Ritten

"Renon" redirects here. For the character in Castlevania, see Castlevania (Nintendo 64 game).

Ritten
—  Comune  —
Gemeinde Ritten Comune di Renon
The village of Unterinn in Ritten
Ritten Location of Ritten in Italy
Coordinates: 46°32′N 11°27′E / 46.533°N 11.45°E / 46.533; 11.45Coordinates: 46°32′N 11°27′E / 46.533°N 11.45°E / 46.533; 11.45
Country	Italy
Region	Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Province	South Tyrol (BZ)
Frazioni	Oberinn (Auna di Sopra), Unterinn (Auna di Sotto), Atzwang (Campodazzo), Klobenstein (Collalbo), Lengmoos (Longomoso), Lengstein (Longostagno), Gissmann (Madonnina), Mittelberg (Monte di Mezzo), Rotwand (Pietrarossa), Oberbozen (Soprabolzano), Signat (Signato), Sill, Wangen (Vanga)
Government
- Mayor	Paul Lintner
Area
- Total	111 km2 (42.9 sq mi)
Elevation	1,154 m (3,786 ft)
Population (Nov. 2010)
- Total	7,597
- Density	68.4/km2 (177.3/sq mi)
Demonym	German: Rittner Italian: renonesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	39054
Dialing code	0471
Website	Official website

Ritten (Italian: Renon) is a comune (municipality) in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.

Territory

The 111 km² community is named after the high plateau (1100-1400 m), the Ritten or the Renon, on which most of the villages are located. The plateau forms the southeast tip of the Sarntal Alps mountain range and is located between, and on average 800 m above, the rivers Eisack and Talfer. Ritten lies directly northeast of Bolzano, settled on the "meeting point" of the above rivers.

Ritten borders the following municipalities: Barbian, Bolzano, Kastelruth, Karneid, Völs, Jenesien, Sarntal and Villanders.

As of 30 November 2010, Ritten had a population of 7,597.^[1]

There are 17 fraziones (subdivisions, usually consisting of one or a few villages and hamlets). These include the central village Klobenstein (Collalbo), in which the townhall is located, as well as Atzwang (Campodazzo), Gissmann (Madonnina), Lengmoos (Longomoso), Lengstein (Longostagno), Mittelberg (Monte di Mezzo), Oberbozen (Soprabolzano), Oberinn (Auna di Sopra), Rotwand (Pietrarossa), Siffian (Siffiano), Signat (Signato), Sill (Castel Novale), Unterinn (Auna di Sotto), Wangen (Vanga), and Wolfsgruben (Costalovara).

Of these only Atzwang and Sill are not located on the plateau, but on the rivers Eisack and Talfer, respectively.

History

Earth pyramids in Ritten

The mountain ridge is first mentioned in AD 870 as "Mons Ritanus". Already around 1200 a mountain inn was established on the plateau. In 1237 Runkelstein Castle was built on a rocky spur in Ritten territory by the lords of Wangen.

The Tyrolean patriotic hero Peter Mayr (1767-1810), involved in the rebellion against Napoleon's forces that occupied Tyrol, was born in the village of Siffian in Ritten.

From the 17th century Ritten has been a popular summer destination for citizens of Bolzano, since the air is considerably cooler on the plateau. Ritten is connected with Bolzano with a provincial road and with a cableway from Oberbozen, the longest cableway of the world in one track, about 4 km long and 12 minutes to travel. This cableway replaced in 1960 the previous rack railway, built in 1907. The railway is still in function on the mountain side between Maria Himmelfahrt and Klobenstein.

Coat-of-arms

The emblem consists of gules two chevrons embowed argent; it is the arms of the Lords of Zwingenstein who ruled the village from their Castle until 1531. The emblem was adopted in 1967. ^[2]

Main sights

Near Oberbozen and Lengstein are several groups of fairy chimneys (earth pyramids).

Klobenstein has a high altitude (1198 m) outdoor artificial ice track, the Arena Ritten or Ritten Kunsteisbahn, at which the 2007 and 2011 European Allround Speed Skating Championships and many World Cup events have been held.

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2001 census, 95.96% of the population speak German, 3.77% Italian and 0.26% Ladin as first language.^[3]

Demographic evolution

Location of Ritten within South Tyrol

References

1. ^ South Tyrol in figures 2008 by the Provincial Statistics Institute ASTAT, part of Istat.
2. ^ Heraldry of the World: Ritten
3. ^ Oscar Benvenuto (ed.): "South Tyrol in Figures 2008", Provincial Statistics Institute of the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol, Bozen/Bolzano 2007, p. 17, table 10

External links

• (German) (Italian) Homepage of the municipality