History

A journey in time …

The Bergrichter name:

Mountain judges were officer legally responsible for a specific mine. They issued the authorisations for excavations, implemented the orders of the owner, checked the taxes to be paid to the local vassal, granted the rights to the mine managers (water rights, forest use rights, etc.), and implemented miners' laws in case of breaches. The mountain judge of the Tures (Taufers)-Aurina Valley was always also the supreme superintendent of the forest (= the maximum forest appointment).

The first mountain judges were appointed at the beginning of the fifteenth century. The Tures tribunal, which until then only had a large mine in Predoi (Prettau), was part of the jurisdiction of Colle Isarco (Gossensaß). In 1498 Hans Öder was appointed the first mountain judge, only responsible for the Aurina Valley.

The first local tribunal was probably in Campo Tures (Sand in Taufers). The first judge located in the Aurina Valley was Michael Treyer. In 1545 he purchased the "zu Mullegg" farmhouse, where he moved the official headquarters of its activity. After his death, the heirs sold the farmhouse to the local vassal, who made it the permanent seat of the mountain tribunal.

In 1781, mountain judges were abolished through the administrative reform of Emperor Joseph II. At the beginning, the duties of the mountain judges were entrusted to a so called mountain judge replacement. Shortly after, the home of the judge became the seat of the forest authority of the Aurina Valley.

In the nineteenth century, the house was transferred to private ownership.