Sterzing (; ) 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 ...

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 ...

. It is the main town of the southern

Wipptal The Wipp Valley () is an Alpine valley in Tyrol, Austria and in South Tyrol, Italy, running between Innsbruck and Franzensfeste. The Brenner Pass (1,374 m) at the Austro-Italian border divides it into the northern, Austrian Lower Wipp Valley (' ...

, and the

Eisack The Eisack (, ; ; or ) 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 draws water from an area of about 4,200 km2. After a ...

River flows through the medieval town. It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

History

Origin

The town traces its roots to 14 B.C., when

Nero Claudius Drusus Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (38–9 BC), commonly known in English as Drusus the Elder, was a Roman general and politician. He was a patrician Claudian but his mother was from a plebeian family. He was the son of Livia Drusilla and the s ...

founded a military camp called "Vipitenum" along the road between what are now Italy and Germany. Ancient ruins found nearby include a sepulchral monument dedicated to Postumia Vittorina, a milestone of the Imperator

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

period and a stone altar dedicated to Lord

Mithras Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman Empire, Roman mystery religion focused on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian peoples, Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mit ...

. The first mention of a town called ''Wibitina'' dates back to the years between 985 and 990. That name, which is still memorized in

, is traced back to the nearby Celto-Roman settlement Vibidina. In 1182, the German name ''Sterçengum'' appears in a document of the Sonnenburg abbey. In 1280, Duke

Meinhard Meinhard is a municipality in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The community lies in the North Hesse Low Mountain Range landscape on the edge of the Werra valley, 3 km from the district seat of Eschwege. Near ...

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

, promoted the town to the rank of city. As the region's proximity to the

Brenner Pass The Brenner Pass ( , shortly ; ) is a mountain pass over the Alps which forms the Austria-Italy border, border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Alps, major passes of the Eastern Alpine range and has the lowes ...

made it a frequent trade route, the

Fugger The House of Fugger () is a German family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists. ...

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

opened a branch to sort the products of the nearby silver mines in Ridnaun Valley and Pfleres Valley. Sterzing knew its magnificence in the 15th and 16th centuries after the 1443 fire which destroyed part of the town. New embattled houses were built, some late gothic style, in Neustadt (New Town) as: Town and Regional Trial House (1450), Hotel "Goldenes Kreuz" (1446), Fugger's Branch (1553), Rafenstein House (former Köchl, 1472), the Town Hall (1473), Geizkofler House (1600) and the Mining District House (1500) all still in use. The town is mentioned in several sources from the 16th to 19th centuries as ''Störzingen''. In the course of the Italianization of South Tyrol, the modern Italian name of the town ''Vipiteno'' - created from the old Roman settlement of ''Vipitenum'' - was made official. Throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, a number of wanted Nazis stayed in Sterzing at the Hotel Goldenes Kreuz which still exists today. At different times, people like Erich Priebke,

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...

, and

Josef Mengele Josef Mengele (; 16 March 19117 February 1979) was a Nazi German (SS) officer and physician during World War II at the Russian front and then at Auschwitz during the Holocaust, often dubbed the "Angel of Death" (). He performed Nazi hum ...

were in transit here as they waited for forged passports for their journey out of Europe and by ship to South America.

Coat of arms

King Henry I, Count of

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

, granted a seal, similar to the present, depicting a crippled pilgrim with a stick and the rosary above the Tyrolean eagle, this appeared as a coat of arms August 30, 1328. In 1524, the pilgrim is shown as a monk above the Tyrolean eagle.

Main sights

Religious architecture

Parish of "Our Lady of Marsh"

The Parish is the biggest church between Verona and Munich and was built from 1417 to 1451. The gothic altar, woodwork by

Hans Multscher Hans Multscher (ca. 1400–1467) was a German sculptor and painter. Multscher was born in Reichenhofen (today Leutkirch im Allgäu). He made himself acquainted with new artistic styles from northern France and the Netherlands, and became a free ...

of Ulm, is high and was completed in 1458. The church was later enlarged from 1497 to 1525 by Hans Lutz. In 1753, the church was then modified in baroque style, with paintings by Adam Mölk, and the gothic altar removed; presently the altar is on display at the Multscher Museum.

Holy Spirit Church

The Holy Spirit Church is the oldest gothic church in town. Built in 1399, in the same main building of the old Hospital, is located in the Town Square; the nave is painted in fresco by Giovanni of Bruneck (1402).

Saint Elisabeth Chapel

Saint Elisabeth Chapel is part of the Deutschhaus and was built in Baroque in 1729–33 by Giuseppe Delai. It has an octagonal plan with a rectangular sector concerning the altar and the choir. The dome frescos represent the patron saint and the coat-of-arms of the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

were painted by

Matthäus Günther Matthäus Günther (also Mathäus Günther) (7 September 1705 – 30 September 1788) was an important German painter and artist of the Baroque and Rococo era. Günther, who was born in Peissenberg (at that time: Tritschengreith), helped d ...

Kapuzinerkirche

The church was built in 1636 and was consecrated the following year to Saint Mary Magdalene; it has a rectangular apse and a lateral chapel dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The image in the niche on the façade represent the patron saint and is a work of the 17th century. The altarpieces presumably were painted by Josef Renzler in 1800 circa and represent Saint Mary Magdalene with Saint Francis and Saint Anthony; on the lateral altars are depicted Saint Felix and Saint Anthony of Padua.

Saint Margaret Church

The present church was built on the initiative of Bishop Paulinus Mayr in early Tyrolean baroque on a project of Peter Delai in 1678. The old church, mentioned for the first time in 1337, was restored and enlarged between 1459 and 1463 in gothic. In 1678, it was completely demolished, rebuilt, and consecrated in 1681. The bell tower is detached from the church and it comes from the previous church, in 1624, the Romanic tower was demolished and built the present. The façade was inspired by to renaissance with the characteristic Palladian tripartite windows. In the niches are placed the wooden sculptures of Saint Margaret and Saint Agnes and above the portal is a fresco showing the Last Supper. The imposing interior has one nave, large windows, and a vaulted ceiling with lunettes. The great high altar has six columns and an altarpiece representing the Coronation of Mary painted by Joseph Renzler in 1822, beside are two wood-carving of the Saints Francis Xavier and John of Nepomuk. Above the altar on the right is placed a statue of the Madonna with Child of 17th century bordered by the Rosary formed by fifteen painted discs presumably by Joseph Mildorfer.

Civil architecture

Zwölferturm

The Zwölferturm is a 46 m. high tower erected in 1470, it is the symbol of the city that divides the New Town from Old Town. A fire in 1867 destroyed the original spire, which was replaced with the present embattled roof.

Town Hall

Built in 1468–72 in late gothic style while, the angular "Erker" was added in 1526. In the patio take place a Roman stone altar, dedicated to Lord Mithras and a milestone of the Imperator Septimius Severus; the same period the military road was completed in 200 A.D.

New Town (Neustadt)

It is the main street of the old city centre with buildings erected after the 1417 fire, during a period when the town was prosperous with the trade and the silver mines in the nearby Ridnaun Valley and Pflersch Valley.

Military architecture

Reifenstein Castle

Outside the city is the Reifenstein Castle, one of the best-preserved medieval castles in the province.

Notable people

Olden times

* Vigil Raber (1490–1552) restorer and painter, later writer and editor and pianist * Michael Gaismair (1490 Sterzing – 1532), Social revolutionary, Master builder, leader of the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...

(1524–1525) * Michael Toxites (1514–1581), Doctor, Humanist and Literary man * Kasper Goltwurm (1524, Sterzing – 1559), Lutheran theologian Anton Mitterwurzer

More modern times

Johann Baptist Gänsbacher Johann Baptist Gänsbacher (8 May 1778 in Sterzing – 13 July 1844 in Vienna), Austrian musical composer, was born in 1778 in Sterzing in the County of Tyrol. His father, a schoolmaster and teacher of music, undertook his son's early education, ...

(1778–1844) composer and conductor * Anton Mitterwurzer (1818–76) baritone opera singer * Carl Domanig (1851–1913), Writer * Konrad Fischnaller (1855, Sterzing – 1941), teacher and historian *

Andreas Khol Andreas Khol (born 14 July 1941) is an Austrian politician of the centre-conservative Austrian People's Party, President of the National Council from 2002 to 2006. Andreas Khol was born in Bergen auf Rügen, Germany, and raised in the town of ...

(born 1941) an Austrian politician, raised in Sterzing *

Alexander Langer Alexander Langer (22 February 1946 – 3 July 1995) was an Italian journalist, peace activist, politician, translator, and teacher. After taking part in the Protests of 1968 and garnering regional attention during the 1970s as a peace and en ...

(1946–1995) Italian journalist, peace activist, politician, translator and teacher. *

Franco Bernabè Franco Bernabè (born 18 September 1948) is an Italian banker and manager, formerly the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Telecom Italia, appointed on 3 December 2007. Biography Bernabè was born at Vipiteno/Sterzing (Italy). ...

(born 1948) banker, formerly CEO of

Telecom Italia TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.) is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples (with the Telecom Italia Tower), which provides fixed, public and mobile telephony, and DSL data services. It is ...

* Johannes Pramsohler (born 1980) a violinist, conductor and record producer

Sport

* Carlo Gartner (1922–2013) alpine skier, competed in the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

and

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Discussions about Oslo hosting ...

Herbert Plank Herbert Plank (born 3 September 1954) is a former Italy, Italian Alpine skiing, alpine skier who competed in the 1976 Winter Olympics and in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Biography In 1976 he won the bronze medal in the Alpine Alpine skiing at the ...

(born 1954) alpine skier, competed in the

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

and

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

* Oswald Tötsch (born 1964) former alpine skier, competed in the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

Josef Polig Josef Polig (born 9 November 1968, in Sterzing/Vipiteno, Italy) is an Italian former Alpine skier. Biography He participated in the World Cup from 1988 to 1995 without getting a podium place, but he is among the few skiers who achieved top 10 p ...

(born 1968) former Alpine skier, gold medallist in the

1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...

* Gerhard Plankensteiner (born 1971) luger, bronze medallist at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

* Astrid Plank (born 1971) former alpine skier, competed in the

Reinhold Rainer Reinhold Rainer (born 29 August 1973 in Sterzing) is an Italian luger who has competed since 1994. Competing in four Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of eighth in the men's singles event both in 1998 and in 2006. Rainer's best finish at ...

(born 1973) luger, competed in four Winter Olympics *

Stéphanie Jiménez Stéphanie Jiménez (born 17 December 1974) is an Andorran mountain runner and skyrunner naturalised Italian. Biography Jiménez was born in Albi, France. She has competed in the Buff Skyrunner World Series since 2006, finishing in the top fiv ...

(born 1974) an Andorran mountain runner, lives in Sterzing * Devis Da Canal (born 1976) biathlete, competed at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

* Silvia Weissteiner (born 1979) long-distance runner, competed at the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Katja Haller Katja Haller (born 12 January 1981) is an Italian professional biathlete, who has been competing on the World Cup circuit since the 2001–02 season. She has had one second-place and one third-place finishes in World Cup races. She has also comp ...

(born 1981) professional biathlete, competed in three Summer Olympics *

Alex Schwazer Alex Schwazer, OMRI (born 26 December 1984), is an Italian race walker. He was the 2008 Olympic 50k walk champion. Just before the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was disqualified for two years for doping with EPO. He immediately admitted his guilt ...

(born 1984), former race walker * Hans Peter Fischnaller (born 1985), luger * Markus Gander (born 1989), ice hockey player *

Sandra Gasparini Sandra Gasparini (born 28 November 1990 in Sterzing) is an Italian luger who has competed since 2006. She won the silver medal in the mixed team event at the 2007 FIL World Luge Championships in Igls, Austria. Gaparini also won a bro ...

(born 1990) luger, competed at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

* Ivan Deluca (born 1997), ice hockey player

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2024 census, 67.66% of the population speak German, 32.08% Italian and 0.27% Ladin as first language.

Culture

*Sterzing/Vipiteno is a site to the Orfeo Music Festival, a renowned classical music event *The

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team Wipptal Broncos is based in the town

Economy

Industry

Sterzing is home of the Leitner Group, an international industry, a manufacturer of cable systems, snowgroomer, utility tracked vehicles, systems for urban rail called minimetrò, and wind turbines.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Sterzing is twinned with: *

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a town rights, medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbüh ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, since 1971

Gallery

File:Vipiteno View.JPG, A close sight of the inner town File:Vipiteno Twelve hour Tower.JPG, The town's symbol, the "Zwölferturm", is high and was built in 1472. File:Vipiteno Multscher Museum.JPG, The Multscher Museum: Exposition of ancient maps, documents and the plans for building the Parish altar by Hans Multscher File:Sterzing, die Elisabethkapelle Dm17440 IMG 1013 2019-08-03 11.13.jpg, Saint Elisabeth Chapel File:Vipiteno Parish Church 1.JPG, External sight of the Parish "Our Lady of Marsh" File:Vipiteno Parish Church 2.JPG, The central nave with frescos by Adam Mölk File:Sterzing, beeldhouwwerk op de Neustadt foto1 2012-*08-10 16.33.jpg, Sculpture at the Neustadt File:Pfarrkirche Sterzing76.jpg, Parish church

References

* Guide d'Italia, Trentino Alto Adige, Editrice TCI, 1976 * Grande Dizionario Enciclopedico, Unione Tipografico - Editrice Torinese, 1962

External links

*
Homepage of the municipality

Sterzing Webcam
* Orfeo Music Festiva

{{Authority control Municipalities of South Tyrol Borghi più belli d'Italia