Kultura a památky v jižním Tyrolsku

The first rituals held at this site, where the little church has overlooked its wonderful views since 1743, probably date back to prehistoric times, although we cannot be sure of when exactly it was that people began to discover the unique aura of this place.
One thing is for sure: the road to the Latzfons Cross (2,311m), highest pilgrimage site in South Tyrol and erected on the south face of the Kassian Peak, is the oldest pilgrimage trail in South Tyrol.

The mountain refuge hut, close to the church at an elevation of 2,305m, has provided countless pilgrims and hikers with refuge and sanctuary over the years. Innumerable wonderful tales have been told about this sacred place, such as the legend of the “Black Christ” who, with a nod of his head, decided on the spot where the crucifix should be erected. Prayers sent up from here at the end of the pilgrimage, about an hour’s walk up a fairly steep road from the Klausen hut to the cross, afford protection to one and all, particularly from the wrath of the elements.

The view stretches over to the Langkofel, the Grohmann Peak, the Kesselkogel and the Rosengarten. It is not just the view that makes this place special though, but the atmosphere which pervades the site and can be felt instinctively by all those who come here.

The parish church "zu Maria Himmelfahrt" (of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary) is the oldest: the Chapel of Our Lady, built in 1112, was used as a parish church from 1170. It was rebuilt between 1499 and 1515, but its current style – Late Gothic – dates from its rebuilding between 1894 and 1899 according to plans drawn up by the Viennese architect Weber.

The church of the saint Valentin is located by the side of the road from Chiusa to Villandro. It is a single-nave construction with a presbytery and a lateral spire. In 1303 the church was mentioned the first time, though it burned down around 1400. During the reconstruction the church received the impressive gothic stellar vault instead of the flat ceiling. The altar inside is a splendid carved work and displays the bishop saint Valentin. Frescos at the west façade, which depict mother Anne with Mary Baby Jesus, are valuable art property. The figures are petite with a soft and round arrangement of the folds. Around 1400 the so called beautiful and soft style reached Tyrol and the patterned halos and picture frames with geometric adornment were characteristics of the style.

"Feast ad Anterivo" beginning at 18 o'clock
Numerous Altrei clubs and businesses pamper visitors with culinary delicacies.
The event is framed by music and regional products.

The Vinschgau Valley is one of the most arid areas in the Alpine region. Sunnaseit (sunny side) and Nörderseit (northern side) have always shaped the valley, the people, the culture.

Discover the versatility of this unique valley and its long history in the Vuseum - 's Vintschger Museum, and then hike the prehistoric settlement of Ganglegg or the old watercourses Leitenwaal and Berkwaal.

 

Enjoy the Venosta Valley ...

Interactive design, films, and the “Waal” hike along the ancient irrigation canals past the prehistoric settlement of Ganglegg make the visit really exiting.

 

... Experience the Venosta Valley

 The exhibitions make visitors understand why the Venosta Valley is the way it is today and how the people in the Venosta Valley learned to deal with the harsh conditions over the millennia.

 

Archeology

The Ganglegg site on the hill above Sluderno/Schluderns is the best-researched fortified hilltop settlement of the Bronze, Iron and Roman ages in the entire Alpine region. Valuable original structures have been preserved and also two houses rebuilt in this archaeological park.

The Rhaetian people at the Ganglegg occupied a position of social pre-eminence in prehistoric times, evidenced by the numerous jewellery and weapon finds from large parts of Europe. Their own writing, the place of burnt offerings as the centre of ritual ceremonies in the Venosta Valley made the people a powerful and widely feared tribe.

 

Swabian children

The Venosta Valley was a bitterly poor valley because of its climate. People had to starve and fight for survival every day. Facing a period of poverty between the 17th and early 20th century, many parents in the Vinschgau Valley were forced to send their children on a difficult an exhausting march to Upper Swabia to find a place to stay and work . The exhibition explores why it could come to this point and describes the hard everyday life of these "Swabian children".

 

Travellers – The Korrnr

It was not the desire for freedom that made them take the cart, it was poverty at home that forced them to do so. Pulling the cart, many people from the Venosta Valley travelled across the countryside. They bought and sold goods, hired themselves out as harvest workers or tried begging. Many a family was living on the streets for years.

 

WasserWosser – Water for irrigating the crops

Since the Venostaalley is one of the most arid valleys in Europe, the invention of a sophisticated system of artificial irrigation canals was essential for agriculture. Visit the exhibition WasserWosser and discover interesting facts about the origins, the history and organisation of this local irrigation system that has proven its value for thousands of years, and the way it was used.

Guided tours
Guided tours take place every Wednesday.
German guided tour - 16:00
Italian guided tour - 17:00

The Holy Grave chapel is situated just below the road, which connects Waidbruck to Barbian, just near the Wohlaufhof (farmhouse). The chapel has a very simple baroque altar. This little chapel was probably built during the 17th century in connection with a crusade. This impression is strengthened by three road crosses, which can be found in the surrounding area. In 1701, the chapel underwent a renovation paid for by Mr. Leiter, the post master of Kollmann and was cleaned up again in 1983. Ask for the key from the nearby „Wohlaufhof“, tel. 0471 654 024

Twenty minutes on Feldthurns is free on hilltop of St. George in Schnauders, a beautiful small building of the later Gothic, first attested in the 14th century. Your current form received this church partly in the 16th and partly in the 19th century. Interior and exterior renovated in 2007.

According the slogan "freedom and harmony between art and nature" the South Tyrolean artist Sieglinde Tatz-Borgogno has created 200 sculptures of bronze, marble and clay at the small village Pochinear Salorno. People with their forces, desires and fears are at the focus of the artist's creativity. The sculpture-garden is reachable in a few minutes from the center of Pochi and is freely accessible.

The military cemetery in Auer/Ora was originally established in 1916 as a burial ground for the chiefly Russian and Serbian war prisoners who had died while working on the old Val di Fiemme railroad. Additionally, a military hospital was established in Auer during WWI. A burial ground was set up at the site of today's military cemetery for fallen soldiers and for the workers who died during the construction of the railroad.

During WWII, the burial ground was likewise used as a cemetery for the war dead. The bodies of Austro-Hungarian soldiers who had fallen on the Dolomite Front were exhumed and transferred to their respective national cemeteries. Until 2003, the association for victims of war and combatants of South Tyrol took care of the military cemetery. From 2003 on, the "Schützenkompanie" Auer took over the cemetery's administration.

Three small churches, the church of Saint Gertraud, Saint Nikolaus and Saint Magdalena, built in the 12th and 15th century in an incredibly beautiful location with a fantastic view over the Isarco Valley. Visitors will be surprised by the level of artistic skill of the late-Gothic frescoes. This location can only be reached on foot over beautiful paths. Ask for the key from the nearby Messner restaurant. Guided tours are available on request, please call +39 0471 650 059. Holy Mass: July and August Sunday at 10:30 clock (german). Open from March to Mid Novembre, winter closed.

High above the San Lugano Pass there are the ruins of Austrian trenches.

Dear Woman Church The building was established by Giacomo Delai between 1652 and 1658. On the inside on can admire the cover paintings of the baroque painter Stefan Kessler, magnificent stucco works of Francesco Carlone and Simon Delai.
This church is open to visiti from july to septembre every tuesday, friday and saturday from 2 to 5 pm. In octobre to mid of novembre is open only on friday and saturday from 2 to 5 pm.

The Lago Santo (Holy Lake), situated in the Cembra Valley in Trentino, near the South Tyrolean border, sits at approximately 1,200 meters in altitude and is enveloped by dense alpine forests. Its crystal-clear waters make it a popular spot for anglers and hikers seeking peace and breathtaking mountain landscapes.

The church from Latzfons was mentioned for the first time in 1153 and is therefore older than the church in Klausen. The tower originates from tha 14th century and the again-gothical mechanism remained unchanged by the change in the year 1999.

Holy Cross Curch The continuity of the cult reaches from the early Middle Ages over the Roman and gothical church to the present building, which developed around 1679. The inside surprises by the winding and ceiling paintings, which probably come from a native painter. In the apsis is the cross of the master Leonhard from Brixen.

The church of Barbian was built in the 13th century consecrated to the apostle and patron Saint Jacob. Today the only remaining of the old church is he bell tower. The church was constructed in a Romanesque style and in the year 1472 it obtained Gothic elements. In 1874 – 1877 the Neo-Romanesque nave was added to the Gothic main body (today’s sacristy). The inclination of the campanile is attributed to the different grounding on which the tower was built. The half on the downhill side lies on the unstable soil of the Central Uplands and the other half on solid quartz-phillite-rocks. Ing. Fulvio Pisetta carried out a mechanical intervention in 1985 – 1988 to assure the stability of the church tower. Height: 37,00 metres Inclination: 1,56 metres

The Fahlburg Castle, originally „Tower of Vall“, was built during the 13th Century and owned by the Lords von Zobel. After the extinction of this family, there were some disputes over its ownership amongst the heirs. It is said that the minnesinger Oswald von Wolkenstein was kept captive by Barbara Jäger in the „Vall“, where he wrote songs and lamented bitterly about the tortures. In 1597, Jakob Andrä von Brandis bought the „Fahlburg“. The re-building work for changing the fortress into a Renaissance castle finished in 1640. Today, it is owned by Count Jakob von Brandis, a descendant of the dynasty of the counts von Brandis. The castle still hosts old tiled stoves, wooden ceilings and paintings by the Barouque painter Stefan Kessler. The castle‘s chapel has two levels and the sanctuary is consecrated. Today, events such asweddings, conferences, concerts etc. are arranged.

After over 400 years in family ownership, the castle was sold to the Athesia Group in 2021, whose founder in South Tyrol, Canon Michael Gamper, was born and raised in the immediate vicinity. The castle has been carefully restored since 2023.

The simple building established 1687 from Giovanni Delai. After a collapse a new consecration took place in 1693 . A splendourful iron lattice separates on the inside the visitor from the sister

The “Wasserman House” is situated on H. Wassermannstrasse, in the centre of Niederdorf/Villa Bassa village. The house, which remained the ancestral home of the von Kurz lineage in the 15th century, later came into civic possession. Between 1892 and 1977 it was the property of the Wassermann family who set up a café/pastry shop inside. The Wassermann House Tourism Museum documents the history of tourism in Hochpustertal/Alta Pusteria under the following themes: -hostelry and spa services in Niederdorf/Villa Bassa and surroundings. -early alpinism -building the railway through Pustertal/Pusteria

The Holy Trinity Church in Kollmann was previously called the customs chapel and was connected to the customs office by a wooden walkway. The church itself was built around 1588 and nearly destroyed by a fire in 1938. In the meantime, it has been renovated. It is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Holy Mass: Sunday at 8:30 clock or 10:00 clock (german)

The patrons of the Saubach parish church are St. Ingenuin and St. Albuin. The church was first mentioned in 1398. However, the choice of patrons concludes that the church is much older. Today this olt, gothic church is an attraction for many art lovers. It was built during the 15th Century. The consecration of the altars took place in 1502. When you go inside of the church on the porphyry portal with its pointed arch, you will immediately be impressed by the delicate rips of the net-like vault, the four custom-made windows and the three wing altars. In 1925, a fire did substantial damage the church, but with the help of donations from all around the country, the helmet-like tower and the roof could be renewed. Information about opening times at the Barbiano Tourist Information Office, +39 0471 654411, info@barbian.it
The keys are available in the Tschörlerhof, (+39 0471 654032, in the morning) and in the Gasthof Saubacherhof (+39 0471 654344, in the afternoon,) or by telephone arrangement.

The Titschenbach stream ends in a 68 high thunderous waterfall, which makes the village so unique. This is where the prehistoric inhabitants used to fetch water from the stream and channel it into canals for a variety of everyday uses. This place, the oldest in the history of the village, was mentioned in documents as "Tütsche" (Tyrolean Urbar from 1288). This name could have been derived in the course of a millennium from the Latin term "ductia", which, like the ancient "sala", referred to a water pipe. Salurn, the "village on the Tütsche", was created thanks to such watercourses. This dependence is symbolized, among other things, in the coat of  arms and name of one of the oldest families of the village, the family "An der Lahn". It is interesting to note that until the end of the 15th century, the stream crossed the Gries district in the south of the village and was only later diverted to the north on the mountain side of the settlement. The wooden bridge was first built around 1500.

This church in Gufidaun originates from the 15th century. The cultivated vestry, also called Koburger chapel, contains a noteworthy fresco cycle of the Ambrosius Gander from the valley "Jaufental". Holy Mass: Saturday at 18:00 clock and Sunday at 9:00 clock (german)

After 1200 bishop Konrad von Rodank established a house, in order to be able to offer travelers accommodation and care - therefore the name "Hospital Church". After numerous floodings only and alone the small, round place of worship kept until today.

The Lake Kaltern/Caldaro, located along the South Tyrolean Wine Road, is known as the warmest swimming lake in the Alps. Measuring about 1.8 km in length and 0.9 km in width, it is also South Tyrol’s largest natural lake. Surrounded by vineyards and Mediterranean vegetation, it is a beloved destination for swimmers, sailors, and nature enthusiasts. During summer, its pleasantly warm waters make for unforgettable lake experiences.

The Palazzo della Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme is located in Cavalese. The palace tells the history and traditions of the entire area and its population.

The church is mentioned for the first time in the year 1208. The today lategothical building was implemented by the master Benedikt Weibhauser from Brixen and inaugurated in the year 1494. On the inside a leaflet explains the building history of the church and the artistic equipement.

The Säben Mountain and its monastery deserve great attention for their archaeology, history, and art.

The artist Sonja Hofer from Klausen describes the fortress above Klausen as follows: "Sublime and striking, yet also slightly cold, the pale, pseudoromantic architecture of the monastery, marked by rigid symmetry, stands out starkly against the sky."

There is much to tell about the historically significant fortress above Klausen: Around the year 1000, the bishop’s seat was moved from Säben to Brixen. Until then, the Holy Cross Church served as the "Cathedral of the Diocese of Sabiona" for nearly 400 years.

The "Holy Mountain" is one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in Tyrol, with the well-known Ladin Cloister first mentioned in 1503. For over 335 years, Benedictine nuns shaped the Holy Mountain before leaving the monastery in November 2021. Since September 7, 2024, a new era has begun under Father Kosmas Thielmann OCist: the Cistercians from Heiligenkreuz Abbey have breathed new life into the monastery. Their goal is to reestablish Säben as a spiritual center and significant pilgrimage destination in South Tyrol.

Daily Mass is celebrated at 11:30 a.m. in the monastery church.

With support from the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone and the local community, the monastery aims to provide a space for prayer and meditation, as well as a place for encounter and exchange. More Cistercian monks are expected to join, strengthening the monastic community and revitalizing Säben's centuries-old tradition.

 

A rustic circular hiking trail along the Schwarzenbach/Rio Nero torrent to the waterfall offers a breathtaking natural spectacle offer. The "Katzenleiter" is a stone staircase consisting of 540 steps carved into the rock. The waterfall plunges into a 120-meter-deep gorge and offers a magnificent view of the entire south of South Tyrol all the way to Lake Kaltern. If you continue climbing the steps, you will reach the Brückenwirt inn in Montan/Montagna after a two-hour hike.

The chapel of the dead is situated at an altitude of 2186 metres between the mountain pass of Villandro and Sarentino on the high plateau of the Villandro Alp. The little church has to be renovated constantly due to the unique location. The last renovation was in 1981 by the “shooters of Villandro – Villanderer Schützen”. The crucifixion group inside the chapel is larger than life, for this reason it impresses every visitor. To the chapel of the dead leads a way of the cross which is 4 km long and has 14 stations. Besides, a way of the cross leads from Sarentino to the little church.