Val Pusteria - Val Pusteria

Val Pusteria or Pusteria Valley (Pustertal in German, Val de Puster in Ladin) is an alpine valley ofItaly andAustria.

To know

The political borders of the Val Pusteria do not coincide with the geographical ones; the state border in fact after the end of the First World War in 1918 is not placed on the watershed line (saddle of Dobbiaco) but, for strictly military reasons, it was set 6 kilometers further east at a lower altitude, precisely in the locality Prato alla Drava. Val Pusteria is therefore politically divided between two states: Italy and Austria.

Geographical notes

Val Pusteria is a valley of the Eastern Alps about 100 km long, located between theSouth Tyrol and the Tyrol Eastern, in the east-west direction between Bressanone is Lienz.

The western half of the valley is tributary to the Adriatic as it is crossed by the La Rienza stream, a tributary of the Isarco. The eastern half is tributary to the Black Sea. The watershed is located at the pass of Dobbiaco. La Rienza (in GermanRienz) is a river in South Tyrol about 90 km long, which rises in the Ampezzo Dolomites south of Dobbiaco precisely on the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. The stream initially descends through the Rienza valley, and enters the Landro valley, passing through the Landro lake (in GermanDürrensee) and then for the Dobbiaco lake. The stream thus enters the Val Pusteria near Dobbiaco and flows along the entire valley. The stream passes through various dams such as the dike di Valdaora and the dam of Vandoies. The river ends its run a Bressanone (in GermanBrixen) flowing into the Isarco.

The Italian part corresponds administratively to the Val Pusteria district, established in 1969, with the capital Brunico. It includes 26 municipalities with a total of 73,000 inhabitants and a territory of 2,071 km².

Background

Around 50 AD the famous Via Claudia Augusta was built which connected Verona to Augusta. In the valley some milestones were found that prove that the Pusteria was connected to the much more famous artery.

In 1764 the Empress Maria Theresa of Habsburg initiated the expansion of the roadway and therefore the postal service that passed through the Pusteria. A little less than a century later, in 1847, Emperor Ferdinand I strengthened the Pusteria road, as this was a strategic road between Vienna and northern Italy.

In 1938 the roadway was once again put into action. In addition to some changes in the layout, the carriageway was widened throughout its course. Also in those years, it was decided to fortify the valley, as it was considered a strategic route; several defensive barrages were built, belonging to the XV Sector of Cover Pusteria of the Vallo Alpino in South Tyrol.

After the war people began to think about the strengthening of the Alemagna road, which was to connect Venice to Munich, but since the seventies there have been several protests from the local population.

In the nineties the traffic in Pusteria reached such levels that the province began to build several ring roads, to Brunico and later to Rio di Pusteria, Monguelfo is Villabassa.

Spoken languages

The population is at least 80% native speakers German, the Ladins are over 10%. The Italian component is present in Brunico, Dobbiaco is San Candido.

Territories and tourist destinations

Urban centers

In Tyrol (Austria)

Other destinations

How to get

By plane

The nearest airports are:

• Airport of Bolzano;
• Airport of Innsbruck;
• Airport of Treviso;
• Verona-Villafranca Airport;
• Airport of Munich

By car

A22 Brennero motorway: exit Bressanone and from here directly on the road to Val Pusteria.

On the train

Railway station of Bressanone, on the Brenner line from Munich to Verona.

How to get around

The narrow valley is crossed by the Val Pusteria railway, the Pusteria state road 49 and, almost always parallel to these, there is the Pusteria cycle path.

Main crossings

• With the'Austria
  • Gola Pass
  • Stalle Pass
  • Forcella del Picco
• With the Veneto
  • Cimabanche Pass
  • Pass of Monte Croce di Comelico
  • Pass of Campolongo
• In South Tyrol
  • Passo delle Erbe
  • Gardena Pass
  • Sella di Dobbiaco
  • Furcia Pass

Bike paths in South Tyrol

In the nineties, a network of cycle paths in Alto Adige (in German Radwege) was launched that connect all the main valleys to each other and to neighboring regions, including those of other states (theAustria and the Switzerland).

All the main access roads in South Tyrol are connected with cycle paths, equipped with special bilingual signs. So from the capital Bolzano you reach the borders of South Tyrol, that is: Resia, Brenner, San Candido, val Monastero is Salorno. However, the cycle paths do not end in these border areas, but rather continue in the following provinces or states. In addition to these main paths, there are also other less important ones from a road point of view, but perhaps even more fascinating. For example, there are cycle paths, or are under construction, along the Val di Vizze, along the Val di Landro (cycle path of the Dolomites), along the Sesto valley, along the Val Gardena, along the Val di Sarentino, along the Val Passiria , along the Valle Aurina, along the Anterselva valley, along the Casies valley, and many others.

The cycle path that starts from the Brenner and initially descends along the valley of the Isarco, until Bolzano, and continues following the Corsa dell'Adige until it joins the cycle path of the Adige Valley is part of the project of cyclopista del Sole, cyclopath that reaches up to Sicily is Sardinia.

Another important cycle path is that of the Val Venosta, which starts from the Resia pass and first descends to Merano and finally to Bolzano following the course of the Adige.

The main tracks

• Dolomites cycle path
• Dobbiaco - Lienz cycle path
• Pusteria cycle path
• Via Claudia Augusta

What see

What to do

At the table

Safety

Itineraries

• Castles of South Tyrol - A journey to discover the South Tyrolean manors which, born for military purposes, later became largely refined stately homes, centers of culture, examples of fine architecture, testimony to the greatness of the families who built them.

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Val Pusteria
• Commons contains images or other files on Val Pusteria

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