Prettau

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Prettau
(Italian: Predoi )
coat of arms
Coat of arms of Prettau
 map
Prettau in South Tyrol - Positionskarte.svg
State : Italy
Region : Trentino-South Tyrol
Province : Bolzano - South Tyrol
District community : Val Pusteria
Inhabitants :
(VZ 2011 / 31.12.2019) 		605/545
Language groups :
(according to 2011 census ) 		97.33% German
2.67% Italian
0.0% Ladin
Coordinates 47 ° 2 ′  N , 12 ° 6 ′  E Coordinates: 47 ° 2 ′  N , 12 ° 6 ′  E
Altitude : 1325– 3499  m slm (center: 1475  m slm )
Surface: 86.49 km²
Permanent settlement area: 2.7 km²
Neighboring municipalities: Ahrntal , Brandberg ( A ), Krimml (A), Prägraten am Großvenediger (A), Sand in Taufers , Sankt Jakob in Defereggen (A)
Postal code : 39030
Area code : 0474
ISTAT number: 021068
Tax number: 81001720218
Mayor  (2015): Robert Alexander Steger ( SVP )

Prettau ([ prɛˈtaʊ̯ ]; Italian : Predoi ) is an Italian municipality with 545 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) in the Ahrntal in South Tyrol . It lies in the rearmost section of the Ahrntal and forms the northernmost municipality in Italy on the border with the Austrian states of Tyrol and Salzburg . 70% of the municipality is located in the Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park . The community consists of the main village Prettau and the hamlet of Kasern .

Surname

The name of the village of Prettau is derived from Egon Kühebacher from "broad Au"; the oldest documented mentions are Braittenowe (in 1250), Pratau (1278) and Praitawe (1338).

According to Kühebacher, Kasern can be traced back to the Old High German word kasari (<Latin. Casarium ) with the meaning "Alm-" or "Sennhütte" - based on the Kasern rest house located there, today the Berghotel Kasern ; it is attested as ze Chesern (1315/25) and Käsrer (1577).

Furthermore, the district Weiher ( on the Wyer , 1534), as well as the alpine settlements Prastmann (with the pilgrimage church Hl. Geist) and Trinkstein belong to Prettau .

The demonym for Prettau's residents is Prettnauer (not Prettauer ).

Prettau

history

Until the end of the First World War, Prettau belonged to the County of Tyrol and thus to Austria-Hungary . With the Treaty of Saint-Germain in 1920, the village came to Italy together with most of Tyrol south of the main Alpine ridge . In 1926 Prettau was merged with other villages in the valley by the fascist administration to form the municipality of Ahrntal . In 1958 Prettau was re-established as an independent municipality.

geography

Prettau, the northernmost municipality in Italy, is located in the far northeast of South Tyrol in the rearmost section of the Ahrntal . This is separated from the rest of the Ahrntal by a narrow point called a gorge (e) and is therefore sometimes viewed as an independent valley . The administrative border to the municipality of Ahrntal also runs there. In the north, east and south-east Prettau is framed by the Italian-Austrian border , behind which North Tyrol , Salzburg and East Tyrol are located. The municipality is separated from these areas by the high mountain ridges of the Zillertal Alps and the Venediger group . The municipality is only accessible to road traffic through the valley road, which starts in the Pustertal in the Bruneck area and reaches Prettau from the southwest.

The settlement surfaces of 86.49 square kilometer Gemeindegebiets concentrate on the valley floor, in particular in the capital Prettau (1450- 1490  m slm ) and in Weiler Kasern (1570- 1610  m ) in the valley, close to the sources of the Ahr .

The northern boundary Prettaus forms the west over stroking, for Alpenhauptkamm counting Ziller main ridge to the Birnlücke ( 2665  m ), the transition to Venedigergruppe. Important peaks in the Prettau part of the Zillertal main ridge are the Rauhkofel ( 3251  m ) and the Dreiecker ( 2829  m ). East of the Krimmler Tauern ( 2634  m ) the ridge bulges slightly to the north: Here, with the Klockerkarkopf ( 2911  m ), the western ( 2835  m ) and the eastern Zwillingsköpfl ( 2841  m ), the northernmost points of Italy are located.

In the east and south, Prettau is framed by mountains of the Venediger group, which are included in the Tauern main ridge , Rosshuf ridge , Umbalkamm , Prettaukamm and the Durreck group. The eastern border is formed by a line that extends from the Dreiherrnspitze ( 3499  m ) over the Hohe Rosshuf ( 3199  m ) and the Ahrner Kopf ( 3051  m ) to the Rötspitze ( 3496  m ); Dreiherrnspitze and Rötspitze are the highest peaks in the municipality. In the south, the Ochsenlenke ( 2614  m ) forms a transition into the Reintal (municipality of Sand in Taufers ).

About 70% of the community area is protected in the Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park .

politics

Municipal Council (2015)
11
1
11 1 
A total of 12 seats

Mayor since 1958:

  • Josef Zitturi: 1958–1967
  • Hans Benedikter : 1967–1971
  • Josef Steger: 1971–1990
  • Alois Brugger: 1990-2010
  • Robert Alexander Steger: since 2010

economy

Ruins of the former melting furnace outside of today's visitor mine

Important branches of the economy are agriculture , forestry and tourism .

Prettau is also known for lace making and mask carving. After the mine was closed in 1893, poverty returned to the village and the population had to look for new ways to earn a living. The pastor at the time, Franz Kleinlechner, sent three young girls from Prettau to Vienna to learn the craft of lace. After they returned, Rosa Kofler-Mittermair set up a lace school, which still exists today.

Over time, the flourishing tourism brought a certain degree of prosperity back to the village. Today, thanks to its favorable location at the head of the valley, Prettau and its Kasern district are a popular starting point for ski tours and, with its “sun trail”, a valued cross-country skiing area.

education

In Prettau there is a primary school that is part of the school district of the neighboring municipality of Ahrntal.

Attractions

The parish church of Prettau is dedicated to St. Valentin von Terni . The late Gothic church building with a three-sided choir closure, pointed-arched tracery windows and loop rib vaults was built in 1489 and later extended to the west.

The end of the Ahrntal valley with the Holy Spirit Chapel

The miners' church of Holy Spirit , located at the head of the valley of Kasern , was inaugurated in 1455 by Cardinal Nikolaus Cusanus , the then Bishop of Brixen . It was also visited by Cardinal Josef Ratzinger .

Possibly as early as the Bronze Age , but certainly since the late Middle Ages , copper was mined in Prettau . Parts of the mine , which was abandoned in 1960 , now serve as a show mine for the South Tyrolean Mining Museum . In addition, a healing climate tunnel for respiratory therapy (speleotherapy) against asthma and other respiratory diseases was set up. Its special microclimate can provide relief for people with respiratory problems.

The former miners' house in the district of Kasern was redesigned in 2019 thanks to a new type of metal hydride storage system into an energy self-sufficient residential building, whose entire energy budget is designed to be CO2-neutral .

coat of arms

Typical carved wooden mask from Prettau

The coat of arms was awarded in 1967. The miner's hammers are related to ancient copper mining.

Population development

  • 1970: 540 inhabitants
  • 1990: 600 inhabitants
  • 2000: 620 inhabitants
  • 2009: 596 inhabitants
  • 2017: 551 inhabitants

Personalities

literature

  • Karl Gruber : 500 years of the Prettau Church. Edited by the Prettau parish office. Bruneck: dipdruck 1989.
  • Stefan Steinhauser, Eduard Tasser: Prettau: Pictures, facts, stories - 50 years of the Prettau community. Prettau: Municipality of Prettau 2008.
  • Stefan Steinhauser: 90 years of the Prettau volunteer fire brigade: Festschrift for the ceremonial handover of the new fire station. Prettau: Municipality of Prettau 2011.
  • Franz Tramberger: From the history of the mine in Prettau . In: Der Schlern , 1921, pp. 61–63. (on-line)

Web links

Commons : Prettau  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Egon Kühebacher: The place names of South Tyrol and their history , vol. 1, Bozen: Athesia 1995, p. 334f. ISBN 88-7014-634-0
  2. ^ Egon Kühebacher: The place names of South Tyrol and their history , Vol. 1, Bozen: Athesia 1995, p. 186. ISBN 88-7014-634-0
  3. ^ Egon Kühebacher: The place names of South Tyrol and their history , Vol. 1, Bozen: Athesia 1995, p. 530. ISBN 88-7014-634-0
  4. ↑ The mayors of the South Tyrolean municipalities since 1952. (PDF; 15 MB) In: Festschrift 50 Years of the South Tyrolean Association of Municipalities 1954–2004. Association of South Tyrolean municipalities, pp. 139–159 , accessed on November 16, 2015 .
  5. ^ Ahrntal school district. South Tyrolean Citizens' Network , accessed on October 25, 2014 .
  6. ↑ The world's first energy self-sufficient hydrogen house is located in the Ahrntal - osttirol-heute.at. In: osttirol-heute.at. Retrieved June 14, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Hydrogen house - building biology magazine. In: baubiologie-magazin.de. Retrieved June 14, 2020 .
  8. ↑ First energy-saving house with Proton Motor Fuel Cell and Hy2green storage from GKN - openPR. In: openpr.de. Retrieved June 14, 2020 .