Kurtatsch at the Wine Road - Entiklar, Graun, Penon, Oberfennberg

Kurtatsch (333 metres above sea level) thrones on a sunny balcony over the Etschtal.  The location was ideal for early settlers and remains from the Middle Stone Age and the Bronze Age give testimony to this fact. 

Also the Romans left their mark in this village.  It was first mentioned in 1191 in the so-called Vigilius letter.  The name Kurtatsch contains the word ’curtis’ or ’corte’, which assumes an accumulation of farmhouses.

The village stretches from the bottom of the valley (212 metres) up to the Graun Saddleback (1,830 metres) and covers an area of 3,056 hectares, of which approximately 35% is used for agriculture (330 hectares of vineyards / 600 hectares of orchards / approx. 70 hectares of fields and meadows in Graun and Fennberg).  The village has about 2,170 inhabitants. 
In the centre, there are many old farmhouses and residences, which bear witness to the wealth of its former aristocratic owners.

www.gemeinde.kurtatsch.bz.it 

  Village map in pdf format

The suburbs Entiklar, Graun and Penon

Only one third of the population lives in the main village. The rest is divided into the suburbs:

Entiklar (270 metres) is situated about 1 km south of Kurtatsch, just above the wine road, which brings you to Margreid.  The suburb is surrounded by vineyards, has 150 inhabitants and was once the seat of the courts.  At the foot of the castle hills, in the midst of a wonderful park, you will find the castle-like residence Turmhof with a live-in tower from the 13th Century.

Graun (800 metres) is found ‘on the second floor’, high above the Etschtal on a sunny high plateau.  This village with its 250 inhabitants is called the crown (from which the name is derived).  From the Sitzkofel mountain, it offers breath-taking views across the entire Bozen Lowlands and over the Dolomite peaks.

Penon is also situated at a panoramic altitude (500 to 650 metres) South-West of Kurtatsch.  It is surrounded by vineyards, rich orchards and shady mixed forests, in which you will find individual groups of farmhouses.  On the Koflweg, you will find the fortress-like Voldersberg residence, which was built during the 16th Century by the aristocratic family of Truefer.

Suburb: Oberfennberg

Oberfennberg (1,200 metres).  In Fennhals, you will come across the former Roman Road called ‘Via Claudia Augusta’ and a magnificent summer residence from the 16th Century with wonderful frescoes.  Fennhals is also the place, where they found several copper smelting furnaces from the Bronze Age.  Some giant trees can also be found nearby.  A simple hunting lodge called Ulmburg can also be found in Oberfennberg; it has a small chapel dedicated to Saint Mary and was built towards the end of the 17th Century.