Urtijëi lies roughly in the middle of the Val Gardena (Gherdëina), which runs east–west. The municipality, counted as part of Ladinia, covers an area of 24.25 km², but it includes only the orographically right (northern) side of the valley with the main settlement area (1170–1350 m a.s.l.) and the rising slopes behind it. The left (southern) side of the valley beyond theGrödner Bach (Derjon), with the villages of Pufels (Bula), Runggaditsch (Runcadic), and Überwasser (Sureghes), belongs instead—although Ladin-speaking and culturally as well as economically oriented toward Val Gardena—to the municipality ofKastelruth (Ćiastel). The same is true for theSeiser Alm (Mont Sëuc) and the Puflatsch (Bulacia) plateau, which rise up south of these villages.
To the north and northeast, above the valley floor of Urtijëi, lie the western foothills of the Geisler Group, part of the Dolomites. In the northeast, the municipality reaches its highest point atSeceda (2519 m,Secëda). South of Seceda, the Pitschberg (2363 m,Pic) projects into the valley. To the west of Seceda begins the Raschötz ridge, much of which is protected within the Puez-Geisler Nature Park. On its highest elevations lie the alpine meadows of Innerraschötz and Außerraschötz.
The Ladin-language nameUrtijëi, as well as its Italian equivalentOrtisei, derive from a farmstead in the settlement center calledOrtiseyt (derives from theLatin wordurtica and thesuffix-etum, with the meaning "place ofnettles"[4]), which is documented as early as the 13th century and is still attested in Bolzano records in 1497 as a place name (“Hanns von Ortiseit”). The farm later appears in documents under the nameMauriz and today is one of the oldest hotels in the valley.
The German nameSt. Ulrich, on the other hand, goes back to the Catholic parish of the town, which is dedicated to the Epiphany but also toSt. Ulrich, the patron saint of the place. The Ulrich patronage—a typical indicator of ownership—also recalls the medieval possessions of the episcopal church of Augsburg in theEisack Valley and Gröden area.
Since the 17th century, a large part of the population of Urtijëi has been engaged in woodcarving, sacred sculpture, altar building, and the wooden toy industry. In the second half of the 19th century, Urtijëi was first discovered by mountaineers such asPaul Grohmann. Winter tourism received decisive impetus from Emil Terschak, who lived in the town from 1893 to 1900.
TheGröden arts and crafts, especially woodcarving, are well known. For over two centuries, Urtijëi was regarded as an international center of woodcarving. At the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, sacred wood sculpture reached its artistic and economic peak at the art school in Urtijëi founded by Ferdinand Demetz, also thanks to the training of several artists fromGröden at the academies in Vienna and Munich. With theSecond Vatican Council, sacred sculpture in Urtijëi suffered a severe setback.
From 1860 to 1914, Urtijëi experienced a relevant economic growth due to the opening of a major road connecting Val Gardena to the main railroad; as a result the local woodcarving industry flourished. International tourism developed through the discovery of the Dolomites first by English tourists, and subsequently visitors from other parts ofAustria-Hungary as well as theGerman Empire. Currently, the town'seconomy is mostly based on winterskiing tourism, summerhiking tourism, and woodcarving.
From the 1960s onward, only small figures, mostly machine-carved, found buyers—mainly in the German-speaking countries and in the United States.
Until 1960, the town was connected toKlausen by theVal Gardena railway. The railway was built mainly by Russian prisoners of war, who were used as forced laborers during the First World War.
In 1970, Urtijëi was the venue for the Alpine Ski World Championships.
The emblem showsSaint Ulrich, with the bishop's vestments and a gold cross in his right hand, mounted on a horse, with gold harness and a blue saddle pad, on three green mountains on a gold field. The emblem is decorated with a bluechief, with three small silver shields alternating with two golden bees; the bees symbolize the laboriousness of the inhabitants. The coat of arms was granted in 1907 and reappointed in 1970.
Church of St. Jacob, of ancient foundation, it was remodeled in styleLate-Gothic style during the 17th century. It preservesfrescoes from the second half of the 15th century and copies of the original baroque furnishings.
Church of St. Antonius, built in the second half of the 17th century, it combines the simple Renaissance style structure with a predominantly baroque decorative structure.
Church of St. Anna, located in the perimeter of the municipal cemetery, it is in Late-Gothic style. Inside it preserves baroque furnishings.
Museum Gherdëina, the local heritage museum, which preserves geological, paleontological and archaeological finds found in the area, as well as a collection of wooden sculptures and toys.
TheLuis Trenker House of Culture, housed in a building designed by the architect Hubert Prachensky (1916–2009), preserves the ancient bell of the Magister Manfredinus.
Urtijëi is, according to the declared affiliations to language groups, a majority Ladin-speaking municipality. The following percentage values are based on valid declarations made by persons holding Italian citizenship.
Distribution according to language group affiliation or assignment declarations
Urtijëi is the seat of a school district that jointly administers several schools of the Ladin language group. This includes in Urtijëi the elementary school and the middle school “Ujep Antone Vian,” as well as the elementary school of the neighboring locality of Runggaditsch.[9]
Urtijëi is also home to the only secondary schools in Val Gardena, namely the art high school “Cademia,” the provincial vocational school for arts and crafts, and the business-oriented high school “Raetia.”[10][11]
Furthermore, Urtijëi has the kindergarten “Saliëta,” a music school, and three libraries: the municipal library “S. Durich,” the Ladin library in theCësa di Ladins, and the specialized library of the district for art and culture.
^"Istat".Italian National Institute of Statistics. Istat. Retrieved23 October 2024.
^Kühebacher, Egon (1991),Die Ortsnamen Südtirols und ihre Geschichte. Die geschichtlich gewachsenen Namen der Gemeinden, Fraktionen und Weiler, vol. 1, Bolzano: Athesia, p. 502
