San Felice in Val di Non - Sankt Felix 11 2006

San Felice in Val di Non - Sankt Felix 1909

St. Felix (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

''San Felice'') is 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 ...

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 ...

, and is together with Unsere Liebe Frau im Walde one of the two fractions of the municipality Unsere liebe Frau im Walde-St. Felix. The village is situated 1265 meters above sea level in the

Non Valley The Non Valley ( or ; Nones: ''Val de Nòn''; ; ) is a valley mainly in the Trentino. Moreover, the (also known as simply , in italian), a subregion, consists of three primarily German-speaking municipalities in the province of South Tyrol, Nor ...

and covers an area of 1480 hectares. St. Felix is located directly on the border to the Italian-speaking province of

Trentino Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...

. Its inhabitants are native German speakers and for this reason, the area is called Deutschnonsberg (literally ''German Non Mountain''). The main attractions of this remote village include the lake ''Felixer Weiher'' (1605 meters above sea level).

Short historical overview

Until the 19th century, St. Felix was called Caseid (from Italian ''casetta'', meaning small house, little settlement). It was first mentioned in 1233 in connection with Vitus de Vasio (of castle Vasio, between

Fondo Fondo () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about north of Trento, precisely at the northern limit of the Val di Non. Fondo borders the following municipalities: Bre ...

and Brez). Today's name derives from the small church in the town that was built in honor of Saint Felix of Nola. For the short period from 1810 to 1814 it was part of the newly founded

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. St. Felix became an independent municipality when it split from Unsere Liebe Frau im Walde in 1864. Until the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the village was part of the

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an Imperial State, 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 th ...

, a crown land of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. In 1919, the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye sanctioned the annexation of the southern parts of Tyrol, including St. Felix, by Italy. In 1928, St. Felix was united with Fondo and became part of the Province of Trento (

). It became independent again in 1947. In 1948, St. Felix became part of the predominantly German-speaking Province of South Tyrol. Until then, the provincial border was the Gampen Pass (Italian ''Passo delle Palade''). Afterwards, the border was moved south of St. Felix. The two neighboring municipalities of St. Felix and Unsere Liebe Frau im Walde were merged in 1974. Juridically, St. Felix belonged to the district court of Fondo until 1964. In 1970, it fell under the authority of the district court of

Meran Merano (, ; ) or Meran () is a (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier Va ...

. Originally, St. Felix belonged to the parish of Fondo. In 1693, the provost of the monastery Gries assigned the burial place St. Christoph and its church to the Caseidians. The church of St. Christoph is situated between St. Felix and Unsere Liebe Frau im Walde and was built around 1500 on the sight of a much earlier church. The first building dates back to 1476. From 1723 to 1824, it was parochially part of the parish of Fondo and had its own curate. The parish church dedicated to the Saint Felix was built in 1742. The church tower was completed in 1758. In 1902 the church was renovated. The town's saint's day, called the ''Felixentag'' (''Felix Day''), is celebrated on the last Sunday of August.

Politics

The mayors of St. Felix from 1952 to 1974 were: * Alois Geiser: 1952–1956 * Johann Weiss: 1956–1957 * Franz Geiser: 1957–1964 * Johann Weiss: 1964–1974

References

External links

* https://www.ulfraufelix.eu/system/web/default.aspx?sprache=1 {{Coord, 46, 29, 32, N, 11, 07, 50, E, type:city_region:IT, display=title Former municipalities of South Tyrol Frazioni of South Tyrol

Short historical overview

Politics

References

Further reading

External links