Field names are names of mountains and valleys, meadows and pastures, paths and footbridges, springs and streams, farms and hamlets... They are monuments of linguistic history. If you read old geographical names scientifically, you can tell a lot about our ancestors and how the land was used in the past. Field names contain information about the history of settlement and vegetation, and sometimes crucial hints for archaeologists. Field names reflect the cultural orientation of the population, e.g. when some names refer to long-gone cultural techniques (clearing by burning, uprooting or debarking) or to the supervision of grazing animals. Other names refer to wetlands, stony areas or muddy mountain streams.
The earliest evidence of place names dates back to the early Middle Ages, but the names themselves are sometimes much older; quite a few place names are of prehistoric origin. Ritten place and field names such as Antlas, Ober- and Unterinn, Föhn, Ameser, Endlitz, Pemmern or Beiern were coined by various language groups: the Eastern Alpine Indo-Europeans of the Bronze Age, the Rhaetians of the Iron Age, the Alpine Romans of the Roman period and the Bajuwars. They all left their mark in the form of geographical names.
Field names are primarily used to orientate us. People knew exactly what the individual places were called, where sheep or cows grazed. ‘Field names work like a map in our heads,` says field name collector Johannes Ortner. When we know the names of the places in the neighborhood, we feel a stronger connection with the place. The place takes on a greater quality and people develop a more intense relationship with it.
We were able to recruit the expert Johannes Ortner for this project. After studying social and cultural anthropology in Vienna, he worked as a project manager for the South Tyrolean collection of field names, was a nature park supervisor and teacher. As a freelancer, he has published numerous publications, given lectures and organized radio and television programs on the science of names and local history.
The cultural project is supported by the Ritten Tourist Association and the local unit of the South Tyrolean Alpine Association (AVS). We hope you enjoy exploring our special field names along the hiking trails on the Ritten.
Visit the nature museum's field name database at flurnamen.natura.museum
