Understand
The Burgraviate is the originary territory of Tyrol and already in the middle age it was an unitary district in the Tyrolean county. The district is composed by the Adige Valley around the town of Meran in the middle and by the valleys surrounding the historical capital, which was the capital of Tyrol from 1418 to 1848 when it was deplaced to Innsbruck. Before Meran the administrative centre of the Tyrolean county was in the current small village of Tirol over the town. The name Burgraviate derives from the fact that the district was under control of a burgrave. The Tyrolean rebellion against Napoleon began in the Passeier Valley in the north where Andreas Hofer lived. However, while the rural areas are very catholic and conservative the town of Meran is an international town with Belle Epoque flair and a multicultural life - with the only synagogue in South Tyrol! The current administrative unit was formed in 1971 as an association of municipalities - the capital Meran was included just in 1986. The westernmost part of the Adige Valley located in the Burgraviate is part of the geographical Vinschgau Valley but historically and politically it's part of the district.
The climate in the Burgraviate is of mild-continental type in the valley expecially in Meran and Alpine in the surrounding valleys. The climate in Meran and surroundings is very particular because it's the northernmost area in Europe where Mediterranean vegetation grows.
