The Brenner Pass (Italian Passo del Brennero) is a mountain pass that creates a link through the Tyrolean Alps along the current border between the nations of Austria and Italy, one of the principal passes of the Alps. It is the lowest (4,495 ft/1,370 m) and easiest of the Alpine passes, one of the few accessible points through which the Alps can be crossed in the Tyrol region, and for that reason possession of the pass has long been coveted. The Romans regularized the traditional crossing that memorializes the local tribe of the Brennii. The road to the Roman province of Raetia led from Verona and Tridentum (Trent) across the pass down to Oenipons (Innsbruck) following the Inn River and thence to Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg). In a range of hills, or especially of mountains, a pass (also gap, notch, col, saddle, bwlch or bealach) is a lower point that allows easier access through the range. ... The Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east, through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west. ... This article lists the principal mountain passes and tunnels in the Alps, and gives a history of transport across the Alps. ... This article is about the Tyrol, the region in the eastern Alps. ... The Roman Empire ca. ... Trent is the name of several places: Trento in Italy Trent, Texas, USA Trent, South Dakota, USA Also: River Trent in the UK Trent jet engine family manufactured by Rolls-Royce plc Trent University, a liberal arts university located in Peterborough, Ontario. ... Innsbruck City Center Innsbruck and Nordkette from south // Geography Innsbruck is a city in western Austria, and the capital of the Tyrol province. ... For the river named Inn, check Inn River Inns are establishments where travellers can procure food, drink, and lodging. ... Augsburg is a city in south central Germany. ...

Heading southward through the Brenner route the Alamanni crossed into Italy in 268, to be stopped in November at the Battle of Lake Benacus. Control of the Brenner was wrested from Verona by Venice in 1178, a vital link to the silver that came from German mines. The pass was a trackway for mule trains and carts until a carriage road was opened in the 1770s. The railroad was completed in 1867, the only transalpine rail route without a major tunnel. Since 1918, control of the pass has been shared between Italy and Austria. Symbolically Hitler and Mussolini met here to publicly celebrate their pact, on March 18, 1940. The Alamanni, Allemanni or Alemanni, are a Germanic tribe, first mentioned by Dio Cassius, under the year 213. ... The Battle of Lake Benacus was one of the decisive battles that marked the beginning of the Roman Empires emergence from the Crisis of the Third Century. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A pass can refer to: a mountain pass, a low place in a mountain range allowing easier passage a strait or passage, usually used of one that is very narrow but still navigable permission to be away from ones unit for a short period in the U.S. military... Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Chancellor of Germany from 1933, and Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and chancellor) of Germany from 1934, to his death. ... Benito Mussolini created a fascist state through the use of propaganda, total control of the media and disassembly of the working democratic government. ...

Below the pass high Alpine pastures have been used for summer grazing of dairy cattle, thus making space available at lower altitudes for cultivating and harvesting hay for winter fodder. Many of the high pastures are at altitudes of more than 1,000 meters.

The autobahn (motorway) E 45 (European designation; in Austria also called A 13, in Italy A 22), leading from Innsbruck via Bozen to Verona uses this pass and is one of the most important North-South connections of Europe. Even with the removal of customs, the long traffic jams before the Brenner Pass are dreaded by all Northern Europeans who want to spend their holidays on the Mediterranean Sea. The German Autobahn sign Autobahn (pronounced in IPA, plural Autobahnen) is the German word for a major high-speed road confined to motor vehicles and having full control of access. ... A motorway (Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth nations) is both a type of road and a classification. ... Innsbruck City Center Innsbruck and Nordkette from south // Geography Innsbruck is a city in western Austria, and the capital of the Tyrol province. ... Bolzano (Italian) or Bozen (German) is a town in the Trentino-Upper Adige (It. ... Map of Italy showing Verona in the north Verona (population est. ... World map showing location of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Traffic jams are common in heavily populated areas. ... Satellite image Map of the Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ...

Also, the heavy freight traffic of lorries travelling through the Inn valley to reach the Brenner, creating pollution in this scenic area, causes much debate in regional and European politics. About 1.8 million trucks crossed the Europa Bridge in 2004 [1]. There are calls to move much of this traffic onto the railway. Cargo is a term used to denotes goods or produce being transported generally for commercial gain, usually on a ship, plane, train or lorry. ... A lorry is an expression for a truck an open railroad car with a tipping trough, often found in mines The word originally meant a sort of heavy horsedrawn wagon. ... For the river named Inn, check Inn River Inns are establishments where travellers can procure food, drink, and lodging. ...

In order to ease the road traffic, there are plans to upgrade the railroad from Verona to Innsbruck with a series of tunnels, including one under the Brenner Pass. Start of work is planned for 2006.

The Europabrücke (Bridge Europe) a few kilometers north of the Brenner is a large concrete bridge, letting the autobahn pass with 6 lanes over the valley of the Sill River at a height of 180 m. 820 metres long, it was celebrated as a masterpiece of engineering when built from 1959 to 1963. Europabrücke, or Europes bridge, is a 777m long bridge spanning the 657m Wipp valley just south of Innsbruck, Austria. ... The Sill is a 35 km long river in Tyrol, Austria. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

See also

Principle passes of the Alps Though the Alps form a barrier they have never been an impassable barrier. ...