Meran (Merano in Italian, Maran in Latin) is an Italian town of 41 152 inhabitants, the capital of the Burgraviato community in the autonomous province of Bolzano, in Trentino-Alto Adige.
Among the historic churches of Merano are the Cathedral of San
Nicolò, with the chapel of Santa Barbara, the church of Santo Spirito
(formerly the hospital church), those of Santa Maria del Conforto and
San Vigilio a Maia Bassa. The church of Santa Maria Assunta and the
church of San Giusto a Sinigo date back to the twentieth century.
In the center of the city there are also the Capuchin convent and
the former convent of the Poor Clares.
Kurhaus
Designed in 1873 by architect Josef Czerny, the Kurhaus
(nursing home) was inaugurated on 14 November 1874 and subsequently
renovated between 1913 and 1914 by architect Friedrich Ohmann. Ohmann
designed the large "Kursaal" room in the rotunda. The building underwent
a radical restoration in the 1980s, and now has 13 rooms and can
accommodate up to 1000 people
Walls and Doors
Towards the end
of the 13th century the city was equipped with walls also mentioned in
the first city ordinance of 1317. They enclosed the current historic
center and, in the southern part, also served as a defense against the
floods of the Passirio torrent which had no banks. The passages through
the walls took place exclusively in four doors.
Roman bridge
The Roman Bridge (Steinerner Steg) is the oldest bridge still preserved
in the city of Merano, dating back to 1617. It was built on the site
where other bridges had previously existed, mostly made of wood. It is
closed to traffic and connects the Steinach district to Maia Alta
crossing the Passirio stream.
Civic Theatre
Inaugurated in
1900, it is a civic theater designed by the architect Martin Dülfer
(1859-1942) of Munich and is characterized by its eclectic shapes from
the end of the century, inspired by the international Jugendstil. During
the fascist period it was named after Giacomo Puccini.
Merano
station
Built in the Viennese Jugendstil architectural style based on
the model of von Chabert with a square in front designed by the urban
planner Theodor Fischer.
In Merano there are barracks:
"Ugo Polonio" in via Cadorna, the
subject of a total renovation by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano in
the framework of a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of
Defence;
"Francesco Rossi", where housing for military personnel has
been built since 2014;
"Cesare Battisti", via Palade;
"Villa
Acqui" in via O. Huber, today the headquarters of the Revenue Agency;
initially called "Venosta", then dedicated to the Alpini captain "Leone
Bosin", who fell in Albania in 1941 and was awarded a silver medal for
military valour, the structure was built in the years 1938-1939 and
closed in 1991 leaving near the junction road with the MeBo the free
land now converted into a production area. In June 2016, the municipal
administration of Merano placed a commemorative plaque at the
intersection of via Zuegg and via Brogliati in memory of Bosin;
on 1
April 1946 the 6th Alpine Regiment was reconstituted in Merano.
Merano was the headquarters of the "Orobica" Alpine Brigade until 1991;
now the "Julia" Logistics Regiment is stationed, an operational
logistics unit of the Italian Army whose command is located at the
"Battisti" barracks.
Merano is a city that has very developed promenades, in a panoramic position. The most famous is the Tappeiner walk, which halfway up Monte Benedetto connects Quarazze to Castel San Zeno. From this walk it is easy to reach the Powder Tower and also the Gilf promenade, which winds along both sides of the Passirio just before its entrance into the city.
The toponym is attested as Mairania in 857, in 1242 as Meran and in 1317 as stat ze Meran ("city of Merano"). From the 15th century the form auf der Meran prevails. The toponym is a predial derived from Marius + anum, as many other Italian examples attest; e is easily explained as -arj-> -ajr-> -er-; the German form Meran, for the accent not portrayed, reflects a rather recent Germanization.
In Roman times
the area of present-day Merano is called Maia and is located on
the border between the province of Rezia and the Regio X Venetia et
Histria, on the northern edge of the municipium of Trento. The
castrum Maiense developed here in late antiquity, a fortified
settlement located starting from the fortress of the current San
Zeno castle (Zenoburg). Saint Valentine of Rezia (at the end of the
5th century) and Saint Corbinian of Freising (around 730) were
buried in the chapel of the castrum. The first mention of the name
of Mairania dates back to 857.
Merano developed considerably
under the family of arms which then became owners of the castle of
Tirolo. The dynasty took on the name of Counts of Tyrol during the
thirteenth century, in particular with Albert III of Tyrol and with
Mainardo II of Tyrol-Gorizia, when the ancient urban nucleus assumed
its characteristic physiognomy. The imposing Ortenstein tower
remains from that period (also known as the Powder Tower -
Pulverturm - because it has been used since the 16th century as an
explosives depot), once the seat of the princely burgrave.
Merano became a city during the 13th century and acquired citizens'
rights in 1317. In the 14th century, thanks also to the privileges
granted by Leopoldo III, who also became Count of Tyrol by
inheritance, the commercial sector developed greatly. The intense
activity of notaries in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is
also witness to this. With the transfer of the seat of the new
counts of Habsburg to Innsbruck in 1420, the city lost its primary
importance as an economic center, while remaining formally capital
of the county of Tyrol until 1848. Only with the Tyrolean Liberation
Wars of 1809, guided from Andreas Hofer della Passiria, Merano
returns to the center of attention: on Mount Benedetto (Segenbühel),
above Merano, the Tyroleans fight victoriously a battle against the
French and Bavarians as part of the guerrilla warfare they waged
against the Franco-Bavarian troops, that at the end of a long battle
fought at the Bergisel in Innsbruck, Andreas Hofer, not having
obtained the promised support of the Habsburg emperor, loses the
final battle due to a very clear inferiority of strength and will be
executed a few days later in Mantua, while the emperor of Austria
marries Napoleon as a pledge of peace.
In the second half of
the nineteenth century Merano became an important health resort and
holiday resort of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, thanks also to the
railway connection inaugurated in 1881 and completed with the
railway station designed by von Chabert in 1905. Consequently the
city expands to outside the perimeter of the walls on urban planning
models of Viennese and Salzburg derivation and with the contribution
of the German urban planner Theodor Fischer. After the First World
War Merano, like the whole southern part of Tyrol, was annexed to
Italy. Between the two wars, the Maia racecourse was built.
Merano has an ancient tourist tradition. Many are in fact the guests
of politics and culture who have spent their holidays in the city,
for example the empress Sissi and the writers Franz Kafka and
Gottfried Benn. This is mainly because scientists and doctors have
always recommended the city for its mild and almost Mediterranean
climate and for the quality of the air. In 1914 the Kurhaus was
enlarged, the work of the architect Friedrich Ohmann who was linked
to the Viennese Secession.
The first horse races in Merano
date back to 1896 and the creation of a first hippodrome in 1900.
After a decade of crisis, a new imposing obstacle course structure
was built and opened to enthusiasts in 1935. The Merano Grand Prix
is combined to a rich national lottery.
Unlike Bolzano, the
face of Merano is not distorted between the two wars. Furthermore,
during the Second World War, Merano was not bombed, due to the fact
that it was considered an area used as a shelter for war sick
people. The city was administered for a long time (until 1935) by
the mayor and then mayor Maximilian Markart, who knows how to
preserve its international tourist vocation. Public interventions
are mainly aimed at developing existing structures, as in the case
of the expansion of the Maia racecourse, or at implementing ancient
aspirations, as in the studies for the construction of the spa town.
Leaving aside the case of Sinigo, the southern hamlet built
around the reclamation of the valley floor and the Montecatini
factory, investments in public housing will often be late and in any
case not part of a project to promote immigration.
Between
the two wars, Merano resumed its face as an international city. In
the 1930s it became the destination of many Jewish families fleeing
the rest of Europe. This situation went into crisis starting from
1938 and especially after September 1943.
In mid-September
1943 the roundups of the Jews began. Following the Italian racial
laws of 1938, the Jewish population of the province, mostly residing
in Merano, had already dwindled. Most had moved elsewhere and about
sixty people remained in the city. Twenty-two of them (followed
later by others) were arrested by the SOD (Sicherheits- und
Ordnungsdienst) by order of the SS and sent, on September 16, to the
extermination camps. This is the first deportation of Jews to take
place on Italian territory.
Merano did not suffer air attacks
(except the one on Sinigo at the beginning of April 1945). In fact,
already in the first years of the war, some hotels in Merano were
transformed into military hospitals. After the German occupation,
Merano became a hospital city, a destination for the wounded from
the Italian front. In 1944 it was formally declared a "hospital
city" (Lazarettstadt), a qualification that ensures particular
protection on the basis of international conventions. Merano is
therefore a safe haven for various personalities and secret
activities, the center of the fake money distribution network known
as Operation Bernhard, among other things.
After the
destruction of the Norwegian Norsk-Hydro plants in Vemork, which
produce the heavy water destined for German projects to make the
atomic bomb, in November 1943 a group of German scientists visited
the Sinigo plant and the Marling power plant to check whether the he
Montecatini electrolysis plant is technically suitable for the
production of heavy water. Despite the negative opinion, a small
production of the precious liquid will still take place in Sinigo.
The Sinigo factory was bombed on April 4, 1945, not due to heavy
water, but for the production of methanol.
The war ends with
a useless event of blood whose outlines are never fully understood.
On April 30, 1945, in Merano the German soldiers opened fire on two
processions of people who intended to celebrate the end of the
conflict. Eight dead and many injured.
Even after 1945 Merano
is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South Tyrol.
In Merano there is the provincial tourism museum "Touriseum",
housed in the Trauttmansdorff castle, to which is annexed the
botanical garden, one of the most beautiful in Italy. In December
2005 the Merano Thermal Baths were reopened with a four-star hotel
attached. In 2017, the city of Merano celebrated the 700th
anniversary of the introduction of its first civic order, with a
series of 365-day historical exhibitions and events.
The coat of arms shows the Tyrolean eagle sitting on a wall with four pieces of Ghibelline battlements and three arches symbolizing the city. The sign has been known since the 14th century; the oldest seal dates from 1353 and the color one from 1390. In an image from 1759 the eagle is depicted with a crown and a green garland of honor, the so-called Ehrenkränzel. In 1911 a similar coat of arms was granted, but with the arches with the gates open above a clover meadow. This aspect was also confirmed in 1928, but in 1973 it was decided to return to the previous coat of arms.
Capital of the Burgraviato district community, it is
surrounded by mountains (1500–3330 m) and is located in the valley
floor at the beginning of four important valleys: Val Venosta, Val
Passiria, Val d'Adige and Val d'Ultimo.
Crossed by the
Passirio stream that flows into the Adige, it is located on the
slopes of the Tessa Group (up to 3 480 m a.s.l., border with
Austria) and the Salto Plateau (up to 2 800 m). To the south Merano
is 30 km from the provincial capital, Bolzano, to which it is
connected by a 4-lane highway, known as "MeBo", and by a railway
line. To the west begins the Val Venosta, with the Val Venosta
railway, to the south-west the Val d'Ultimo and to the north-east
the Val Passiria.
On the outskirts of Merano rise the village
and the castle of Tirolo (Dorf Tirol, Schloss Tirol) from which the
historical region of Tyrol takes its name.
Considered a health resort since the nineteenth century, Merano was initially oriented towards tourism for the elderly, thanks to the mild climate and the quiet that characterize it. In the twentieth century and particularly in the last two decades, this trend has changed mainly thanks to a more varied offer and the arrival of national and international tourism that has reached and surpassed that of the German-speaking countries, significantly reducing the average age of its visitors.