Ritten (; it, Renon ) is a ''

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 ...

'' (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 ...

Territory

The community is named after the high plateau, elevation , the Ritten or the Renon, on which most of the villages are located. The plateau forms the southeast tip of the Sarntal Alps mountain range and is located between, and on average above the rivers

Eisack The Eisack (german: Eisack, ; it, Isarco ; Latin: ''Isarus'' or ''Isarcus'') is a river in Northern Italy, the second largest river in South Tyrol. Its source is near the Brenner Pass, at an altitude of about 1990 m above sea level. The river draw ...

and

Talfer The Talfer (; it, Talvera) is a river located in South Tyrol, Italy. It flows into the Eisack in Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in norther ...

. Ritten lies directly northeast of Bolzano, settled on the "meeting point" of the above rivers. Ritten borders the following municipalities: Barbian,

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 ...

, Kastelruth,

Karneid Karneid (; it, Cornedo all'Isarco ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about east of the city of Bolzano. It is also the location of Karneid castle. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of ...

, Völs,

Jenesien Jenesien (; it, San Genesio Atesino ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northwest of the city of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 2,952 and an area o ...

Sarntal Sarntal (; it, Sarentino ) is a valley and a '' comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about north of the city of Bolzano. The municipality comprises several towns and villages. The largest one, seat of the mayor and ...

and Villanders. As of 31 December 2016, Ritten had a population of 7,847.South Tyrol in figures 2008
by the Provincial Statistics Institute ASTAT, part of Istat. There are 17

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a '' comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate terri ...

s (subdivisions, usually consisting of one or a few villages and hamlets). These include the central village Klobenstein (Collalbo), in which the townhall is located, as well as Atzwang (Campodazzo), Gissmann (Madonnina), Lengmoos (Longomoso), Lengstein (Longostagno), Mittelberg (Monte di Mezzo), Oberbozen (Soprabolzano), Oberinn (Auna di Sopra), Rotwand (Pietrarossa), Siffian (Siffiano), Signat (Signato), Sill (Castel Novale), Unterinn (Auna di Sotto), Wangen (Vanga), and Wolfsgruben (Costalovara). Of these only Atzwang and Sill are not located on the plateau, but on the rivers Eisack and Talfer, respectively.

History

The mountain ridge is first mentioned in AD 871–75 as "Mons Ritanus" and then in 1027 as "Mons Rittena". Already around 1200 a mountain inn was established on the plateau. In 1237 Runkelstein Castle was built on a rocky spur in Ritten territory by the lords of Wangen. The Tyrolean patriotic hero

Peter Mayr Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

(1767–1810), involved in the rebellion against Napoleon's forces that occupied Tyrol, was born in the village of Siffian in Ritten. From the 17th century Ritten has been a popular summer destination for citizens of Bolzano, since the air is considerably cooler on the plateau. Ritten is connected with

with a provincial road and with a

cableway Cable transport is a broad class of transport modes that have cables. They transport passengers and goods, often in vehicles called cable cars. The cable may be driven or passive, and items may be moved by pulling, sliding, sailing, or by driv ...

from Oberbozen, one of the longest cableways of the world in one track, about long and 12 minutes to travel. This cableway replaced in 1960 the previous

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with t ...

, built in 1907. The railway is still in function on the mountain side between Maria Himmelfahrt and Klobenstein.

Coat of arms

The official community

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

consists of

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 depict ...

two chevrons embowed

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 ...

; it is the arms of the Lords of ''Zwingenstein'' who ruled the village from their castle until 1531. The emblem was adopted in 1967.

Main sights

*Near Oberbozen and Lengstein are several groups of fairy chimneys (earth pyramids). *Klobenstein has a high-elevation outdoor artificial ice track, the ''Arena Ritten'' or Ritten Kunsteisbahn, at which the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

and 2011 European Speed Skating Championships and many

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

events have been held.

Economy

The candy company

Loacker Loacker S.p.A. (in German Loacker AG) is an Italian confectionery company, based in South Tyrol, Italy and specialized in the production of wafers, chocolate and derivative products. History The company was founded in 1925 in the historic ci ...

is based in Ritten.

Notable people

* Frederick von Wangen, bishop of

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

, early 13th century *

Bruno Platter Bruno Platter was the 65th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. He served three terms and retired in 2018 at the age of 74. Platter was born in South Tyrol, Italy. References 1944 births Living people People from Ritten Grand ...

(born 1944) a Roman Catholic priest and the 65th

Grand Master of the Teutonic Order The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (german: Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens; la, Magister generalis Ordo Teutonicus) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the grand master of other military orders and the superi ...

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2011 census, 95.20% of the population speak

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 **Ge ...

, 4.55% Italian and 0.25%

Ladin Ladin may refer to: *Ladin language, a language in northern Italy, often classified as a Rhaeto-Romance language *Ladin people, the inhabitants of the Dolomite Alps region of northern Italy See also *Laden (disambiguation) *Ladino (disambiguati ...

as first language.

Demographic evolution

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References

External links

Homepage of the municipality
{{Authority control Municipalities of South Tyrol