Kiens is a comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

(municipality) in South Tyrol

South Tyrol

South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...

 in the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 100 km northeast of Trento

Trento

Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...

 and about 50 km northeast of Bolzano.

Geography

As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 2,726 and an area of 33.9 km².

The municipality of Kiens contains the frazioni

Frazione

A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...

(subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Ehrenburg (Casteldarne), Getzenberg (Monghezzo), Hofern (Corti) and St. Sigmund (San Sigismondo).

Kiens borders the following municipalities: Pfalzen

Pfalzen

Pfalzen is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 100 km northeast of Trento and about 50 km northeast of Bolzano.-Geography:...

, Rodeneck

Rodeneck

Rodeneck is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.Rodeneck borders the following municipalities: Kiens, Lüsen, Mühlbach, Natz-Schabs, St. Lorenzen and Vintl.-Origin:...

, St. Lorenzen

St. Lorenzen

St. Lorenzen is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 100 km northeast of Trento and about 50 km northeast of Bolzano...

, Mühlwald

Mühlwald

Mühlwald is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 110 km northeast of Trento and about 60 km northeast of Bolzano , on the border with Austria.-Geography:...

, Terenten

Terenten

Terenten is a comune in South Tyrol, in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 100 km northeast of Trento and about 50 km northeast of Bolzano .-Geography:...

 and Vintl.

Coat-of-arms

The emblem is based on that of the family Schöneck; on gules

Gules

In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....

 a curved pile

Pile (heraldry)

In heraldry, a pile is a charge usually counted as one of the ordinaries ....

 argent

Argent

In heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...

. In the right corner take place a five-pointed argent

Argent

In heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...

 star, symbolizing the five villages in the municipality. The emblem was adopted in 1961.

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2001 census, 96.82% of the population speak German, 2.41% Italian and 0.77% Ladin as first language.

St. Sigmund

St. Sigmund is a frazione of Kiens, its origins date back to 1050, when first it was called Burin and after Peuren, in 1317.

The town is located where the valley widens into a large flat area, for that reason it enjoys excellent weather conditions throughout the year.

From an architectural point of view, the buildings in the area are based on original South Tyrolean farmsteads style. Especially is notable the parish church (1449-1489), where is present the oldest and best preserved altar

Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

 in Tyrol

County of Tyrol

The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...

, dated around 1430. Another point of interest is the Church of Our Lady dating back to 1621 and built in Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 style. Behind the railway station, in the river Rienz, there are the Ilistra thermal baths (German: Ilstern), which once featured facilities for cures. Also in this area is the church of St. Ulrich that dates back to 1491 and is well preserved.

External links

• Official website of the municipality (in German and Italian)
• Official website of the frazione of St. Sigmund.