Rasen-Antholz
Rasen-Antholz (; ) is a municipality in South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography. The municipal area stretches along the Antholz valley, a northern side valley of the larger Puster Valley. In the northeast, the Staller Saddle mountain pass, at a height of leads into the Defereggen Valley in East Tyrol, Austria. The Antholz valley is confined by the mountains of the Rieserferner Group in the north and the Villgraten Mountains in the east, both part of the High Tauern range in the Central Eastern Alps. Notable peaks include the Hochgall, at , and the Wildgall (Collaspro), at , as well as  the Ohrenspitzen massif, at , in the northeast. Large parts of the northern and western mountain ranges belong to the Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park established in 1988. The Antholzer Bach stream runs through the valley from Antholzer See (Lago di Anterselva) down to its confluence with the Rienz (Rienza) river at Olang. Rasen-Antholz is located east of Bruneck, the administrative centre of the Puster Valley, and about northeast of the South Tyrolean capital Bolzano. It borders the following municipalities: Bruneck, Gsies, Percha, Olang, Sand in Taufers, Welsberg-Taisten and Sankt Jakob in Defereggen in Austria. Frazioni. The municipality of Rasen -Antholz contains six "frazioni" (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets): Antholz Niedertal (Anterselva di Sotto), Antholz Mittertal (Anterselva di Mezzo), Antholz Obertal (Anterselva di Sopra), Neunhäusern (Nove Case), Niederrasen (Rasun di Sotto) and Oberrasen (Rasun di Sopra). Linguistic distribution. According to the 2011 census, 98.40% of the population speak German, 1.16% Italian and 0.44% Ladin as first language. History. Archaeological findings of a Hallstatt cemetery near Niederrasen denote a settlement of the area already in the Iron Age. In 15 BC, present-day Tyrol was conquered by the Roman Empire. About 590 AD, Bavarian tribes under their Duke Tassilo I entered  the region. Rasen itself was first mentioned in a 1050 deed, the local Lords of Rasen served as "ministeriales" of the Counts of Tyrol from the 13th century onwards. They resided at Altrasen Castle which was first documented in 1210. Count Meinhard II of Tyrol ceded it to his consort Elisabeth of Bavaria in 1259. Meanwhile, the Lords of Rasen had Neurasen Castle erected, which fell to the Bishops of Brixen in 1342. Upon the extinction of the "Meinhardiner" counts in 1500, Tyrol as a whole became a crown land of the Habsburg monarchy. Coat-of-arms. The shield is  gules a pile reversed on sable and argent. It is the sign of the Lords of "Rasen", who ruled from 1353. The emblem was officially adopted on 10 August 1967. Sports. Rasen-Antholz is known for the South Tyrol Arena biathlon track, which opened in 1971. It hosted the Biathlon World Championships in 1975, 1976, 1983, 1995, 2007 and 2020. It is also a regular venue of the Biathlon World Cup season, with the highest altitude of all World Cup meetings at a height of about . It will host biathlon for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo . Antholz also hosted the finish of stage 17 of the 2019 Giro d'Italia, which was won by Nans Peters.