Urtijëi

Urtijëi
Comune
Chemun de Urtijëi Gemeinde St. Ulrich Comune di Ortisei
Urtijëi Location of Urtijëi in Italy
Coordinates:
Country	Italy
Region	Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Province / Metropolitan city	South Tyrol (BZ)
Government
• Mayor	Tobia Moroder
Area
• Total	24.3 km2 (9.4 sq mi)
Elevation	1,230 m (4,040 ft)
Population (Nov. 2010)
• Total	4,637
• Density	190/km2 (490/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Italian: gardenesicode: it is deprecated German: Sankt Ulricher
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	39046
Dialing code	0471
Patron saint	San Udalricus
Saint day	July 4
Website	Official website

Urtijëi (Ladin, pronounced [uʁtiˈʒɜi̯] <phonos file="Urtijei.ogg">Listen</phonos>; German: St. Ulrich in Gröden; Italian: Ortiseicode: it is deprecated [ortiˈzɛi]) is a town of 4,637 inhabitants in South Tyrol in northern Italy. It occupies the Val Gardena within the Dolomites, a mountain chain that is part of the Alps.

Geography

Urtijëi borders the following municipalities: Kastelruth, Villnöß, Lajen and Santa Cristina Gherdëina.

History

The Ladin-language name Urtijëi derives from the Latin word urtica and the suffix -etum with the meaning "place of nettles".

From 1860 to 1914 Urtijëi experienced a relevant economical growth due to the opening of a major road connecting Val Gardena to the main railroad; as a result the local woodcarving industry flourished. International tourism developed through the discovery of the Dolomites first by English tourists, and subsequently visitors from other parts of Austria-Hungary as well as the German Empire. Currently, the town's economy is mostly based on winter skiing tourism, summer hiking tourism, and woodcarving.

Coat of arms

The emblem shows Saint Ulrich, with the bishop's vestments and an or cross in his right hand, mounted on a horse, with or harness, on three vert mountains on or. The emblem is decorated with an azure chief, with three small shields alternating with two or bees; the bees symbolize the laboriousness of the inhabitants. The coat of arms was granted in 1907 and reappointed in 1970.

Main sights

Church of St. Jacob

• Museum Gherdëina, the local heritage museum.
• Parish Church of Urtijëi.

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2011 census, 84.19% of the population speaks Ladin, 9.30% German and 6.51% Italian as first language.

Demographic history

Culture

Notable people

• Carolina Kostner
• Giorgio Moroder
• Isolde Kostner
• Josef Moroder-Lusenberg
• Ernesto Prinoth
• Luis Trenker

Family names

The most frequent family names in Urtijëi are:

• Moroder 279
• Demetz 217
• Kostner 174

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• (Italian) (Ladin) (German) Homepage of the municipality
• Museum Gherdëina - Local heritage museum