Innichen (; it, San Candido , lld, Sanciana) is a municipality in

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

in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is located in the

Puster Valley The Puster Valley ( it, Val Pusteria ; german: Pustertal, ) 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 Sou ...

on the

Drava River The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

, about northeast of

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third ...

, on Italy's border with

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It hosts Italy’s International Snow Sculpture Festival each year.ce 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 Tre Cime.

Geography

Innichen borders the municipalities of

Toblach Toblach (; it, Dobbiaco ) 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 h ...

, Innervillgraten (Austria),

Sexten Sexten (; it, Sesto ) is a ''comune'' in South Tyrol in northern Italy. The village is famous as a summer and winter sport resort in the mountains. According to the 2011 census, 95.37% of the population speak German, 4.36% Italian and 0.27% Ladin ...

, and Sillian (Austria).

History

Innichen is home to the

Innichen Abbey Innichen Abbey (German: ''Stift Innichen'') is a former 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–13th centuries, is cons ...

, 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 shoul ...

. 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 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 the secularised pr ...

after the

Mediatisation Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to: * German mediatisation German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by ...

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

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and ...

in 1919. Innichen is still the site of a

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

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 t ...

tower with the Ghibelline

merlon A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...

on two levels, with the portal and the

portcullis A portcullis (from Old French ''porte coleice'', "sliding gate") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the tw ...

; 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 ver ...

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). In engraving, it is sometimes depi ...

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

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 (german: Albrecht I.) (July 12551 May 1308) was a Duke of Austria and Styria from 1282 and King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Rudolf I of Germany and his first wife Gertrud ...

in 1303.

Society

Linguistic Distribution

According to the 2011 census, 85.06% of the population spoke

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, 14.64% Italian and 0.30% Ladin as their first language.

Twin towns

Innichen is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

, Germany, since 1969

Notable residents

* Daniel Glira (born 1994), ice hockey player *

Jannik Sinner Jannik Sinner (; ; born 16 August 2001) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 1 November 2021, and world No. 124 in doubles, achieved on 2 ...

(born 2001), tennis player

References

External links

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