Below the mystical Tartscher Bühel hill in Upper Venosta Valley lies the historic town of Glorenza/Glurns, which was settled as early as in Roman times, as a junction along the trade route of the
Via Claudia Augusta as well as a significant market and shipping center for the salt trade.
In 1499, the city was almost completely destroyed in the Battle of Calven during the Engadin War. As a result, the 10m high ring wall with its ten defensive towers and three gate towers was erected.
Today, Glorenza numbers only 900 inhabitants and is therefore
the smallest city in the Southern Alps, a true gem and the only town in Europe that can still boast complete medieval fortifications, tower gates, arcades, arches and vaults, surrounded by Romanesque
churches and
castles.
A permanent exhibition at the Tauferer Tower Gate showcases the town’s most famous son, the
painter Paul Flora, who died in 2009.