Prettau (; ) is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) of

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 ...

, an

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 ...

province in the country's north. It is the northernmost ''comune'' of Italy and is located within the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

at the border with Austria. It is situated at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. , the population was 518.

Copper mining Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from list of copper ores, its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with coun ...

was historically the major industry in Prettau, until the abandonment of its copper mine in 1893.

History

Prettau became a ''comune'' in 1958. Its

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted in 1967 and is a blue and silver shield divided by four stylised adjacent mountain peaks and charged with two crossed pickaxes in the lower half. The shield depicts Prettau surrounded by tall glacial mountains, and the pickaxes are a reference to Prettau's historical copper mining industry.

Geography

Prettau is located

. Its territory covers an area of . About 70% of its area is protected land within the boundaries of Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park. Prettau is the northernmost ''comune'' of Italy.

Demographics

The 2023 population census recorded 509 residents in Prettau. However, the municipal government website gives a population of 518 at the end of 2024. At the time of the 2024 linguistic census, 98.59% of Prettau's residents spoke German and 1.41% spoke Italian as their first language.

Economy

was the main economic activity in Prettau until 1893. According to a local legend, a farmer discovered Prettau's copper deposits by chance while trying to tame a bull. The bull's horns struck the ground and brought out golden sand. Locals initially mistook it for gold before realising it was copper. The old copper mine has since been converted into a local history museum. Prettau's economy is now served primarily by tourism. The ''comune'' is known for its local

bobbin lace Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of yarn, thread, which are wound on #Bobbins, bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pi ...

–making.

References

External links

* * of the municipality * Stefan Steinhauser, Eduard Tasser (2008). ''Prettau – Bilder, Fakten, Geschichten''. Prettau
Download, 25 MB)
{{Authority control Municipalities of South Tyrol Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park