Innichen (; ; , all tied to

Saint Candidus Candidus (died c. 287 AD) was a commander of the Theban Legion. The Theban Legion was composed of Christians from Upper Egypt. He is venerated as a Christian saint and martyr. Legend Candidus was first mentioned as a member of the Theban Legio ...

) 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 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 ...

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 Toblach (; ) is a ''comune''/''Gemeinde'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in Northern Italy, located in the Puster Valley about northeast of the city of Bolzano, on the border with Austria. Geography As of November 30, 2010, it had a population ...

Innervillgraten Innervillgraten is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The region is one of the most remote regions in Austria. A year-long connection to the valley was established as late as 1956. The death of Pius Walder ...

(Austria),

Sexten Sexten (; ) is a ''comune'' and a village in South Tyrol in northern Italy. The village is famous as a summer and winter sport resort in the mountains. Linguistic distribution According to the 2024 census, 92.37% of the population speak Germa ...

, and

Sillian Sillian is a market town in the district of Lienz, in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography The municipality, at a height of about , is the main settlement in the East Tyrolean '' Hochpustertal'', the eastern part of the Puster Valley, stretch ...

(Austria).

History

Innichen is home to the

Innichen Abbey Innichen Abbey (German: ''Stift Innichen'') is a former Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Innichen, South Tyrol in northern Italy. Founded in the 8th century, its collegiate church dedicated to Saint Candidus, rebuilt in the 12th� ...

, founded in the late 8th century (769) by duke Tassilo III of Bavaria, belonging to the

Prince-Bishopric of Freising The Prince-Bishopric of Freising (German: ''Hochstift Freising'') was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1294 until its secularisation in the early years of the 19th century. The Prince-Bishopric of Freising should ...

. 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 Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to: * German mediatisation, German historical territorial restructuring * Mediatization (media) Mediatization (or medialization) is a method whereby the mass media influence other sectors of society, inclu ...

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 A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...

on two levels, with the

portal Portal may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), a series of video games developed by Valve ** ''Portal'' (video game), a 2007 video game, the first in the series ** '' Portal 2'', the 2011 sequel ** '' Portal Stori ...

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 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 ...

, 17.21% Italian and 0.40% Ladin as their first language.

Twin towns

Innichen is twinned with: *

, Germany, since 1969

People

Beatrice Borromeo Beatrice dei Principi Borromeo Arese Taverna (born 18 August 1985) is an Italian journalist and model. Born in Italy into an aristocratic family, she studied law at Bocconi University in 2010 before earning a master's degree in journalism at Col ...

(born 1985), journalist * (1933–2008), sociologist * Daniel Glira (born 1994), ice hockey player *

Jannik Sinner Jannik Sinner (born 16 August 2001) is an Italian professional tennis player. He is currently ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the ATP, the first Italian to reach the top ranking. Sinner has won 19 singles titles on the ATP Tour ...

(born 2001), professional tennis player

Media

The Italian television series ''

Un passo dal cielo ''Un passo dal cielo'' (English: ''One step from heaven'') is an Italian mystery comedy-drama television series aired on Rai 1 and Rai HD and starring Terence Hill and Enrico Ianniello. It was the first television series produced and aired in ...

'' 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