The extensive Prettau/Predoi exhibition mine tells the story of copper mining. Equipped with helmet and waterproof jacket, visitors travel with the pit railway to see the galleries of the mine.
A guided tour relates to visitors the hard work performed by the former miners throughout a period of 500 years, depicted through working scenes and extraction techniques. Excavation by means of hammer and chisel is explained, as is the use of black powder and the extraction of the ore with compressed air.
Please book the entrance in advance. Last entry 3 pm
- on request for groups also after 3 pm
Closed on Monday (except public holidays).
Closed during the winter months (until Easter).
The "Jaufenburg" above St. Leonhard was built in the 13th and 14th Century by the men of the Passeiertal Valley and was once a magnificent castle. As well as many picture presentation boards about the history of the castle, you can also visit the court house, shield farms, wall frescoes from 1538, listen to an audio recording of legends and enjoy the unique view.
On a hill above Mareit near Sterzing rises Wolfsthurn Castle, described by the Tyrolean historian Johann N. Tinkhauser in the 19th century as “the most beautiful castle in all Tyrol”.
The baroque castle has since its building been in the possession of the Sternbach family, and since 1996 has accommodated the South Tyrolean Museum of Hunting and Fishing.
The Museum displays the originally furnished ceremonial rooms as well as a rich cultural and historical collection on the history of hunting and fishing.
The interesting “Forest and Water” walking trail leads to the castle.
The historic gothic block house is one of the oldest existing wooden structures in South Tyrol. Listed under a historical preservation order in 1982, the old kitchen has an open-hearth fireplace typical of the Alpine mountain regions. In 2000, MuseumPasseier established a small museum illustrating traditional rural life, farming the pastures and the local way of life in medieval times. The exhibition remains open throughout the summer months.
Not far from the animal compound lies the late Baroque Chapel of St. Anna, dating from 1796.
Getting there: starting from the center of St. Leonhard/San Leonardo, pass the church on trail no. 13 or just follow the directions to St. Anna. The ascent along the forest road up a moderately steep slope (difference in altitude: 650m) takes about 2.5 hrs, and is also suited to mountain bikes.
In a side valley at an altitude of 1,350m a.s.l., the mountain pasture is located in a picturesque setting north-east of St. Leonhard/San Leonardo. Open in summer.
A trading area grew up to the south, outside the City walls, probably around the same time that the City of Glurns was established. The idea was to provide the new urban Settlement with an economic mainstay other than trade. For this purpose the mill stream was diverted directly at the old Bridge over the River Etsch: it would from now on serve (at the latest from 1330) as a power source for the city mill. The importance of the miller`s craft in those times is shown by the fact that millers had their own handicrafts ordinance (since at least 1615) an in Baroque times there existed here a fraternity of millers. Repeatedly destroyed and damaged over the course of the centuries, the City mill was always rebuilt, since a functioning mill was clearly in the public interest. The waterwheel was replaced by current owner and in 2004 the mill was completely restored.
... a little jewel in the heart of the Ahrntal valley... In Prettau/Predoi in the Ahrntal valley copper was mined for more than half a century. The administrative center was located in Steinhaus/Cadipietra. Today you will find the South Tyrol Museum of Mining - location Steinhaus/Cadipietra.
Precious wooden models of mining equipment, paintings and artistically decorated mine maps, books, documents and finds from the mine bring the history of mining in the Ahrntal valley to life once again.
Last entrance 5 pm
Closed on Monday (except public holidays).
Closed during the winter months (until Easter).
The South Tyrolean traditional costumes are renowned for their beauty. It is interesting that almost every village and town has its own costume. These pieces of clothing are worn at every festive occasion, such as religious festivities or at processions. During the time of Charles the Great, it was not permitted for farming folk to wear expensive clothing. People of the lower ranks of society were not allowed to wear more than a Loden jacket. The farmers had to wear clothes made of materials they could produce themselves. Expensive fabrics such as silk and brocade were reserved for the richer people in society. Only when Empress Maria Theresia came to power, was this law amended so that the population could wear traditional costumes of any style. This resulted in a variety of traditional costumes that are still used to this day.
Kastelruth costumes for men: Men wear a shirt, cardigan and jacket with trousers and costume shoes. Their hat is decorated with a carnation and some leaves. The top button of the cardigan and jacketremain open.
Kastelruth costumes for women: Women wear a long black skirt and a black velvet corset. During the winter, they also wear a black small cape and during the summer a white jacket. On top of these, there is a silver or coloured shawl with long fringes. With the jacket, they need to wear a blue apron and with the small cape a black, water-silk apron. In addition, they wear fashionable ribbons that look well with their shawl. Married women wear their hair up, with a silver hairpin and a type of stylish comb, which helps to keep their hair in a knot. Unmarried women wear pigtails that are arranged in a type of Gretl hair style and incorporate this with a black velvet ribbon.
A fantastic experience for the whole family!
The Mineral Museum Teis is dedicated to the famous Geodes of Teis which formed thanks to volcanic activities more than 290 million years ago. Besides Geodes of Teis, there are also exhibited other alpine minerals (rock crystals, smoky quartz, garnets etc.). The collection is Paul Fischnaller’s lifework who dedicated his life to the minerals.
A short introductory film gives insight into the formation of the Alps and the minerals. In the well-assorted museum shop you can purchase books, souvenirs, gemstones and healing stones.
Join Paul Fischnaller on his search for Geodes of Teis! Every Thursday, reservation required.
The Völlan Farming Museum is located in a beautiful annex of the vicarage that once housed fire wood, the laundry, a pigsty and the baking oven and nowadays impressively illustrates pre-industrial farm life to visitors.
In front of the entrance you can already see various sandstone vessels, baskets for piglets and other farming tools. The two-floor museum consists of four rooms. The first one presents an original living room and through clothes and everyday objects gives insights into a farmer's life in the 18th century.
Many utensils like a butter churn, a Keschtnriggl (a traditional chestnut basket), sausage presses and pasta machines are on display in the adjacent kitchen, whereas the next room presents tools of all kinds that mainly were hand-made by the farmers of the pre-industrial era.
Nothing is better than to learn from history by living it. That is the reason why the Farmer's Museum in Völlan not only is meant for grown-up visitors but for students and children too, because ultimately it gives us insights into the hard everyday life of times long past.
Here you get an impression of the huge diversity of tools a farmer would need and use back then. The upper floor houses tools and equipment for spinning and weaving like a loom, a reel, etc. The mill in the last room, however, originates from Oberinn on the river Ritten near the capital of Bolzano/Bozen.
A museum structure at the old hydroelectric power station situated at the foot of the Stieber Waterfall at Moos. The topics: hydropower, the history of technic and electricity of the Hinterpasseier.
Free admission
Trauttmansdorff Castle, where Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sissi) would come in holiday, now houses the Touriseum, the first museum in the Alps comprehensively and exclusively dedicated to the history of tourism. Among the highlights of the museum is the circuit „250 Years of Tourism in Tyrol“.
In the museum you will find a large exhibition of historical working equipment and instruments used by our farmers. Furthermore it represents the traditional life and function of the Southtyrolean farmers.
Exhibition theme: antique equipments, instruments used by farmers in South Tyrol
Place: San Genesio
Free entry with donation
Info: tourist office San Genesio, Tel. +39 0471 354196 or directly by Mr. Erich Egger Tel. +39 331 624 1968
The Ulten Valley Folklore Museum offers an excellent overview of the life of the farmers in the Ulten Valley.
The museum in Sulden am Ortler, an underground structure at 1900 m above sea-level, is devoted to the world of ice. “At the end of the world” we call it. That is what it says on a 1771 map drawn by Peter Anich showing the glacier on the Ortler, beneath which the Ice Museum is located. At MMM Ortles Reinhold Messner tells of the Terrors of Ice and Darkness, Snow People and Snow Lions, the Whiteout and the Third Pole. The museum houses the world’s biggest collection of Ortler paintings as well as ice-climbing gear from two centuries. Skiing, ice-climbing and expeditions to the Poles are the themes. Visitors find themselves inside the mountain, where they are given a clear picture of ice mountains, the Arctic and Antarctic, the power of avalanches, and the pains taken by artists to depict the world of ice.
The Parish Museum
The parish museum St. Michael was established in 1980 as the first of its kind in the Chapel of St. Michael which had been restored by the Provincial Monuments Office. It was created an exhibition space which was created in order to protect the works of art and to make them accessible to the public.
The exhibition comprises over 20 individual objects or groups of objects, including the winged altar of St. Peter am Bühel (year 1510), the altarpiece of St. Constantine (year 1519) and the former baroque high altarpiece from the parish church (Adoration of the Magi, Year 1742, a masterpiece of the painter Johann Jakob Delai from Bolzano). Furthermore the "Probst Nativity" which was created by the handicapped artist Augustin Alois Probst from Sterzing around 1805 - the so-called Kastengrippe. Worth seeing are the 42 miniature scenes with the entire history of salvation from the birth to the suffering the Passion and the Resurrection up to the Ascension of Christ, among others with more than 240 expressively carved wooden figures.
Archaeology Museum:
In the crypt of the St. Michael's Chapel an archeological collection was built, which can be visited during a guided tour. There are findings from the different epochs - from the Neolithic period to the early modern times - are exhibited, such as the crescent-shaped bronze fibula from the 6th/5th century B.C. In addition, there is also a fragment of a Roman gravestone and so much more to discover.
Tyrol Castle is the most historically significant castle in South Tyrol. Its origins stretch back into the late 11th century.
Since 2003 Tyrol Castle has housed the South Tyrolean Museum of History. Its main focus is the history of the province from its beginnings to modern times.
The oldest structural elements can be found in church excavations in the outer bailey (three building phases, three-apse chamber from the 9th century). The south palace contains the two Romanesque portals. The two-storey castle chapel is dedicated to St. Pancras and is famous for its gothic frescoes. What is believed to be the wedding chamber of Countess Margarethe of Tyrol, known as Maultasch (literally “bag mouth”), is situated in the Mushaus. The keep, which was only completed after 1902, now houses an exhibition of the history of the 20th century depicted over twenty separate levels. The historic estate buildings house special exhibitions.
More than 160 pieces of art by painter Rudolf Stolz (1874 - 1960) can be admired in the museums' showrooms. The artist learned by self instruction. During the first half of the 20th century he was one of the most renowned artists in Tyrol, together with Egger-Lienz. The art of Rudolf Stolz is characterised by the drawings of Madonnas. Special exhibition in the summer 2021: Amon e Fingerle 1906 -1940: Liebe für das Haus (love for the house)
In 1940-41 by the fascist regime was built this bunker for reasons of defence. It is an impressive underground structure made on several storeys with a tight net of tunnels, that joins shooting ranges and inner rooms. In the front area there is an exhibition of photographs (Gampen Gallery), whereas the central part hosts an exclusive collection of minerals.
In Moos/Moso you will find a museum experience with a particular character. In combination with an Information Centre of the Natural Park Texel group exhibition areas to settlement history of the background Passeier, snow mountain, natural history and geology offered. History and experience bunker as well as a Capricorn-enclosure complete the offer.
Ladin Museum - Tor Castle In the very heart of the Dolomites live more than 30,000 Dolomite Ladins whose identity is characterised mainly by two important features: the uniqueness of their language, which derives from popular Latin, and the extraordinary mountain landscape at the heart of the southern Alps. It is only thanks to the physical characteristics of this landscape that the Ladin language has survived today. It is the eldest of all languages spoken in this region and is restricted by the Italian and the German cultural and linguistic areas that surround it. The way through the museum focuses on some significant aspects of the present and past lives of the Dolomite Ladins, highlighting the important influences of cross-regional events on the lives of the population and pinpointing the existing interrelations between landscape forms and lifestyles. The museum is housed in the Ciastel de Tor, a castle dating back to 1230, created as a fiefdom of the Bishops of Brixen.
The castle is available as a wedding venue for couples interested in crowning an unforgettable day and experiencing a fairytale moment in a medieval castle.
Visitor Center Nature Park Schlern-Rosengarten: The area of the nature park Schlern-Rosengarten has a diversified history, not only in its prehistoric formation. The resulting flora and fauna as well as the management by the people, along with their customs and myths, have left their mark. The exhibition in the Visitor Center Nature Park tries to show all aspects of this area’s unique geology, which was the main reason leading to being named as a Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the flora and fauna, which has always been a source of attraction and inspiration for scientists and nature lovers. In laborious detail work, the inhabitants of this area contributed significantly to the preservation of this valuable cultural and natural landscape. In addition to the exhibitions of the Visitor Center Nature Park department, the tourist office Seis am Schlern and the village library complete the offer for guests and locals.
What was life for Franz Fromm, a merchant and collector, and his family in Merano like? How did they experience the turbulent years from 1921 to 1941? How did family members and employees live together in the typical spa town villa? What did the arts and crafts collection mean to them?
Come to our house museum and find out! Welcome to Villa Freischütz!
Admission
Adults: 10,- €
Discounts (seniors over 65, children under 18, students, disabled persons): 8,- €
2nd floor guided tour: 10,- € / 8,- €
You can visit the rooms on the first floor.You can visit the rooms on the second floor only with a guided tour. We only offer guided tours for small groups. Please book a tour in advance. Due to the construction of the villa and to protect sensitive objects you cannot visit the rooms on your own. A guided tour costs 10,- € or 8,- € per person, it lasts 1.5 hours and is in German, Italian or English.
At the tractor museum, 30 Porsche Diesels from various model years can be examined. An experience for young and old alike!
Every first Friday of the month from March to November at 3 pm there is a free tour (further tours available on request). Free admission, closed on Mondays.
Juval Castle, the summer residence of the world-famous mountaineer, Reinhold Messner and the Messner Mountain Museum.
Medieval Juval Castle is situated on a prehistoric place of worship at the entrance to the pristine Val Senales. The castle was built around 1278 by Hugo von Montalban. In 1540, Juval Castle changed ownership and reached its heyday in those years. In 1913, the Dutch Colonial William Rowland turned up at the dilapidated castle and had it professionally restored. Since 1983 Juval Castle has been the residence of extreme mountaineer Reinhold Messner and has turned Juval Castle into the main site of the MMM Messner Mountain Museum. The castle contains an extensive Tibetan collection as well as the Mountain Gallery and the ethnic mask collection with exhibits from five continents. Juval Castle also boasts some Renaissance-era frescoes that can be visited. Alpine fauna can sometimes be spotted wandering about in the castle grounds and there is also a farm with its own vineyards and a winery. The attached winery Unterortl, the organic farm Oberortl, and the Schlosswirt revitalize these small-scale cultural landscape in Lower Venosta Valley.
Brunnenburg Castle stands on a glacial debris cone between Dorf Tirol/Tirolo and Tyrol Castle. This truly unique-looking castle complex is said to be named after a nearby spring. The fortifications date from between 1241 and 1253. The remains of these fortifications also formed the basis of the restoration of the building. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Brunnenburg was restored in a very unusual manner. Today it is a cultural center and home of the South Tyrolean Agricultural museum.
The History of Commandery Longomoso - a rural branch of the Teutonic Order - is closely related to the hospice, which was built in the year 1200, when the road to cross the Alps led across the Renon. The hospice was used as accommodation for travelers, for changing horses, to care for the sick. The present form of the building as a mighty wall cube with a pyramid roof was built c.1650. The magnificent "Reiteröfen" (fireplaces) in the state rooms are witnesses of domestic potter art. Worth seeing are the stucco ceiling and wallpaper with biblical scenes and episodes from the history of the Teutonic Order. Today the Commandery is the beaming cultural center for the whole Renon. The Board of Trustees of the Commandery Longomoso operates a varied program of events.
Located at the southern-western outskirts of Bolzano/Bozen, this castle is considered one of the emblems of South Tyrol. The original name "Formigar" stems from the Latin word "formicaria". From the 10th century a.d. the castle belonged to the Prince-Bishop of Trento, while during the second half of the 15th century Duke Sigismond , Count of Tirol, bought it and transformed it into the biggest and most prestigious of his castles naming it Sigmundskron (Sigismonds' crown). At the present date it has become the Mountain Museum of Reinhold Messner MMM Firmian.
The "Culten" documentation centre on the church hill of S. Valburga/St. Walburg in the Ultental Valley is set to open its doors in Spring 2018. Divided into three sections,
