Gschnitz () is a municipality with 415 inhabitants (1 January 2011) in the south of

North Tyrol North Tyrol, rarely North Tirol (german: Nordtirol), is the main part of the Austrian state of Tyrol, located in the western part of the country. The other part of the state is East Tyrol, which also belongs to Austria, but does not share a bord ...

Setting

Gschnitz is at the end of the valley of the same name that branches off from the

Wipptal The Wipp Valley (german: Wipptal) is an Alpine valley in Tyrol, Austria and in South Tyrol, Italy, running between Innsbruck and Franzensfeste. The Brenner Pass (1,374 m) at the Austro-Italian border divides it into the northern, Austrian Lower ...

Steinach am Brenner Steinach am Brenner is a market town in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located south of Innsbruck in the Wipptal at the Sill River. Geography Steinach am Brenner is located in Wipptal, along the Sill River Valley at ...

. The municipality borders are from the Talschluss () to the

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

. The

Gschnitz Brook The Gschnitzbach is a river of Tyrol, Austria. The Gschnitzbach springs from the lake in the Stubai Alps. It flows from South to North and merges with the Sill at Steinach am Brenner. It has a length of about and passes through the villages of ...

provides the village with drinking water. Nearby municipalities are Brenner,

Neustift im Stubaital Neustift im Stubaital is a municipality in the district Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol. 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. Geogra ...

Obernberg am Brenner Obernberg am Brenner is a municipality in the southern district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tirol. Geography Obernberg am Brenner is located nearly 30 km south from Innsbruck in a valley with the same name, which departs from ...

and

Trins Trins is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 20.3 km south of Innsbruck on the Gschnitzbach. The village was mentioned for the first time in 1030, as “Trunnes”. Formerly a part of the v ...

History

Origin

The village is mentioned for the first time in 1284 as "Gasnitz". In 1288 the valley had nine ''Schwaighöfe'' (alpine farms) seven of them in Gschnitz, which formed the centre of the village, and two at Laponesalm. The right of succession in Tirol originated from these nine Schwaighöfe and was adopted in all the other valleys in the region. In 1471 the rivalry between Gschnitz and Trins arose and reached a point that the inhabitants of the two villages blocked the entrance to the valley; the

Court had to intervene to resolve the dispute. Gschnitz was awarded the status of a municipality in 1811. Major development occurred from the 18th century onwards.

Coats-of-arms

Gschnitz's coat of arms consists of a red background, crossed by three horizontal stripes, one of each, consisting of six lozenges, alternating white and black. This visualization looks like the roof of the nine mountain farms. The coat of arms was made official January 10, 1984 Heraldry of the World, Gschnitz
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Population

Sights

Parish Our Lady of Snow

Gschnitz originally belonged, like most of the villages of Wipptal, to the parish of

Matrei am Brenner Matrei am Brenner is a small municipality in the southern part of the District Innsbruck-Land and is located approximately 17 km south of Innsbruck. Matrei has always been an important station for commerce. On 1 January 2022 the municipalitie ...

. The church “Our Lady of the Snow" was built in 1730 and later, in 1755, restored in Baroque style with plans by Franz de Paula Penz. In 1775 Gschnitz was established as Vicariate and in 1891 as Parish.

Sanctuary of St. Magdalena

The Sanctuary of St. Magdalena is located near the border, between Gschnitz and Trins, at an altitude of accessible only on foot, under the Schönberg. The church is the oldest in the valley as confirmed by the Romanesque frescoes dating back around 1200 and discovered in 1959.

References

External links

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Wipptal Gschnitz
Cities and towns in Innsbruck-Land District {{Tyrol-geo-stub