Glurns

Glurns is in the upper Vinschgau valley of South Tyrol. It is the smallest town in the region with around 900 inhabitants with the overwhelming majority of them being native German speakers.

Glurns town center

Glurns country side

Glorenza was incorporated as a city in 1309. It was completely razed to the ground in 1499, after the battle of Calva, during the Swabian war. After the war, the Emperor Maximilian decided to rebuild it and constructed its city walls - which have survived to the present day, and are one of the main items of interest in the city. Later on Glorenza experienced long centuries of prosperity as a mercantile city, thanks to the trade of rock salt which originated from the region.

When the Fascists were in power, writings praising Fascism were carved into the city walls, with the attached signature of Mussolini. These sentences were removed in 1945, but are still partially legible. Since the end of the twentieth century, the place has grown in importance as a tourist attraction

• Bolzano-Dolomiti Airport. Small regional airport with scheduled flights to and from Lugano and Rome. At certain times of the year, there are weekly connections to Vienna. (updated Dec 2019)
• From Bolzano, the state highway 38 (SS38) will take get one into Glurns via road. The SS40 also connects Glurns to other towns in the Vinschgau region.

The town is small enough to see everything on foot. An unusual aspect of the town is that the parish church is located outside the city walls, but even so, it's quite easy to get to on foot.

Parish Church

Tower and door of city walls

• City walls. Glorenza is the only South Tyrolean city that has intact city walls. Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg built these. They have semicircular doors and towers. The patrol paths, seven watchtowers, three gates make up the defensive structure of the city which, despite the predominance of sixteenth-century architectural forms, reveals the Roman origin of the settlement (updated Dec 2019)
• Parish church of San Pancrazio. The current church is from the end of the 15th century; the ancient Roman influences in the church architecture is in its bell tower. The Baroque-style onion dome is a seventeenth-century addition. The north wall of the bell tower shows a large fresco of the Last Judgment of the school of Michael Pacher from 1496. (updated Dec 2019)

• Feast of the Pala Pear. This week long culinary celebration of the Pala Pear, takes place in the September timeframe. This is a pear variety that is grown all over Vinschgau. It is eaten fresh, cooked, and when tried, even used in breads. At this event, you can see exhibitions, take part in readings, guided tours and culinary demonstrations and buy Pala pear products at the farmers' market. (updated Feb 2020)

Locally sourced produce includes speck and a bread made from spelt (called calva bread).