!!!Wipptal

Wipptal Valley, Tirol, southern lateral valley of the Inntal valley; 
according to tradition, it comprises the valley of the River Sill, the 
upper valley of the River Isarco (German: Eisack) in South Tyrol 
(Italy) and the  Brenner Pass (watershed, alt. 1,370 m), which is 
situated between both rivers. In a narrower sense, it means the 
Austrian part north of the Brenner Pass. The name was derived from the 
Roman "Vipitenum" (now Vipiteno/Sterzing); mainly summer tourism. In 
the west, mainly grassland and dairy farming (Grey and Braunvieh 
cattle); despite the high altitude, cereals are grown in some lateral 
valleys, also some sheep-farming. The North Tyrolean part of the 
Wipptal valley is bound by the Tux Alps in the east and the Stubai 
Alps in the west. The River  Sill, which drains the eastern Wipptal 
valley, has its source near the Griesbergalm alp (1,953 m) east 
of the Brenner Pass; southwest of the pass, the River Isarco (Eisack) 
rises on Italian territory. Important tributaries of the River Sill 
include the Navisbach, Schmirnbach and Valserbach streams from the 
east and the River Ruetz, the Gschnitzbach and Seebach stream from the 
west. Important municipalities in the Wipptal valley are Natters (alt. 
783 m), Mutters (alt. 830 m), Matrei am Brenner (alt. 
990 m) as well as Steinach am Brenner (alt. 1,049 m) and 
Gries am Brenner (alt. 1,164 m), which are major ski resorts. The 
villages Vill (alt. 817 m) and Igls (alt. 870 m), which are 
situated at the end of the valley, form part of the municipal 
territory of Innsbruck. The Wipptal valley has always been an 
important transit route from north to south; a railway line and the 
motorway A 13 (Europabruecke Bridge) connect  Innsbruck with the 
Italian towns of Bolzano (Bozen) and Verona via the Brenner Pass. The 
Wipptal provides a connection from the Inntal valley to the Pustertal 
valley (Val Pusteria) in the southeast and the Etschtal (Adige) valley 
in the southwest via the Jaufen Pass (Passo del Giovo) and the 
Passeiertal Valley (Val Passiria).

!Literature
G. Pfaundler, Tirol-Lexikon, 1983.


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