Historie a kultura Bolzana

Anyone who approaches Bolzano/Bozen from the south along the A22 will see the Salewa building, to the right of the highway, a modern gateway to the city. Three office towers, with four, seven and twelve floors respectively, are set in a urban dialogue one with the other and with the surrounding mountain landscape. Through the freely formed designs as well as the facades of dark glass and gray aluminum, the building mass retreats and yet, at the same time, matches the colors of the mountain. In the seemingly unusually shaped building volumes made of a reinforced concrete structure with curtained glass and/or metal facades, South Tyrol’s largest climbing gym is housed in addition to the company warehouse and administrative offices. This structure adjoins a small recreational park with a garden area and a restaurant, which matches Salewa’s sporting goods production nicely.

In San Genesio at 1,435 m asl, located on the „Malgorer“ Salto, there ist the most ancient larch tree of the Salto high plateau.

Its age cannot be exactly determined.

This ancient larch tree is an an aesthetic feature in the middle of the wide larch groves on the Salto.

The lowest strongest branches form a candelabra shape. The tree crown could develop freely upward due to the lack of competition.

The once splendid tree has suffered damage due to the snow pressure in the winter of 2008/2009, numerous branches were pressed down and broken.

Height of the tree: 24m

Diameter: 2,03m

Circumference: 6,40m

Locality: Montoppio

Sea level: 1435 m

The Church of Blessed Henry, patron saint of Bolzano/Bozen, is the youngest church in the district of Laives/Leifers. In 1853 donations were collected to make the construction possible. All donors were immortalized on a board in the church. In the church there are three altars, the picture of the high altar shows Blessed Henry. 

The Schreiberhouse is one of the oldest and best conserved buildings in Jenesien. It was built in the 16. century and was designated as a historic monument. 

The first church was dedicated to St. Maria Magdalena and was built in the 12th century. In the 14th century there were structural changes, which served the beautification and were necessary for conservative reasons. The change of the patron of Magdalena to Martin was supposed to have been completed in 1613, from then on, only a church of Saint Martin is mentioned.

lat. JUGUM = YOKE formerly "Schweighof" - in the Middle Age hunting house of the local lords of Maultasch - behind the house you can see a grave that goes back to the migration period (300 - 500 a. Ch.). Beside is the 'Tschaufrer Weiher' - a biotope - once an artificial fish farm.

A place of energy with views of Sciliar, Catinaccio and Latemar.

Titschenwarte is an absolute insider’s tip and a pure place of energy: After a short hike you reach this unique viewpoint with breathtaking views of the Dolomites - Sciliar, Catinaccio and Latemar. The place invites you to linger and to reflect. As a special treat you will be offered a delicious glass of wine. Thanks to a generous benefactor!

The Men of Stone are situated to the north to Flaas. It's a sacred power spot that offers a 360° panorama view. The hiking tour starts at the parking space "Campitello". From here you will walk for about 40 minutes to the mountain hut Jenesier Jöchl (reachable with prams). Follow the trail no. 23 till you reach the Men of Stone. Backwards you will pass the mountain hut Möltner Kaser till you turn to the starting point by following the road no 28.   

The ruin of St. Valentine was the precurser of today's church in Salonetto/Schlaneid. The wooden church was build in the 8th century, but was replaced by a stone church just one century later. In the following 1000 years the church was architecturally changed multiple times, and completely renewed in 1770, when the church was replaced by a new one in the village center.

The rather unattractive post office of the 1950s was converted into a passive house to be used as an administration building. The addition of two more stories improved its size, also in relation to the surrounding area. Next to the elegant station tower, the stairwell of this old building no longer fit in and was covered with solar panel elements during the conversion. The bulky body of the building was brought to life through various window designs, which allow for an interplay of shadow and light. The 3% extra costs spent on energy-saving technology for the building has paid itself within five years: this gold low-energy house only costs 45 euro per worker on heating, as opposed to the 270 euro buildings in category C pay. This is, in fact, the first office block in Italy that meets passive house standards. The interior, with its wide corridors for special uses, is light and friendly, using only the simplest materials.

The children´s playground is open the whole year and you can find it behind our gym/climbing hall.

The viewing platform "Klapf", just a few minutes walk from the village center, is quite a highlight: lose yourself in the breathtaking view over the main chain of the Alps. 

This vocational school underneath Mount Virgl in Haslach was created through a competition in 1975. The compact building complex comprises four units: the three-part office and classroom wing, the two wings of the workshops, the auditorium and the gym. The concrete construction with exposed brick infill forms a very sustainable structure for which an expansion program was developed in the 1990s, which led to the addition of another story onto the previously built three-story class and office building. On the ground floor a meeting room for 150 people was built, with foyer and control room. At the same time, the technical infrastructure – heating, sanitary facilities, water treatment system with solar collectors – was renovated and upgraded. The addition of the new story matches the existing building structure, but is clearly recognizable as an extension.

Every day, you can climb another summit. You will definitely have to hike up the legendary Alpine rage on the "Hohen Reisch" if you want to be called a friend of South Tyrol. It is one of the most beautiful views of the Sarntal Alps, from where you can see the entire Dolomite group, as well as the Marmolata and the Ortler mountains. Even if the weather should not turn out good, a hiking trip to the "Stanernen Mandln" (stone men) is extrenely fascinating. There are more than one hundred, which have been built over time, and most of them are of an impressive height. They are like a group of soldiers.

Here, at an altitude of 2,000 meters, they say that more than 500 years ago, witches have performed their dances and celebrations with the Devil. There are terrible stories around, which talk about what happened during a thunderstorm and also about the eating of children etc. A legal document from 1540 states that Barbara Pachler was accused of meeting with devils and witches and the document is used to support the old stories. Ancient signs seem to prove that the outlook was used as a Celtic place about thousands of years ago.

The Tyrolean Rebellion of 1809 was a rebellion of peasants in the County of Tyrol led by Andreas Hofer against the occupation of their homeland by the French and Bavarian troops within the context of the War of the Fifth Coalition against Napoleon I.

Come and see this 400 year-old mountain maple just next to the Tomanegger restaurant on the road between San Genesio and Valas. Relax under its calming branches, while having a spectacular view on the Dolomites just in front of you! 

Here some informations about the Tomanegger mable:

Trunk circumference: 1,7 metres, 3,0 metres, 1,8 metres Height: 18 metres

Leafage diameter: 18,5 metres

Age: about 400 years 

The church was first mentioned in 1237. The main patron is the Saint James the Greater, but the church was also dedicated to St. Barbara and St. Christopher. Originally, the little church was a Romanesque nave construction, which in the 15th century has been adjusted to the new gothic architectural forms. The old Gothic winged altar, also of the 15th century, is still preserved inside the church.

Sigmundskron is a symbol found in South Tyrol's early history. It was first mentioned in 945 and was built into a fortress in 1473 by Duke Sigmund. In 1996 the ruins were taken over by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano-Bozen and in 2003 they were handed over to Reinhold Messner to be transformed into the Messner Mountain Museum. The preservation of the character and protection of the ruins was the main concern during the conversion building works. The steel constructions which were developed for this purpose were positioned at a distance with as few contact points as possible with the outer stone walls and the interior of the towers and rooms, so that these seemingly light architectural elements can be removed at any time. The design of these sections of the building has been kept as simple as possible, and they are clearly set apart from the historical parts of the building. This allows for a distinct demarcation of the old and the new.

The lime pit was built of bricks and reminds of the shape of a well. There was produced lime for the construction of houses.
Wolves were also caught on the basis of stories.

The town hall and neighboring extension of the church were conceived for a town building competition focused on restructuring the town center. The town hall is distinctly recognizable, with its tower and spacious square in front − identifiable features of the public building. The angular building has a north facing glass facade in front of which stands a row of pillars. These support the large overhang of the roof and are as high as the four-story building. The stone materials used for covering the facade were sourced locally from Europe's largest porphyritic stone deposit in Bolzano. Dark metal constructions for the window frames and exposed copper for the roof complete the selection of materials. Behind the main entrance the visitor is welcomed into a three-story high spacious atrium, which leads onto light rooms without a hint of claustrophobia.

The Magdalena church was built from scratch in 1705, because in 1629 was already built a chapel dedicated to St. Magdalena. The altar dates back to the Renaissance and was probably already in the first chapel.

Former rectory with Gothic bell tower.

The merlons, slits and the sculptured faces in the stone decorate the Gothic bell tower of Jenesien town hall buildung, once the village school and rectory.

The gothic church of Avigna/Afing was approximately built in the 15th century, its patron saint is Saint Nicolò. 

Archeological discoveries prove that settlements at Lavena date back to the Bronze Age, probably as a place of paga worship.

The lovely church beside Lavena is dedicated to St. Jacob, the patron of travellers and wayfarer. 150 years ago, Lavena was a frenquently visited merchant's and livestock market.

Today, Lavena has become tourist attraction and hiker's delight on the Salto high plateua in San Genesio.

The coat of arms has five red dots along the diagonals on a silver field. The motif comes from the shield of the noble of Goldegg.

The church of Pineta is the youngest in the surroundings of Laives/Leifers. The building process began on 15th september 1963. Since building a church was extremely expensive, lots of people helped voluntarily. The first mess was celebrated in 1969, even though the church wasn't finished yet and there were no benches.  

A church in Flaas is documented for the first time in 1237. The present church was built around 1500 and has a Romanesque predecessor with a half-round apse.