As one of the oldest and most traditional music bands in South Tyrol, the Wangen Music Band is celebrating its 225th anniversary this year. The band has always taken on an important cultural role in the village, enhancing both religious and secular celebrations with its music.

The most important historical reference to the Wangen Music Band is found in an old church record from Gissmann. On July 2, 1797, the then parish priest Jakob Maier noted a payment of 12 guilders for the musicians from Wangen. This entry allows the band to trace its founding back to 1797. Around the year 1825, there were even two music bands in Wangen (which was an independent municipality until 1928, together with Oberinn and Sill): one played by memory, while the other was already using sheet music.

Until 1985, the Wangen Music Band held rehearsals in the old shooting range before around 35 musicians moved into the new community center. During the First World War, the band had to pause its activities as many musicians were drafted. Until 1932, secular marches were played at processions, until Father Arbogast Reiterer O.T. introduced four Absam procession marches by Georg Kaltschmid.

On the feast of Corpus Christi in 1935, the music band appeared for the first time in the beautiful traditional Ritten costume. In 1963, a major change came: new instruments tuned in concert pitch were purchased from the Oberhollenzer company in Brixen.

The line of conductors can be traced back to 1825. Most of them were teachers who also played the church organ. The most famous was likely Alois Zöggeler from Hafling, who in 1873 founded the Ritten branch of the Bozen Cäcilienverein. In 1877, he became choir director at the parish church in Burghausen, Bavaria. A handwritten funeral march he composed on December 1, 1869 is still preserved today.

Special performances of the Wangen Music Band include the centenary celebration of the Tyrolean uprisings of 1809. On August 29, 1909, the band traveled by train to Innsbruck and took part in the official festivities. In 1946, the music band played at the 150th anniversary of the Sacred Heart vow in Bolzano and at the political rally of the South Tyrolean People's Party at Sigmundskron Castle.

Since Barthlmas Day (August 24) in 1927, the Wangen Music Band has played at the popular Ritten Alpine Market and also offers food and drinks to guests from near and far. Since 1975, a strong friendship has connected the Wangen Music Band with the Music Association of Dietmannsried in the Allgäu region. The frequent exchanges and different musical styles of the two bands have brought much joy to both South Tyrol and Bavaria.

On March 19, 1988, the first St. Joseph's Concert took place under then bandmaster Konrad Kofler in the Wangen community center. The first female musician in the Wangen Music Band was Erika Kofler, who started playing the flute in 1986. Training young musicians is a high priority in the band. In earlier times, the bandmasters were also music teachers. Since 1985, music education has been provided by the Ritten Music School.

Since 2009, the band has enjoyed a beautiful new rehearsal room in the Wangen community center. Currently, David Winkler is the chairman, and the musical direction is in the hands of bandmaster Günter Kofler. For the jubilee year "225 Years of the Wangen Music Band 1797–2022," several events are planned.

Anniversaries are a time to remember the past—but also a call for the future. May the Wangen Music Band continue to bring joy through their music and carry out their many cultural and social roles for the good of the village community.