The Tauferer Ahrntal denotes the valley of the Ahr ( it, Aurino) River, a tributary valley of 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 S ...

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

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 commonly divided into the Tauferer Tal (''Val di Tures''), stretching from the confluence with the Rienz River near

Bruneck Bruneck (; it, Brunico or Ladin: ''Bornech'' or ''Burnech''; la, Branecium or ''Brunopolis'' is the largest town in the Puster Valley in the Italian province of South Tyrol. Geography Bruneck rises up in the middle of a wide valley (perhaps ...

up to

Sand in Taufers Sand in Taufers (; it, Campo Tures ) is a ''comune mercato'' (market town) in South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography Located about northeast of Bolzano, the town centre is situated in the Tauferer Ahrntal (Taufers) valley of the Ahr river, st ...

, and the Ahrntal (''Valle Aurina'') proper up to the source in Prettau.

Geography

The valley in the

Central Eastern Alps The Central Eastern Alps (german: Zentralalpen or Zentrale Ostalpen), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (german: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacen ...

forms the northeasternmost part of South Tyrol close to the

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 ...

n border, separating the

Zillertal Alps The Zillertal Alps ( it, Alpi Aurine; german: Zillertaler Alpen) are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps on the border of Austria and Italy. Name The range is named after the Zillertal (Ziller river valley) on its north. Geography The ...

in the north and west from the

Hohe Tauern The High Tauern ( pl.; german: Hohe Tauern, it, Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of ...

range (

Rieserferner Group The Rieserferner Group ( it, Gruppo delle Vedrette di Ries, german: Rieserfernergruppe) is a mountain range in the Austrian Central Alps. Together with the Ankogel Group, Goldberg Group, Glockner Group, Schober Group, Kreuzeck Group, Granatspitz ...

) in the south and east. The municipalities in the valley are Gais,

, Ahrntal, and Prettau, the northernmost ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of Italy. The municipality of

Mühlwald Mühlwald (; it, Selva dei Molini ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol, a province in northern Italy, located about northeast of Bolzano, on the border with Austria. Geography As of 31 December 2015, it had a population of 1,442 and a ...

is congruent with a northwestern side valley of the Tauferer Ahrntal including the Neves Reservoir. In the southeast, the Reinbach stream joins the Ahr near Sand in Taufers; the area around the village of Rein in Taufers is part of the

Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park The Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park (german: Naturpark Rieserferner-Ahrn) is a nature reserve in South Tyrol, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is loc ...

nature reserve. The valley is accessible by the state highway that runs from Bruneck northwards to Gais and Sand in Taufers where the entry into the Ahr ravine is marked by Taufers Castle. From here the valley stretches northeastwards up the river course to Prettau and the

Birnlücke The Birnlücke () is the border pass at the western end of the Hohe Tauern mountains in Austria, between the Venediger Group and the adjoining Zillertal Alps. The border between Austria and Italy has run over the pass since 1919. The pass forms t ...

Pass. The former Taufers Railway connection from Bruneck to Sand in Taufers was discontinued in 1957.

References

''Ahrntal'' Tourist Board

External links

{{Authority control Valleys of South Tyrol