MERAN, a favourite health resort, and the capital of a district in South Tyrol, Austria, is picturesquely situated at the foot of the vine-clad Küchelberg, on the right bank of the Passer, about half a mile above its junction with the Adige, and 45 miles to the south of Innsbruck. Meran proper consists mainly of one long narrow street, called the Laubengasse, flanked by covered arcades. In a wider sense, the name is often used to include the adjacent villages of Untermais, Obermais, and Grätsch. The most noteworthy buildings are the Gothic church of St Nicholas, with its lofty tower, dating from the 14th and 15th centuries; the Spitalkirche, built in the 15th century, and restored in 1880; and the quaint old Fürstenhaus, or residence of the counts of Tyrol. The town contains a gymnasium, a nunnery and school for girls, an institution for sick priests, and several other charitable establishments....
Meran owes its high reputation as a resort for consumptive and nervous invalids to the purity of its air and its comparative immunity from wind and rain in winter. It stands in 46° 4Γ N. lat., at a height of 1050 feet above the sea, and has a mean annual temperature of about 54° Fahr. Meran enjoys three seasons, being also visited in spring for the whey-cure and in autumn for the grape-cure. The arrangements for the comfort of the visitors are very complete; and the environs afford opportunity for numerous pleasant walks and excursions. The favourite promenade of the inhabitants is on a massive dyke, built to protect the town against the encroachments of the Passer. Nearly twenty old castles and chateaus are visible from the bridge over the Passer, the most interesting being Schloss Tyrol, an ancient edifice which has given its name to the entire country. Meran is now frequented by about 6500 patients and 8000 to 9000 passing travellers annually. In 1880 its population, including Obermais and Untermais, amounted to 5334 souls.
Meran is probably the representative of the Roman Urbs Majensis, afterwards known as Mairania. It became a town in 1290, and down to 1490 was the capital of the counts and dukes of Tyrol. The town suffered somewhat during the Peasants’ War in the 16th century, and subsequently from destructive floods. As a health-resort it has been known for about forty years. The whole region in which it lies is singularly rich in historic interest.
Authorities.— Beda Weber, Meran·, Düringsfeld, Aus Meran, 1868; Noë, Der Frühling von Meran ; Stampfer, Chronik von Meran, 1867, and Geschichte der Stadt Meran, 1872; Pircher, Meran als Klimatischer Kurort, 1870; Plant, Führer durch Meran, 2d ed., 1879; Knoblauch, Meran, 5 th ed., 1881.
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