History of Brunico

Brunico (Bruneck) is ideally situated at the heart of important roads; indeed the Puster Valley was already inhabited in prehistoric times, as evidenced by the numerous remains found in Dobbiaco, Monguelfo and Brunico (See the important study by M. Borda, " A ‘Mansio’ in Noricum: 'Sebatum' in 'Cultura Atesina ", 3 (1949): 4 ff.). As regards Brunico, it is situated in an area, such as the Puster Valley, which is rich in castles. After Drusus (38-9 BC) and Tiberius (42 BC-16 AD) conquered the settlements in the Isarco and Adige Valleys in 15 AD, the Romans penetrated deeper into the territory, reaching the Puster Valley.

Here the major settlements were "Sebatum" and "Littamum”, near San Candido. The Puster Valley was a very important area for the Romans, because it is situated on the great road that led from Aquileia to "Aguntum" (near Lienz); from "Aguntum" the road continued to Fortezza and the Brenner pass, once called “Pireneus”. From Brenner they progressed towards Valdidena (Wilten, near Innsbruck) and "Augusta Vindelicum" (Augusta).

The Puster Valley, a key strategic area, is literally dotted with castles (42 in all), and the foundation of Brunico is linked to this special "military" characteristic of the Valley. Indeed, the Bishop of Brixen, in the mid-thirteenth century, built his new residence in Brunico, giving life to the new village and castle.

To ensure, therefore, the safety of his domains, Prince-Bishop Bruno of Kirchberg (died 1288), built around 1250 the castle and town of Brunico. In 1256 the city is mentioned for the first time in a document, which quoted a place “apud Bruneke” (“Near Brunico”). Nikolaus Grass writes that "[...] was discovered ‘einer urkunde vom 26., Oktober 1256 aus Bruneck’ ("Apud Bruneke”) [“a document, October 1256, 26 near Bruneck (‘apud Bruneke’)”]. (See Nicholas Grass, "Cusanus Gedachtnisschrift im Auftrag der Rechts, Wagner, 1970, p. 289). The etymology of the city name is so tied to Bishop "Bruno", by whom, indeed, derives precisely "Brun-ico"; the suffix "Ico" - "ek" instead means "hill", "rock". In past times one said that the town was also called “Brunopoli”, or “the city of Bruno”. Around this etymology there is agreement among scholars, although probably this area, where the Bishop built the castle, there had been some very ancient villages, which were territorially organized after his arrival.

Anyway, the city is remembered with the name of "Bruneck”, albeit with some variations:" [...] Bruneck-Brunico, in 1253, "Brunegg" in 1256, "Bruneke" in 1295, " stadt "Brauneck", a forms with the diphthong from 1394 ('Prawneke'). The name indicates that the construction of the castle is the work of Bishop Bruno (1251-1256) [...] "(See Carlo Battisti, “Miscellanea in onore di Ettore Tolomei”, Olschki, 1953, p. 15). In 1370 the city obtained many privileges, and the Emperor Charles IV granted to it the right of jurisdiction.

A lively trade and thriving craft determined the expansion of the city. In the early fifteenth century appeared the first mansions, predominantly inhabited by artisans who opened their shops here. At this time dates the birth of the "Via Centrale” [“Midway”]. Large floods in the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries, the plague in 1543/44, some fires and earthquakes afflicted the city, but Brunico but was always rebuilt. The years between 1814 and 1914 can be considered as a period of economic liveliness, particularly through the development of tourism and mountaineering; the railway was opened in 1871, and Brunico today is a city that is the focus of the economic life of the Puster Valley, which can profitably combine tourism and handicrafts.