Zeitungsreise: Living History
6 articles
A report on the extreme weather fluctuations of the winter of 1836, marked by storms, heavy snowfall, and sudden thaws across South Tyrol and the Inn Valley. Rapid shifts in barometric pressure and temperature are noted, humorously attributed to the planetary rule of Venus for the year.
These attachments to the statistical essay on German-speaking enclaves in South Tyrol and the Veneto region present two linguistic samples. Alongside a private letter from Vicenza written in the Cimbrian language with its German translation, a 1218 document by the parish priest and notary Lindrick of Pergine is reproduced.
This fourth installment of the essay in the supplement of the Bote für Tirol addresses theories regarding the origins of the German-speaking population in South Tyrol and adjacent Venetian valleys. The author questions the prevailing view of descent from the Cimbri following the battle of Vercelli or Verona. He suggests instead that ancient native German tribes already inhabited the mountains, with whom fleeing Cimbri merely intermingled.
A historical and statistical overview describes the character, lifestyle, and economic activities of the German population in South Tyrol and the Seven Communes. Alongside military privileges under the Republic of Venice, the text outlines housing conditions, seasonal trade, and agricultural products such as tobacco cultivation and straw hat manufacturing.
A statistical report describes the German-speaking linguistic islands in Southern Tyrol and in the mountains of Vicenza and Verona. In addition to population figures and place names, the text notes local dialect designations such as Cimbrian or Mocheno.
The second part of the essay examines the German language islands in southern Tyrol and northern Italy, such as Deutschnofen, Truden, Altrei, and the Sette Comuni. The author discusses dialectal characteristics and historical theories regarding settlement by miners or during the establishment of the March of Verona. Furthermore, he calls for urgent linguistic research in the field, as the use of the German language is rapidly declining.
End of the archive reached.
