What is Glurns known for?

Sixteenth-century circuit of city walls with three gates and seven watchtowers, the only complete medieval fortification in South Tyrol. Granted city status in 1304 and still classified as such, despite a population of fewer than a thousand inside the walls. One of the ten gateway communes of Italy's largest alpine national park, on the southern entrance from the upper Val Venosta.

Glurns is a comune in the province of Bolzano, Trentino-South Tyrol region of Italy, about 87 kilometers from Bolzano.

Trentino-South Tyrol · Bolzano

Glurns

The smallest city in South Tyrol at 937 inhabitants, ringed by intact sixteenth-century walls in the Val Venosta near the Swiss border.

907m

Elevation

87 km / 54 mi

Nearest hub (Bolzano)

937

Population

May–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Glorenza sits at 907 metres in the upper Val Venosta, twenty minutes by car from both the Austrian and Swiss borders, on the Adige river at the southern entrance to the Stelvio National Park. The town holds city status, awarded by Emperor Henry of Bohemia in 1304, despite a population of fewer than a thousand. After the Battle of Calven in 1499, the Habsburgs under Emperor Maximilian I rebuilt Glorenza as a bulwark against the forces of the Three Leagues of Graubünden. The new city walls of the sixteenth century, with three gates, seven watchtowers and a continuous patrol path, still enclose the historic core, the only complete medieval fortification surviving in South Tyrol. Inside the walls the streets are paved in cobble and the buildings are unbroken three-storey Lauben arcades. Outside the walls, on the river, the parish church of San Pancrazio holds late Gothic frescoes. The Stelvio National Park lists Glorenza as one of its ten gateway communes.

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Gallery

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Known for

Mura cittadine
Sixteenth-century city walls built under Emperor Maximilian I after 1499, with three gates, seven watchtowers and a continuous patrol path, the only intact medieval fortification in South Tyrol.
Centro storico
Walled core of unbroken three-storey Lauben arcades along the two main streets, paved in stone and listed on the Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Chiesa di San Pancrazio
Parish church just outside the walls on the bank of the Adige, with a Gothic nave and a series of late medieval wall frescoes inside.
Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio
Italy's largest alpine national park, with Glorenza listed as one of ten gateway communes at the southern entrance from the Val Venosta.
Torri delle mura
Seven watchtowers along the city wall, each tied to one of the three gates, with the patrol path running between them along the inside face of the wall.

When to visit

Best months · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through October is the open season in the upper Val Venosta. Late May brings green on the valley floor and the start of the Stelvio Park hiking calendar from Glorenza north. June through September is the busiest period, with the Stelvio passes open, the Adige cycle path running from Resia south, and Glorenza markets under the arcades on Tuesdays and Fridays. July and August can be warm at 907 metres but evenings stay cool. October has the larch turn in the Stelvio Park, the apple harvest in the lower valley and the last open weekend at the Stelvio pass. November through April is quiet, with the city walls cleared of snow by hand and many small shops closed inside the gates.