Laives, the youngest of the eight cities of South Tyrol, is situated
south of Bolzano, surrounded by a sea of apple orchards. The district of San Giacomo merges seamlessly with the provincial capital Bolzano. Laives is by no means a suburb but has its own proud history. Archaeological finds show that there already were iron age settlements in this region. Laives is first mentioned in the records in 1237. It did not become an independent municipality until 1819.
In 1985 it became a city of South Tyrol.
Laives and the districts Pineta, San Giacomo and La Costa have
neary 19.000 inhabitants. Laives is a
melting pot of cultures and opposites. Germans and Italians live here side by side. Even if the German card game of choice is “Watten” while the Italians play “Briscola”, the lifestyles of the peoples have more and more cross-overs. At Christmas the traditional Zelten Christmas cake is eaten as much as the Italian Panettone. Traditional town fairs and festivals,
Törggelen, throwing rice at weddings and the easy-going lifestyle can appeal to both sides.
For a long time the town of Laives was
characterised by agriculture. In the 19th century it became an important centre for the mining of porphyry, for wood processing and for silk spinning. Over time, fruit growing became increasingly important. By 1982, it accounted for more than 80% of the intensively farmed agricultural land—more than double the share of 50 years earlier. Measured by cultivated area, Laives thus became the seventh-largest
fruit-growing municipality in South Tyrol.
The
landmark of the city is the
Chiesa di San Pietro chapel, which is reflected on the town’s coat of arms and also called "Peterköfele". The small church of San Pietro dates back to the 12th century and was once the chapel of Lichtenstein castle. There are only a few ruins of the castle walls left today, but Chiesa di San Pietro has been preserved in its entirety.
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