Rodeneck (; ) is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) and a village in

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

in northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Geography

Rodeneck borders the following municipalities:

Kiens Kiens (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and a village in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northeast of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 2,726 and an area of .Overall demographics and other statisti ...

Lüsen Lüsen (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and a village in South Tyrol, located about northeast of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 1,543 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: Italian statisti ...

, Mühlbach, Natz-Schabs,

St. Lorenzen St. Lorenzen (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northeast of Bolzano. As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 3,752 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistic ...

and Vintl. In Rodeneck there are 7 municipal fractions: Vill, the largest and most populous fraction of the municipality, Nauders, Gifen, St. Pauls, Spisses, Ahnerberg and Fröllerberg, the municipal fraction with the fewest inhabitants

History

Origin

The presence of non-local

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

and

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

fragments suggests that the area was inhabited by hunters during the middle

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

(5000 BC). The discovery of middle

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

forts dates permanent settlement to at least 1500 BC. The community was mentioned by name for the first time in the ''Actum Rotungun'' of 1050–1065 AD as a place that has made donations to the bishop. In the following centuries, the name has appeared in a variety of forms. Between 1140 and 1147, Bishop Hartmann of

Brixen Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...

made the town an alod and bestowed it upon his

ministerialis The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a legally unfree but socially elite class of knights, administrators, and officials in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, drawn from a mix of servile origins, free commoners, and ...

Frederick II and his wife Gerbirg, who built a castle there. At the start of the 19th century, Rodeneck became a municipality, administered by a mayor since 1822. In 1926, the municipality lost its autonomy and became part of the municipality of Mühlbach, and then winning back its independence in 1955 after a long struggle.

Coat-of-arms

The emblem is azure a chevron

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 b ...

. It is the insignia of the Lords of ''Rodank'' who built the ''Rodenegg'' Castle in 1140. The coat of arms was granted in 1969.Heraldry of the World: Rodeneck
/ref>

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2024 census, 98.86% of the population speak German, 0.98% Italian and 0.16% Ladin as first language.

References

Bibliography

* Freed, John B. (1995). ''Noble Bondsmen: Ministerial Marriages in the Archdiocese of Salzburg, 1100–1343''. (Ithaca, NY:

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It is currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, maki ...

External links

Official website

{{Authority control Municipalities of South Tyrol