The Puster Valley[1][2] (Italian: Val Pusteria [ˈval pusteˈriːa]; German: Pustertal, Ladin: Val de Puster) is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy.

[3] Around the end of the I century B.C, the Rienz valley was mainly used by the Romans as an arterial road to connect the north-eastern regions of the Empire.

The Puster Valley belonged to the imperial province of Noricum, and the local populations, during the four centuries of the domination of Rome, began to assimilate the customs, the language and finally the Christian religion.

During the Napoleonic era, following the Austrian defeat at Austerlitz and the treaty of Pressburg in 1805, the entire region passed to the Bavaria: the Tyroleans, led by Andreas Hofer, repeatedly fought against the Bavarian domination.

The Puster Valley District (Italian: Comprensorio della Val Pusteria; German: Bezirksgemeinschaft Pustertal) was founded in 1969 with the merger of 26 municipalities.