Editing Sterzing (section)

==History==
[[File:(Aug 1912) - Sterzing - A.E.Hasse.JPG|thumb|280px|Sterzing in August 1912 by A.E.Hasse]]

===Origin===
The town traces its roots to 14 B.C., when [[Nero Claudius Drusus]] founded a military camp called "Vipitenum" along the road between what are now Italy and Germany. Ancient ruins found nearby include a sepulchral monument dedicated to [[Postumia Vittorina]], a milestone of the Imperator [[Septimius Severus]] period and a stone altar dedicated to Lord [[Mithras]]. The first mention of a town called ''Wibitina'' dates back to the years between 985 and 990. That name, which is still memorized in [[Wipptal]], is traced back to the nearby Celto-Roman settlement Vibidina.

In 1182, the German name ''Sterçengum'' appears in a document of the Sonnenburg abbey.<ref>{{cite book| author1 = Martin Bitschnau| author2 = Hannes Obermair | title= Tiroler Urkundenbuch, II. Abteilung: Die Urkunden zur Geschichte des Inn-, Eisack- und Pustertals. Vol. 2: 1140–1200 | publisher= Universitätsverlag Wagner | place= Innsbruck | year= 2012 | pages= 301–7 no. 783| isbn= 978-3-7030-0485-8}}</ref>

In 1280, Duke [[Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia|Meinhard]] of [[Duchy of Carinthia|Carinthia]], promoted the town to the rank of city.  As the region's proximity to the [[Brenner Pass]] made it a frequent trade route, the [[Fugger]] of [[Augsburg]] opened a branch to sort the products of the nearby silver mines in Ridnaun Valley and Pfleres Valley. Sterzing knew its magnificence in the 15th and 16th centuries after the 1443 fire which destroyed part of the town.  New embattled houses were built, some late gothic style, in Neustadt (New Town) as: Town and Regional Trial House (1450), Hotel "Goldenes Kreuz" (1446), Fugger's Branch (1553), Rafenstein House (former Köchl, 1472), the Town Hall (1473), Geizkofler House (1600) and the Mining District House (1500) all still in use.

The town is mentioned in several sources from the 16th to 19th centuries as ''Störzingen''.<ref>Heinrich Schickhardt von Herzenberg, "Beschreibung einer Reis welche der Durchleuchtig Hochgeborne Fürst und Herr, Herr Friedrich zu Würtemberg (...) im Jahre 1599 (…) aus dem Land Würtemberg in Italien gethan", 1602.</ref><ref>Johann Georg Zinner, "Ausführliche und genaue Reisebeschreibung Ihrer königlichen Majestät Marien Josephs (…) ls hochstdieselbe  im 1768sten Frühjahre (..) abreiste", 1767.</ref> In the course of the [[Italianization of South Tyrol]], the modern Italian name of the town ''Vipiteno'' - created from the old Roman settlement of ''Vipitenum'' - was made official.<ref>Egon Kühebacher (1991), ''Die Ortsnamen Südtirols und ihre Geschichte'', Bozen: Athesia, p. 449</ref> Throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, a number of wanted Nazis stayed in Sterzing at the Hotel Goldenes Kreuz which still exists today. At different times, people like [[Erich Priebke]], [[Adolf Eichmann]], and [[Josef Mengele]] were in transit here as they waited for forged passports for their journey out of Europe and by ship to South America.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

===Coat of arms===
King Henry I, Count of [[County of Tyrol|Tyrol]], granted a seal, similar to the present, depicting a crippled pilgrim with a stick and the rosary above the Tyrolean eagle, this appeared as a coat of arms August 30, 1328.  In 1524, the pilgrim is shown as a monk above the Tyrolean eagle. 
<ref>[http://www.ngw.nl/int/ita/s/sterzing.htm Heraldry of the World: Sterzing]</ref>