Culture et curiosités sur la route du vin du Sud-Tyrol

Between Caldaro/Kaltern and the lake lies a vineyard landscape with beautiful residences, including Manicor’s Renaissance structure. Because its new wine cellar, with a cubic capacity of 30,000 cubic meters, would have severely intruded upon this landscape, it was built underground. Only the wooden sales pavilion was added to the previously existing ensemble. The cellar appears only through the entrances and the glass “eye” of the tasting room, which affords views across to Leuchtenburg Castle. Rows of vines further cover the underground facility. A carefully formed concrete construction with building elements made of Corten steel was placed between sprayed concrete walls in the tempered ground. In this way a uniform climate for sustainable architecture has been ensured, which focuses on the gentle processing of grapes according to the tenets of biodynamic viticulture.

Greifenstein castle is enthroned high above the village of Siebeneich/Settequerce. It was first mentioned in 1159.  During the war between the Counts of Tyrol and the Bishop of Trient, in 1275/1276, the castle was destroyed.  Only in 1334, the small aristocrats, the Lords of Greifenstein decided to re-built it again.  On a few years later, in 1348, it was burnt down.  In latter years (once more re-built in 1363), Greifenstein went into the hands of the Lords of Starkenberg.  In 1420, when a part of the Tyrolean aristocracy went into war against the sovereign Duke Frederick of Austria, the sovereign had the castle besieged and starved out.  Amongst the duke's enemies was also the minnesinger Oswald von Wolkenstein.  He wrote a poetic song about the duke's besieger and made fun of them.  The duke's army could not take Castle Greifenstein, but the fight of the aristocracy and the castle's owner, Wilhelm von Starkenberg, became meaningless and, therefore, the Lord of Starkenberg escaped probably through a crevice at the south-western part of the castle.  His 18 servants gave up their resistance once they were promised free withdrawal.  Today, Castle Greifenstein is merely a ruin. 
In common language, it is also called the Sauschloss.  This name derived from a legend, which speaks about the time of the siege.  During this time, the people inside the castle had to face fact that they were left with no food.  There was only one well fattened pig in the castle's cellar.  Suddenly, one of the servants had an idea: instead of slaughtering the animal, they threw it with much laughter over the castle walls and down the rock just in front of the besiegers.  When those realised what just had happened, they lost all courage as they believed that the castle's inhabitants still had lots of food available.  Therefore, they withdrew ..... and Greifenstein was saved.

 

The world of grappa, spirits and liqueurs is a long tradition of the distillery Villa Laviosa.

A guided tasting is possible on request, only with advance registration and a minimum of 4 participants. Otherwise you can go shopping in the shop or try a few products.

 

 

In 1557, this house on the square, always described as small, was still an accessory to today's Amplatz, formerly the inn "zum Zotten" and connected by three doors. After it was later mentioned as an accessory to the Hilber, it was occupied around 1700 by the priest Johann Teiss the Elder. His heirs sold it in 1722 to Balthasar Öfner, Ladler or Krämer auf Montan. In 1783 the cobbler Johann Babtista Monsorno bought the upper part of the house - the seller received a pair of new shoes on top of the purchase price - and in 1788 Monsorno also bought the lower part. In 1813 the house was divided again: Peter Kaufmann received one floor and Josef Gaßmann one. In 1834 Gaßmann ceded his part to Peter Kaufmann. In 1838, he bequeathed the house to the community as the holder of the patronage rights of the Teissische Benefizium, with the condition that it be made available to the respective beneficiary free of charge. In 1905, the Benefiziumhäusl was sold to Jordan Amplatz. In 2017, Karl Amplatz sold it to the Zuchristian-Amplatz family, who lovingly renovated the house and expanded their directly bordering accommodation business (Amplatz). This closes the circle, and the Benefiziumhäusl is once again an accessory to the adjacent Amplatz, as it was in 1557.

 

Since 1507, a sundial has adorned this house, which in addition to the sundial on the church tower shows the time to visitors to the village square. As a special feature, this chronometer even distinguishes between "old" (winter time) and "new" time (summer time).

A Natural Monument!
The 82 m high waterfall is fed by the Möltner Brook. The path leads past the old Vilpiano's Wasserwaal from the 17th century. The water was once used to irrigate the fields.

Accessible by foot in ten minutes from the village center of Vilpiano.

The architects have succeeded in creating an exemplary alternative in this modern housing development: in addition to fixed adjacent row houses, they formed eight freestanding houses into a village-like group of homes, which have beautiful garden areas and are nicely integrated into the hillside. The individual structures are in fact connected to one another through the lower levels, but appear to be scattered, being lightly twisted along the wide pedestrian development, which is at the same time a play street above the underlying parking garage. The buildings are classical, with various types of houses again and again − plastered masonry with well-designed perforated facades, deep loggias and subtle colors. The housing group was developed jointly by the architects of the owners’ association, and received the 2011 South Tyrolean Architecture Award.

Distillation at the highest level
With fruits and grapes from our own vineyards we produce excellent fruit brandies and grappa. We use only fresh, sun-ripe and healthy fruit. Those are the heart and the abundance of aroma of our noble brandies and grappa. Barrique barrels in our naturalstone cellar hold special distillates up to 2 years, thus they get a pleasant mature and finesse! In our sortiment you will find various fruit brandies, berries brandies, grappa and liquors.

To the north of Rechtenthal Castle lies the hamlet Söll whose church is dedicatet to St. Mauritius. The steeple with its paired round arch windows and its brick-built pyramidal roof dates back as far as the 13th century, whereas the church nave and décor are basically realized in Gothic style. Of particular interest is a fresco, unfortunately seriously damaged, depicting the church's patron saint in a cavalry battle. The same patron also features as the central charakter in the winged altarpiece. When leaving the church, you will notice an inscription on the outer wall, just above the small rectangular window. Written in Gothic minuscules it tells that the south annex of the sacred building was wewcted later, in 1470. Just below the church you can see a building that is architecturally very interesting. Its structure is well-proportioned and the elegant wrought iron window grilles aforning the upper floor bear witness of the centuries-old craftsmanship that was at work here. A little further uphill from the church another architectual gem is hiding: here you will come across a group of two or three picturesque old farmhouses, and on the archway of one of these you can still read the initials of one of its formers owners who perpetuated his name back in 1684.

The left nave is Romanesque. The high altar was built around 1520. The left side nave is Gothic. The altar there contains picture panels of Adam and Eve, probably from Bartlmä Dill Riemenschneider.

Our hiking tip: You can reach the Gasthof Buchwald starting from Perdonig following the mark 8/10 to the former Gasthof Pichler on a steeper rise. You can go back on the “Eppaner Höhenweg” (number 9) to Perdonig (number 12) (Time approx.. 3,5 hours)

The Saalhaus is a type of building which is about 45 to 60 meters deep with a façade width of 5-11 meters. Through the entry door in the façade, you pass through a long, vaulted archway into the inner courtyard onto which rooms, used as storerooms, open. In the heart of the house, facing the courtyard, is the "Saal" or hall, a room of large dimensions, reaching from the ground floor up to the roof. Thanks to its opening onto the courtyard and its dormer windows, the room is well lit and remains cool during the summer months. These characteristics make it suitable for many domestic activities, for example, the preparation of agricultural products or drying of laundry. All the second-floor rooms and the balconies for accessing the upper floors face this room; all of this contributes to making the "Saal" the heart of family life. It is possible to look at the internal structure of a Saalhaus while passing through the pedestrian passageway that leads through the inner courtyard of Via Andreas Hofer 32.

Castelfeder (from castello, the Italian word for castle) is nestled between the holiday villages on this strategically important porphyry hill. Castelfeder is a prehistoric and Roman as well as early medieval settlement characterized by the remnants of several structures and buildings on a large hilltop. It is a true place of energy and a popular destination for excursions, especially in spring. Today, sections of the encircling defensive wall with the well-known "Kuchelen" castle walls, and parts of the Barbara chapel from the 6th century can still be seen. In addition, the sunny Castelfeder hill fascinates with its unique and diverse flora. A special feature is the smoothly polished fertility chute carved in porphyry. It was a central component of an ancient cult. Rumor has it that even today sliding down it results in the arrival of a much yearned-for baby.

The Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus in Siebeneich was built in the years 1912-1913 according to the plans of Karl Atz, conservator of the imperial & royal monarchy of Austria-Hungary and beneficiary in Terlan. The solemn consecration took place on November 25, 1913 by Provost Alois Schlechtleitner from Bozen.
The church was restored a first time in 1956 and a second time in 1986. Little has been left of the original church furnishings. The cemetery was established in 1960. The eight-register organ with 560 pipes was built in 1984 by the organ builder Pirchner-Reinisch from Tyrol.
For the 100th anniversary, the church was restored inside and out.

Catholic service: every 2nd and 4th Saturday at 7 p.m. and on Sunday at 8.45 a.m.

The viewpoint at the mountain station of the Mendel cable car, offers a breathtaking view on Kaltern and the Dolomiti mountain peaks of Rosengarten/Catinaccio and Latemar.

The Parish church "Maria Himmelfahrt" (Mary´s ascension) by Terlan is a building from the High Gothic Period of the 14th Century. The altar room and the choir chairs are the oldest part of the building.
Catholic services: Sat. 7 pm (every 2nd and 4th saturday of the month) and Sun. 8.45 am (every 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday of the month) in German and every Sunday 10.15 am in Italian.

The Jewish business family Schwarz founded the steam-powered brewery in 1849. It was the largest in South Tyrol. In 1897, an electric power plant was added. The plant was equipped with the latest, state-of-the art turbine model, Pelton. Many parts oft he plant were made of steel casting which are still perfectly preserved today.

In 1924, the brewery was sold and transformed into a malt brewery. Pilsner, Münchner and Caramel malt beers were produced.

The electrical power station was in use from 1897 until the malt brewery closed down in 1986. The whole area then became the property of the Autonomous Province of Bozen. The regional Fire Brigade school was built on the site, but a few of the original buildings have been preserved. At Heinrich Erschbamer’s instigation and his untiring commitment, the electric power plant has been professionally restored and has been open to the public since 2014.

The panoramic view at the mount Penegal, on 1,737 m offers a stunning view towards the near Dolomites, the Brenta Dolomites as well as the Etschtal/Val d’Adige (South Tyrol) and the Val di Non (Trentino). Absolutely not to be missed especially in case of optimal weather conditions.

The buildings of the "Happacherhof" estate can be dated back to 1604. Originally, the estate consisted of two farmsteads belonging to two different families. One of them was the Happacher family; for several generations, the mayors of the municipality of Auer/Ora came from this family. In 1911, the Theodor Steinkeller acquired the estate. His family was employed in the fruit trade and supplied the Habsburger monarchy from Bolzano/Bozen. Due to the Great Depression of the 1920s and 30s, the family was unable to keep the estate. In 1938, the farmstead was put up for auction and bought by the "Ente di Rinascita," an organization that focused on buying farms in South Tyrol and making them available to interested Italian investors. It sold the estate to the Rovereto-based Botta family. A family supervisor ran the farm, but the family did not invest in its maintenance. In February 1984, the farm was purchased by the provincial administration for use as a "practice farm for the secondary school for agriculture" and named "Happacherhof" after the original owner family. Today, it is an important place for students of agriculture to practice their trade. The extensive restoration

Once the "Wirtshaus am Steg". In 1523 the Leb family lived here. Ulrich Leb, called Uez, was a master tailor. In 1568, a bakery with master baker Hans Taz is mentioned for the first time on the lower floor. On the upper floor is the inn, which was probably run as such until the first half of the 17th century. Attempts to make it an inn again in 1670 and 1699 were successfully stopped by the then existing inns "Am Löwen" and "An der Rose" with reference to the few guest houses. After numerous changes of ownership in the following decades, several doctors of wounds moved in here one after the other from 1774 onwards. Only with the Wegscheider family, who have owned the house for several generations, does this place regain its former purpose and become a village bakery and also an inn again.

The two oculi in the attic are remarkable. These openings, also called "ox eyes", are still a widespread element in the façades of historic houses in Montan today.

During his first trip to Italy in 1494, the famous German painter Albrecht Dürer had to deviate from his route to Venice because of a flood on the Adige River. After possibly spending the night in the monastery "Klösterle" of St. Florian/San Floriano or in Neumarkt/Egna, he probably arrived at the Freedom Square in Laag/Laghetti and from there took the path over the Sauch Saddle into the Cembra Valley. This assumption is based on Dürer's watercolors of Segonzano Castle and a mill. Today it is possible to follow Dürer's footsteps on the Dürer path of the same name, which begins in St. Florian near Laag.

The fruit cooperative frubona Obstgenossenschaft Terlan originally arises from six cooperatives in the Bozen-Etsch Valley area. It has existed in its present form since 2010. 426 members cultivate a total of 1,154.55 ha of net area. In the shop you can buy apples.

In the center of the village, only a stone's throw from the market place, stands one of the wine village’s oldest houses, which has housed a hotel since 1742. In the back, the plot of land stretches up the mountainside and borders orchards and vineyards. At the highest point a wooden pavilion with large glass fronting stands on the roof of the new underground garage, built to be a wellness temple. The sauna provides an excellent view over Caldaro/Kaltern and into the Überetsch. The transition from the necessarily closed, dark rooms out into the garden is smooth, illuminated as it is by light shafts. An outdoors pool with a terrace is adjoined in such a way that the passages over into the vineyards seems self-evident. The old building is tastefully renovated; the old contrasts the new in the reception area, bar, wine cellar and bedrooms, all of which have an individual character to them.

The little St. Joseph Church in Ronchi - “Kirche St. Joseph in Rungg” in German, “Chiesa di San Giuseppe a Ronchi” in Italian - is, compared to the other churches in the surroundings of Lake Caldaro, a more recent construction. The building was planned in 1900 by Ferdinand Mungenast, an Austrian architect, who designed also other significant buildings in Bolzano and the Oltradige area, such as the Grandhotel d’Appiano or the St. Joseph Church in Frangarto. Seven years after its edification in 1901, the St. Joseph Church was embellished with a steeple.

Nowadays, the sacred building presents itself with a two-bay groined vault, a polygonal choir termination and a church tower with a pointed spire. In 1977 the church was placed under monumental protection. Worth seeing are above all the artworks by Ferdinand Stuflesser (1855 - 1926), a famous sculptor from the Val Gardena valley in South Tyrol: the altar with the statues of St. Joseph with Jesus the child and St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of writers and deaf people, as well as St. Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, the national patron saint of Spain.

Above the church entrance there is the statue of St. Anthony of Padua, venerated as the patron saint for the recovery of lost items. It is located in the hamlet of Ronchi (Rungg), which can be found along the South Tyrolean Wine Road after the centre of Termeno and before the wine village of Cortaccia. Also the public bus stops there.

Architect Othmar Barth has created a pioneering South Tyrolean hotel architecture by this building, proving that in South Tyrol modern regional architecture in its own right is possible, and that it doesn't necessarily have to refer to Alpine decoration. The refined, undulating building is nestled on the edge of the Caldaro vineyards and appears, though freestanding, to be integrated into the landscape, breathing the spirit of the place. The structure is slightly removed from the shore of the lake, and its restaurant, terraces and the shaded loggias of the rooms afford clear views of the meadows, even as far as the reeds on the glittering surface of the lake. Simple materials such as copper, wood, stone and plastered masonry add to the successful scale of the building; they also determine the interior and lend the hotel a sense of timelessness.

Estate building in the “Fuchsloch” quarter, consisting of two wings connected by a gate.
The older north wing (formerly the “Anichhaus”) is of 13th-century medieval origin: the newer south wing
(the “Cazanhaus”) was added around 1600 during the Renaissance. Vaulted courtyard passage and
remains of a Baroque façade painting.

The church of Saint Nicolaus was build in the 13th century and renewed in the 16. century.

The Leuchtenburg/Castelchiaro ruin dominates the hill above Lake Kaltern and shapes the landscape all around this wonderful village. The panoramic view from there is stunning and involves Kaltern itself, Tramin/Termeno, the South Tyrolean Unterland/Bassa Atesina and the nearby mountain peaks.

This small and cosy chapel was built in 1702 by order of the Commander Johann Jakob Count Thun. It was the second chapel, after the one in Klobenstein that was devoted to the Saint who was greatly revered by him. It is also the crowning conclusion of his building activities carried out at the manor of the Teutonic Order in Siebeneich which began in 1664. The altar with two columns and statues of St. John and St. Jacob, who are the patron saints of the Commander, is credited to the sculptor Cristoforo Benedetti from Castione.

This fantastic vantage point above Neumarkt offers a spectacular view over Neumarkt, Montan and the entire Unterland region as far as Bolzano/Bozen, Lake Kaltern and the entire Mendola group as far as the Corno di Tres above Fenn. To the north, the peaks of the Ifinger and Hirzer mountains can be seen, as well as the Sarner Scharte and the Texelgruppe above Meran/o.

It was decided at Lake Caldaro/Kaltern, the warmest lake in the Alps, to create an outdoor swimming pool with an unusual bathing complex instead of a season-lengthening indoor pool. The architect took advantage of the downslope to the lake, leading the swimmer from the entrance between airy pavilions, with wide-spread winged roofs made of steel for shade, past the bistro, to a wooden-planked terrace reminiscent of a ship's deck. Here the swimming pools lie on an underlying free surface with rain room and whirlpool complex, which serves as a shady area in the summer. From here, swimmers in the overlying basin can be seen from below through circles of glass. The entire complex looks like a refined moving concrete sculpture that seems to float above the lawn in front of the lake.

Old Joseph's Church

The old, small church was constructed in 1639 and dedicated to Saint Joseph. The tower was only added in 1865. This church is one of the oldest churches in Tyrol dedicated to Saint Joseph. The interior is arranged like a Capuchin church. The church was extended in 1845.
The church is not open for visitors.

Parish Church Saint Joseph the Worker

Because the old church became too small for the population in Vilpian in 1900, the community planned to build a new church. Due to the difficult financial situation and World War II, the construction of the new church only began in 1949; the bare brickwork was concluded in 1950, and finally in 1955 the church was consecrated. It is a modern, austere sacred building. Over the main altar, there is a life-size crucifix dating from the 17th century. It is an item on loan from the Meran Civic Theatre and is the most important piece of art in the church. The renowned painter Franz Lenhart from Meran painted the two adoring angels on the façade and the monogram of Jesus above the round window over the entry. The bell tower was not realized at the beginning, due to financial reasons. Only in October 1996, was the new tower constructed within a short period of time.

Catholic services: Sat. 7 pm (every 1st, 3rd and 5th saturday), Sun. 10.45 am (every 2nd and 4th)