Val Gardena

Coordinates: 46°33′36″N 11°42′17″E / 46.56000°N 11.70472°E / 46.56000; 11.70472
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

46°33′36″N 11°42′17″E / 46.56000°N 11.70472°E / 46.56000; 11.70472

Val Gardena is located in Italy
Val Gardena
Val
Gardena
Location in Italy

Val Gardena (Italian:

woodcarving area.[3][4]

View of the northern side of the valley

Geography

The Stevia range above Val Gardena

The valley's main river is the

Santa Cristina;[5] they were served by the Val Gardena Railway from 1916 until 1960.[6][7]

History

The first document about Val Gardena dates back to 993/94–1005: in a tradition note of the diocese of Freising, the Bavarian Count Otto from the Rapoton family transferred, among other things, "ad Gredine forestum" (forest area in Val Gardena) to Bishop Gottschalk of Freising.[8]

Culture

Accidents like the one depicted were frequent among the farmers collecting timber in the woods during harsh winters in Val Gardena.

Val Gardena is one of five valleys with a majority of Ladin speakers (two of these valleys are in South Tyrol). The form of the Ladin language spoken in this valley is called Gardenese in Italian, Grödnerisch in German and Gherdëina in Ladin.

Woodcarving

Catholic saints
was at its bloom.

The woodcarving industry has flourished in Val Gardena since the 17th century.

altars carved in the area have been shipped to Catholic Churches throughout the world. In the 18th century, besides religious statuettes, the production of woodcarved figurines of genre art was widespread in the valley. Among them statuettes of beggars generally in pairs (female and male), four seasons, watchstands were very popular. In the 19th and 20th century, carving of wooden toys[10] was such a widespread occupation in all Gardenese families that Amelia Edwards called Urtijëi the "capital of Toyland".[11] One of the valley's best-known products is the peg wooden doll
which was popular all over Europe and America in the 19th century.

In one of her many trips Margaret Warner Morley went to Europe to Val Gardena where she was inspired to write the novel Donkey John of the toy valley.[12]

The

Parish Church of Urtijëi displays a rich collection of statues carved by local artists in the last two centuries. The Museum Gherdëina in Urtijëi owns a rich collection of historical wooden toys,[13] and woodcarved statues and figurines.[14]

Sports

Swiss Pine
with figurines from Val Gardena 18th century.

Skiing

The valley hosted the

1970
.

Val Gardena is home to the Saslong Classic, a men's

Peter Müller of Switzerland and Austrian Michael Walchhofer.[17]

A women's

Val Gardena is part of the Sella Ronda alpine ski touring circuit.

Other sports

The

Gardena Spring Trophy
is an annual international figure skating competition held every spring in the Valley.

Val Gardena has a

Hockey Club Gardena
.

Notable residents

See also

General sources

  • Amelia Edwards. Untrodden peaks and unfrequented valleys. A midsummer ramble in the Dolomites. Longman's, Green and Co. London 1873.
  • Margaret Warner Morley. Donkey John of the toy valley. Chicago A. C. McClurg & Co. 1909.

Citations

  1. ^ "Gardena". Dizionario d'Ortografia e di Pronunzia (in Italian).
  2. ^ "Gardena". DiPI Online (in Italian).
  3. ^ "Tradizione e cultura ladina in Val Gardena".
  4. ^ "Ladin tradition and culture in Val Gardena". Archived from the original on 2017-08-29.
  5. ^ "Gardena, Val nell'Enciclopedia Treccani". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  6. ^ Views of Val Gardena in old prints
  7. ^ Val Gardena in old photographs
  8. .
  9. ^ Woodcarvings from Val Gardena
  10. ^ Wooden toys from Val Gardena
  11. ^ "Amelia Edwards. Untrodden peaks and unfrequented valleys (1873) - published online". Digital.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  12. ^ "Donkey John of the toy valley - online book". Mainlesson.com. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  13. ^ "Museum Gherdëina historical wooden toys". Museumgherdeina.it. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  14. ^ "Statues and figurines in the Museum Gherdëina". Museumgherdeina.it. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  15. ^ "Ski DB". Ski DB. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  16. ^ "Club 5". Club5.com. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  17. ^ "Ski DB". Ski DB. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  18. ^ "Ski DB". Ski DB. Retrieved 2012-01-10.

External links