known masters. The parish church is Tyrol's second-largest village church. The "glacier pastor" and co-founder of the

Alpine Club Alpine clubs are typically large social clubs that revolve around climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. Many alpine clubs also take on aspects typically reserved for local sport associations, providing education and training courses, se ...

, Franz Senn, is buried in the attractive church cemetery.

References

{{authority control Cities and towns in Innsbruck-Land District