History of Tyrol

The history of Tyrol, a historical region in the middle alpine area of Central Europe, dates back to early human settlements at the end of the last glacier period, around 12,000 BC. Sedentary settlements of farmers and herders can be traced back to 5000 BC. Many of the main and side valleys were settled during the early Bronze Age, from 1800 to 1300 BC. From these settlements, two prominent cultures emerged: the Laugen-Melaun culture in the Bronze Age, and the Fritzens-Sanzeno culture in the Iron Age.

The region, inhabited during the Iron Age by the Alpine population of the Raeti, was conquered by the Romans in 15 BC. The northern and eastern areas were incorporated into the Roman Empire as the provinces of Raetia and Noricum, leaving deep impressions on the culture and language, with the Rhaeto-Romance languages. Following the conquest of Italy by the Goths, Tyrol became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom in the fifth and sixth centuries. In 553, southern Tyrol was incorporated into the Lombards' Kingdom of Italy, northern Tyrol came under the influence of the Bavarii, and western Tyrol became part of Alamannia—the three areas meeting at present-day Bolzano.

In 774, Charlemagne conquered the Lombards, and as a consequence, Tyrol became an important bridgehead to Italy. In the eleventh century, the Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire granted the counties of Trento, Bolzano, and Vinschgau to the Bishopric of Trent, and the county of Norital and Puster Valley to the Bishopric of Brixen—effectually placing the region under the control of the Emperors.

In the coming centuries, the counts residing in Tirol Castle near Merano extended their territory over the region. Later counts would hold much of their territory directly from the Holy Roman Emperor. The Meinhardinger family, originating in Gorizia, controlled the Tyrol, Gorizia, and the Duchy of Carinthia. By 1295, the "county and reign of Tyrol" had established itself firmly in the "Land on the Adige and Inn", as the region was then called. When the Meinhardiner dynasty died out in 1369, the Tyrol was ceded to the House of Habsburg, who ruled over the region for the next five and a half centuries, with a brief period of control in the early nineteenth century by the Bavarians during the Napoleonic Wars.

At the conclusion of World War I, the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye of 1919 ceded the southern part of Tyrol to the Kingdom of Italy, including present-day South Tyrol, with its large German-speaking majority. The northern part of Tyrol was retained by the First Austrian Republic. The historical region is formed by the present-day Austrian State of Tyrol and the Italian provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino. The boundaries of this Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino Euroregion correspond to the former Habsburg County of Tyrol, which gave this historical region its name.

Archaeological findings show people settled in the middle alpine region, later to be called Tyrol, when the glaciers retreated and flora and fauna revived, after the last ice age ended around 12,000 BC. Artifacts found on the Seiser Alm date to the Upper Paleolithic era. In the valley bottoms near Bolzano, Brixen and Salorno, mesolithic hunters resting places were discovered. Stone artefacts recovered there were dated to the 8th millennia BC. Discovery of Ötzi on the Similaun glacier in 1991 proved man had already crossed the highest Alpine passes 5000 years ago. Sedentary settlements of farmers and herders can be traced back to 5000 BC. There is ample evidence of settlements in the main and side valleys during the early and middle Bronze Age (1800-1300 BC). Preferred settlement sites were sunny terraces on the valleys slopes, and hill tops in the middle heights.

In the Bronze and Iron Ages the region was home to a series of autochthonous cultures occupying roughly the area of the later county of Tyrol. The most prominent are the late Bronze Age Laugen-Melaun culture and Iron Age Fritzens-Sanzeno culture.

The Laugen-Melaun culture, named after two important archaeological sites near the modern-day town of Brixen in South Tyrol, originated in the 14th century BC, in the area of today's South Tyrol and Trentino. It soon spread over the central area of the Southern Alps, encompassing South and East Tyrol, Trentino north of Rovereto and the Lower Engadine; the northern part of Tyrol came under the influence of the Urnfield culture. Distinguishing factors include its characteristic richly decorated pottery, while the metal-working is strongly influenced by adjacent cultures. As in the Urnfield culture, Laugen-Melaun-people cremated their dead, placing their ashes in urns, and worshipping their gods in sanctuaries sometimes situated in remote areas, on mountain-tops or close to water. Rich burial objects show that from the 13th to 11th century BC, the Laugen-Melaun culture (Laugen-Melaun A) flourished, due to the mining of copper, the source material for the alloy bronze.