Germany German signs in South Tyrol cause trouble
For German-speaking hikers, South Tyrol often feels like a piece of home: summit names sound familiar, you can take a break at the "Regensburger Hütte", for example, and signposts are also in your native language.
15.08.2025, 14:05
SDA
But you've been in Italy for a long time - and this is where an old conflict reignites. Increasingly, signs in the mountains are only written in German, criticizes the president of the Italian Alpine Association CAI Alto Adige, Carlo Zanella, in the local newspaper "Corriere dell'Alto Adige".
He had met Italian tourists who had got lost because they wanted to get to Monte Luco; however, the signposts only showed the German name "Laugenspitze". This can be dangerous in the mountains, said Zanella. Other problem areas include the Puster Valley and Ritten, where there are no bilingual signs despite many Italian visitors, according to Zanella.
No signs for Germans only
South Tyrol has been part of Italy since 1919 and was previously part of the Habsburg Monarchy. The region has three official languages: German, Italian and Ladin. According to the autonomy statute, bilingual place names are mandatory, and trilingual ones in Ladin areas. According to Zanella, this is complied with in 80 percent of cases - but not in some areas. "We shouldn't put up signs if we think they are only for Germans," said Zanella.
Zanella emphasized that he has been fighting for years for "fair but sensible place names". He is not in favor of a complete translation of every remote place, but signs should be put up for tourist purposes, especially in the mountains.
Debate about mountain huts
The South Tyrolean Alpine Association (AVS) had already caused discussion in June. In the association magazine "Berge erleben", AVS Vice President Ingrid Beikircher suggested that in future, mountain huts should be named after their location or local mountain. Names such as "Kasseler Hütte", "Regensburger Hütte" or "Rifugio Papa Pio XI" have no connection to the region. The aim is not to displace German names, but to create comprehensible, bilingual names.
