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( Tirol)
Tyrol is a region in Western Central Europe, which included the present day Austrian state of Tyrol (consisting of North Tyrol and East Tyrol), the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and three communes of the Veneto Italian region (Livinallongo del Col di Lana, Colle Santa Lucia and Cortina d'Ampezzo). Coat of arms of the Counts of Tyrol Historically the region was home to a series of autochthonous cultures occupying roughly the area of the later county of Tyrol. The most prominent are the late Bronze Age Laugen-Melaun/Luco-Meluno and Iron Age Fritzens-Sanzeno cultures.
The Laugen-Melaun/Luco-Meluno culture, named after two important archaeological sites near the modern-day town of Brixen (Bressanone) in Bolzano-Bozen, appears in the 14th century BC in the area of today's Bolzano-Bozen and Trento, while the northern part of Tyrol comes under the influence of the Urnfield Culture.[1] It is characterized by a particular type of richly decorated pottery, while the metal-working is strongly influenced by adjacent cultures. The people of the Laugen-Melaun/Luco-Meluno culture cremated the dead and placed their ashes in urns, and worshipped their gods in sanctuaries sometimes placed in remote areas, on mountain-tops or close to water.
Around 500 BC the Fritzens-Sanzeno-culture, also known as culture of the Rhaetics, after the goddess Rhaetia who according to roman authors was the main deity of the people inhabiting the region, succeeds both the Laugen-Melaun/Luco-Meluno culture of the southern and the Urnfield culture of the northern part of Tyrol.[2] As in the preceding culture, the richly ornamented pottery is very characteristic, while many aspects such as the metal-working, burial customs and religion are strongly influenced by its neighbours, mainly the Etruscans and Celts. Nonetheless, the Fritzens-Sanzeno-people possessed important cultural traits which clearly distinguish them from adjacent groups, such as the typical mountain-sanctuaries already in use during the time of the Laugen-Melaun/Luco-Meluno-Culture, certain types of fibulae, bronze armor, and an own alphabet derived from the Etruscan. In 15 BCE the region was conquered by the Romans and its northern and eastern part were incorporated into the Roman Empire as the provinces of Raetia and Noricum respectively, while the part south of and including the area around the modern day cities of Merano and Bolzano became part of Italia's Regio X. As in the rest of Europe, the Roman era left deep marks in the culture and in the language (see Rhaeto-Romance languages).
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