Vinschgau Valley
| Vinschgau | |
|---|---|
| District | |
| Comunità comprensoriale Val Venosta Bezirksgemeinschaft Vinschgau |
|
 Vinschgau district (highlighted in green) within South Tyrol; the yellow-black stripes mark the geographical extent of the valley |
|
| Country |
 Italy
|
| Autonomous region |  Trentino-Alto Adige |
| Autonomous province |  South Tyrol |
| Established | 1962 |
| Administrative seat | Schlanders (Silandro) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,442 km2 (557 sq mi) |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Total | 35,043 |
| • Density | 24/km2 (63/sq mi) |
| Website | www |
The Vinschgau (Italian: Val Venosta [ˈval veˈnɔsta], German: Vinschgau, Romansh: Vnuost, Ladin: Val Venuesta, medieval: Finsgowe) or Vinschgau Valley is the upper part of the Adige or Etsch river valley, in the western part of the province of South Tyrol, Italy.
The German name Vinschgau, like Italian Val Venosta, is derived from the Celtic (Rhaetian) Venostes tribes mentioned on the ancient Tropaeum Alpium. A Frankish Gau was established under Charlemagne in 772; it was first mentioned in a 1077 deed, when King Henry IV of Germany granted the estates of Schlanders in pago Finsgowe to Bishop Altwin of Brixen.
The Vinschgau Valley runs in a west-east orientation, from the Merano basin at Partschins up the Adige river to Reschen Pass in the northwest. The Ötztal Alps in the north, part of the Alpine crest, separate it from the upper Inn Valley. The Adige valley is further confined by the Sesvenna Alps in the west and the Ortler Alps in the south. It comprises several side valleys, such as the Suldental, the Matscher Tal, or the Schnalstal.
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