Bruneck city
The little city of Brunico-Bruneck is the geographical, cultural, and economic center of the Val Pusteria-Pustertal valley. With its numerous sights worth seeing, festivals, and top events, Brunico is the point of attraction for visitors of all ages.
Brunico is at an elevation of 835 m (2,740 ft.) above sea level, in the midst of a broad valley basin, surrounded by tall mountains: the medieval city is bordered on the north by the Valle Aurina-Ahrntal with its glaciers of the Zillertal Alps, and on the south by the Val Badia-Gadertal with its peaks of the Dolomites.
The History of Brunico
The first mention of Bruneck in a document dates back to 1256. Around 1250, the bishop of Bressanone-Brixen, Count Bruno of Wullenstätten and Kirchberg, built a fortress on the Schlossberg hill, thus laying the cornerstone for the city that would then be historically documented in 1256. As the only city in the Val Pusteria, it soon became the economic center through lively trade, but it also subsequently developed into a cultural center.
Trade and industry blossomed in the city, but later it was above all else handicrafts which flourished. Today, Brunico has 16,000 inhabitants and an area of 5,000 hectares (19 square miles). The municipality of Brunico, along with the surrounding villages of Riscone-Reischach, S. Giorgio-St. Georgen, Stegona-Stegen, Villa S. Caterina-Aufhofen, Teodone-Dietenheim, Lunes-Luns, and Ameto-Amaten, offers vacationers some five thousand guest beds. On top of that, Brunico is the shopping center for the entire Val Pusteria, and today, the via Centrale-Stadtgasse is among the most beautiful shopping streets in all of South Tyrol-Südtirol.
