Bruneck
—  Comune  —
Stadtgemeinde Bruneck Città di Brunico
Coat of arms
Bruneck Location of Bruneck in Italy
Coordinates: 46°48′N 11°56′E / 46.8°N 11.933°E / 46.8; 11.933
Country	Italy
Region	Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Province	South Tyrol (BZ)
Frazioni	Aufhofen (Villa Santa Caterina), Dietenheim (Teodone), Luns (Lunes), Reischach (Riscone), Stegen (Stegona), St. Georgen (San Giorgio)
Government
• Mayor	Christian Tschurtschenthaler
Area
• Total	45 km2 (17 sq mi)
Elevation	838 m (2,749 ft)
Population (Nov. 2010)
• Total	15,491
• Density	340/km2 (890/sq mi)
Demonym	German: Brunecker Italian: Brunicensi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	39031
Dialing code	0474
Website	Official website

Bruneck (Italian: Brunico; Ladin: Bornech or Burnech; Latin: Branecium or Brunopolis) is the largest town in the Puster Valley in the Italian province of South Tyrol. Bruneck lies at the confluence of the Ahr with the Rienz (which itself flows into the Eisack river.

Bruneck lies 35 km (22 mi) from Brixen and 70 km (43 mi) from Bolzano and from the Brenner Pass. To the east, the town is 60 km (37 mi) from Winnebach on the border to East Tyrol.

History[link]

Church of the Assumption of Mary

Origin[link]

Bruneck was founded by the Prince-Bishop Bruno von Kirchberg of Bruneck, and was first mentioned on 23 February 1256. At that time the town consisted of two rows of houses forming a narrow lane. The town walls and moat were completed in 1336 under Bishop Albert von Enn. Soon thereafter, further rows of houses were built outside the eastern gate. These led to the small Church of Our Lady (today's Church of the Assumption of Mary). The first church inside the town walles (at first only a small chapel) was built beneath the castle by the Brunecker burgher Niklas Stuck. This church is today the Rainkirche. In 1358, Heinrich von Stuck, Niklas's brother, funded the hospital/almshouse that was built in the following years.

Soon the town received the right to hold a weekly market and impose high justice. A castle leader occupied the fortress as the bishop's representative.

In the 14th and 15th centuries there was brisk trade between Augsburg and Venice. Some of the traded goods were brought through the Puster Valley and often stored long-term in Bruneck on the Ballplatz. This soon brought the town prosperity and fame. In this time the Puster Valley painting school was founded by the painter Hans von Bruneck and others. The great masters Michael Pacher and Friedrich Pacher also studied at this school. Michael Pacher's studio in Bruneck became one of the most famous institutes in the whole Alpine region. For this reason, Bruneck is also known as Michael-Pacher-Stadt.

In 1500 the Puster Valley was reunited with Tyrol because of a testamentary contract between the house of Habsburg and the counts of Görz-Tirol. The town of Bruneck remained an episcopal possession.

In 1610 the town of Bruneck, which had previously belonged to the parish of St. Lorenzen, became a parish in its own right. The first parish priest documented was Johann Herlin in 1613. In 1626 the Capuchin order came to Bruneck. The Fathers built themselves a monastery at the "Spitalangerle", which still exists today. In 1741 a convent was built by the Ursulines.

On 11 April 1723 the worst fire in the town's history occurred. In Oberragen, not far from the church, a fire broke out, which was soon spread by the strong east wind across a large part of the town, mostly destroying it.

During the long-lasting Napoleonic Wars the town suffered no material damage, but as a marching station went into great debt because of housing and feeding soldiers and infantrymen for many years.

After World War I, South Tyrol and so also Bruneck became part of the Italian State, getting the Italian name.

The city was spared damage in World War I, but in World War II the town was bombed, leading to loss of both life and property.

Coat-of-arms[link]

The emblem is a tower with a sloping roof, on an embattled wall with the silver gate lifted. The gules tower and the wall are placed on a vert hill with three peaks: the castle was built by Bishop Bruno von Kirchberg in the second half of the thirteenth century. The castle appeared on the coat of arms for the first time in the second half of the fifteenth century. The emblem was adopted in 1931.^[1]

Society[link]

Linguistic distribution[link]

According to the 2001 census, 83.14% of the population speak German, 14.91% Italian and 1.95% Ladin as first language.^[2]

Notable people associated with Bruneck[link]

• Markus Lanz, television presenter in Germany
• Nanni Moretti, film director
• Manfred Reichegger, ski mountaineer
• Karin Knapp, tennis player

Economy[link]

After the war, industrial zones, workshops, and department stores were built, permitting the town considerable economic and geographic growth. In the 1960s, tourism was especially important to the town, resulting in the building of numerous new hotels and guest houses.

Today Bruneck is characterizied by the manufacturing and service industries. Important tourist centers are found all around Bruneck. Especially worthy of mention is the ski resort on Kronplatz mountain.

As of 22 October 2001, the day of the Italian population and employment census, Bruneck had 10,692 employed persons in 1,678 workplaces, making it the second-largest employer of the province. It lay only just after Brixen (Bressanone), which on census day employed 239 fewer people. Five companies in the town employ more than 250 people each, and five more companies employ more than 100 people each.

Tourism[link]

All year round many famous markets and festivals happen here. For example the popular Stegener Market at the end of October, the largest market in the whole of Tyrol.

Accommodation[link]

• Hotel Petrus, Skiing & Wellness Hotel at the Kronplatz in Bruneck

Twin towns[link]

• Brignoles, France
• Groß-Gerau, Germany
• Tielt, Belgium
• Szamotuły, Poland

Sports[link]

The locality is home to HC Pustertal – Val Pusteria Wolves (German: HC Pustertal), a professional ice hockey team currently playing in the country's top division, Serie A1.

Gallery[link]

• 

  View of Bruneck

• 

  Bruneck Cemetery

• 

  Pedestrian zone

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bruneck

• (German) (Italian) Homepage of the municipality
• Photos from Brunico

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