Gröden Valley
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Val Gardena (; german: Gröden ; lld, Gherdëina ) is a valley in
Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
, in the Dolomites of South Tyrol. It is best known as a tourist skiing,
rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
, and
woodcarving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...
area.


Geography

The valley's main river is the
Derjon The Derjon ( lld, Derjon; it, Rio Gardena; german: Grödner Bach) is a stream in South Tyrol, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the mid ...
, a tributary of the
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 ...
river. The mountains that surround the valley are formed by dolomite rocks, which confer on them a characteristic appearance. Most of the steep slopes are covered by pine woods. The favoured cultivations are barley, rye, potatoes, flax, buckwheat. The three municipalities in Val Gardena are Urtijëi, Sëlva, and Santa Cristina; they were served by the
Val Gardena Railway The Val Gardena Railway or Klausen-Plan (Grödnertalbahn in German) was a narrow gauge railway operating in the Val Gardena in the Dolomites of northern Italy. It was constructed in 1915/6 when the region was part of the Austrian Empire. Construc ...
from 1916 until 1960.


Culture

Val Gardena is one of five valleys with a majority of
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 (disambigua ...
speakers (two of these valleys are in South Tyrol). The form of the Ladin language spoken in this valley is called ''Gardenese'' in Italian, ''Grödnerisch'' in
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 ...
and ''Gherdëina'' in
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 (disambigua ...
.


Woodcarving

The woodcarving industry has flourished in Val Gardena since the 17th century. Since the 19th century,
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
s and altars carved in the area have been shipped to Catholic Churches throughout the world. In the 18th century, besides religious statuettes, the production of woodcarved figurines of genre art was widespread in the valley. Among them statuettes of beggars generally in pairs (female and male), four seasons, watchstands were very popular. In the 19th and 20th century, carving of wooden toys was such a widespread occupation in all Gardenese families that Amelia Edwards called Urtijëi the "capital of Toyland". One of the valley's best-known products is the peg wooden doll which was popular all over Europe and America in the 19th century. In one of her many trips
Margaret Warner Morley Margaret Warner Morley (February 17, 1858 in Montrose, Iowa – December 12, 1923 in Washington, D.C.) was an American educator, biologist, and author of many children's books on nature and biology. Biography Morley grew up in Brooklyn. She st ...
went to Europe to Val Gardena where she was inspired to write the novel ''Donkey John of the toy valley''. The
Parish Church of Urtijëi A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
displays a rich collection of statues carved by local artists in the last two centuries. The
Museum Gherdëina The Gherdëina Local Heritage Museum was opened in the ''Cësa di Ladins'' in Urtijëi, in northernmost Italy, in 1960. The building is the seat of the Union di Ladins de Gherdëina a cultural organisation for the keeping of the Ladin language ...
in Urtijëi owns a rich collection of historical wooden toys, and woodcarved statues and figurines.


Sports


Skiing

The valley hosted the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
. Val Gardena is home to the ''Saslong Classic'', a men's World Cup
downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...
race that has been held almost every year since
1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
. Since
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
(and in
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
), the downhill has been paired with a Super-G race, and from 1979 to 1982 a
combined Combined may refer to: * Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event ** Super combined (skiing) * Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event * T ...
event was held. The Saslong course is considered one of the five "classic" men's downhill races, along with
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...
's Kandahar ( GER),
Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbühel district (). Kitzbühel ...
's
Hahnenkamm Hahnenkamm (means "comb") may refer to *Hahnenkamm (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft), a federation of municipalities in Bavaria, Germany * Hahnenkamm, Greenland, a mountain in the Stauning Alps, Greenland *Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel The Hahnenkamm is a mo ...
( AUT), Wengen's Lauberhorn ( SUI), and Val-d'Isère's Criterium (
FRA A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
). It is well known for the "Camel Humps" (or "Bumps"), a series of three small jumps which racers must negotiate in quick succession. Two men have won the Saslong title four times in a career: Austrian Franz Klammer (1975, two races in 1976, and 1982) and Italy's Kristian Ghedina (1996, 1998, 1999, and 2001). If Super-G wins are also included, two other men have matched that feat: Peter Müller of Switzerland and Austrian
Michael Walchhofer Michael Walchhofer (born 28 April 1975) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria. Biography Walchhofer was born in Radstadt, Salzburg, Austria, and started his career in slalom, but then moved over to the speed events. During his car ...
. A women's
slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...
and parallel slalom were also held in
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
. Val Gardena is part of the
Sella Ronda The Sellaronda is the ski circuit around the Sella group in Northern Italy. The Sella massif lies between the four Ladin valleys of Badia, Gherdëina, Fascia, and Fodom and is divided between the provinces of South Tyrol, Trentino and Belluno. ...
alpine ski touring circuit.


Other sports

The Gardena Spring Trophy is an annual international figure skating competition held every spring in the Valley. Val Gardena has a Serie A ice hockey team, the Hockey Club Gardena.


Notable residents

* Carolina Kostner, figure skater *
Isolde Kostner Isolde Kostner (born 20 March 1975) is an Italian former Alpine skier who won two bronze medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics and a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics. She was the Italian flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Olym ...
, ski-champion *
Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
, record producer, songwriter, performer and DJ * Josef Moroder-Lusenberg, painter


See also

*
Woodcarved beggars Woodcarved Beggars originated as figures carved mostly in swiss pine, painted, or simply stained dark brown, generally from Gröden - Val Gardena in the Alps.Reinhard Haller, "Volkstümliche Schnitzerei. Profane Kleinplastiken", Callwey, 1989 (G ...


General sources

* Amelia Edwards. ''Untrodden peaks and unfrequented valleys. A midsummer ramble in the Dolomites.'' Longman's, Green and Co. London 1873. *
Margaret Warner Morley Margaret Warner Morley (February 17, 1858 in Montrose, Iowa – December 12, 1923 in Washington, D.C.) was an American educator, biologist, and author of many children's books on nature and biology. Biography Morley grew up in Brooklyn. She st ...
. ''Donkey John of the toy valley''. Chicago A. C. McClurg & Co. 1909.


Citations


External links

* * {{Authority control Ladinia Valleys of South Tyrol Ski areas and resorts in Italy