| Jižní Tyrolsko vinicemi je bohaté na kulturu a historii, které stojí za objevení. |
Distillery with prize-winning products
Since 50 years the distillery Fischerhof produces high quality grappas from its own grape pomace and from various fruits first-rate distillates and liqeurs. At the moment there are about 40 different types of products available for tasting ans sale.
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.
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 old church of St. Michael | Eppan is located on the St. Michaels square next to the church "Maria Heimsuchung".
Patronal feast: June 24th The construction dates are written on the church itself. The year 1581 can be seen at the end of the choir, 1586 at the southern entrance. The choir of the church was built in Gothic-renaissance mixed forms. The high altar contains an altarpiece of the painter Johann Degler of Funes.
The church is only accessible during holy masses.
Source: Parrish office Kaltern
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.
Time table:
1191 First mention of a priest Nolpertus
1211 First mention of the parish as plebs Caldari
15th century Late Gothic hall building
1498 Winged altar by Hans Klockner
1791 Demolition of the Old parish Church
1792/93 New construction of the parish church - frescoes by Joseph Schöpf
1793 Sanctification of the parish church
1899/1900 Restoration by Steiner to Felsburg
2002/2004 Restoration of the parish church: complete reconstruction of the church roof, entire interior restoration by Gebr. Zingerle, renovation of the lighting and loudspeaker system, restoration of the high altar.
The high altar of Teodor Benedetti (around 1740), the high altar of Michelangelo Unterberger (1744) and the ceiling painting by Joseph Schöpf (1792/93) are especially worth seeing .
Source: parish office Kaltern
Patronal feast: January 17th The oldest parts of the church are in the tower (13th century) and in the nave walls. Around 1430, the Gothic Polygon Choir was added. The uniformly re-creation of the choir from 1472 have been carried out by the two painters Bernhard and Jakob, who worked in Bolzano. The great Christophorus on the southern façade is also a work of this painting group.
The church is accessible only during the holy masses (Monday 8 am).
Source: Parrish office Kaltern
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 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 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.
Patronal feast: March 19th
The church of S. Giuseppe was realized around 1700. The constructional form of the low-drawn-in chancel with a straight ending frequently occurs from the middle of the 17th century onwards, and the ground plan has probably been designed by builder the master-builder Delai. Also worth to mention is the high altar, a marble structure with stone and wood sculptures.
The church is only accessible during holy masses.
Source: Parrish office Kaltern
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.
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.
Patronal feast: 6th of December
The core building dates back to the 13th century (late Romanesque brickwork on the tower floor and on the west wall). Around 1520, a new building was built by construction workers from Como. Vault paintings have been made by Bartlmä Dill Riemenschneider, son of Tilman Riemenschneider. Since 1733 pilgrimage place.
Source: Parrish office Kaltern
It was most probably built at the same time (the end of the 12th century or the beginning of the 13th century) and probably used for fires that were used as signals. Kreideturm: the tower is situated just 50 m below Burg Hocheppan. Architectural style: a wall, which has now fallen down, surrounded the tower. There are still a few metres visible on the south side. On the other side there is a lower lying entrance that was probably used to light the fires. The inside of the tower is a narrow dark shaft. Walking: all walks to Hocheppan go past this tower.
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.
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.
Patronal feast: November 6th The late Romanesque rotunda was probably connected to a medieval pilgrim hospice. On the frescoes on the inside, at the feet of the sculputre "St. Leonhard with the chain", the coat of arms of the lords von Fuchs is recognizable. Around 1420 a new building of the church was built. The equipment came from the "Grabenkirche" of Bolzano.
Tower in Pianizza di Sotto
The medieval residential tower was owned by the lords Fuchs von Fuchsenberg in 1739.
Source: Parrish office Kaltern
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.
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 conversion of a formerly rustic residence near the center of the village into a modern cultural center was successful thanks to careful consideration and a soft touch as regards the historical side to the building. Visible from the outside, a new entrance with a foyer in a contemporary joining building was nevertheless added on, which is elegantly inserted next to the large old building with its steel and glass construction. A beautiful, peaceful inner courtyard was created through this merging of the buildings, which can also be used for open-air events. Inside the building modern details have been carefully connected to what was already there; the white color scheme throughout, in combination with the natural colors of the wooden materials, stone and stainless steel creates a calm background for a diverse range of events.
Without bigger difficulties one can recognise that this municipality matured after the parochial foundation of Eppan about 1147 to the richest Pfarre of South Tirol with headquarter in St Paul. She was fine so well-to-do on account of many noble inhabitants of this area who, as it was a custom, of course supported the church. After 1786 it was divided the Pfarre for the first time into Girlan (Girlan, Schreckbichl and Frangart) and St Paul (St Paul, Saint Michael, Montiggl, mountain, Missian, untermargin, Perdonig and Gaid). In 1921 this happened next time: The principal place of the municipality - Saint Michael - was appointed with Montiggl, Gand, Pigeno and southern half by Eppan/mountain to the new Pfarre Saint Michael. On account of the plentiful financial possibilities one began in 1484 with the construction of an especially nice church. The magnitudes of the untercatch were extensive, it lasted therefore also till 1533, until the church was ready. The tower, 86 m high, experienced his own history within the scope of the construction work. From the late 15th century up to the middle of the 17th century there lasted his construction. For this reason he also unites two architectural styles: While Under - and middle section are held in the Gothic style, the end with the onion dome visible far away in baroque kind forms. In his inside there are nine bells, the heaviest one of it weighs 5 tonnes and sounds in deep A. You pleasantly voluminous sound remind us of the fact that this "instrument of God" second largest is in the country. A solar clock from 1718, Funeraldenkmäler of the noble Firmian, Khuen, Thun, rests of Late-Gothic Seccomalereien... There is a lot to see at this place! Something else: The church of St Paul is the only church far and wide which is consecrated only to Holy Paulus. This is not so natural at all, because Paulus is always called in connection with Holy Peter...
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.
Patronal feast: November 25th
The church had a late-Romanesque preceding building, which has now disappeared. The new construction dates back to the 15th century, the choir Fresco (Marientod), to about 1400. Agnes von Werdenberg, the widow of Henry of Rottenburg, donated the fresco to the side altar. The church was built by architects from Como, around 1517.
Source: Parrish office Kaltern
Maria Rast Chapel: the church can be found just outside the village, on the path of the same name. History: this is the first historical church building in the area. In 1874 Josef Vonstadl, the diocese architect designed the building, and it was built shortly after. The neo romantic style is clearly visible, the bell wall, cross vaulting, arched windows and much more. In the yard, if you look carefully, you will the mosaic Stations of the Cross made by the local artist Robert Scherer. Architectural style: this small church is a well-loved place of pilgrimage, even today. Marriages also take place here. Walking: a walk around this area is well worth it as it is not too strenuous. On longer walks from Girlan to St Michael, you can stop at this delightful little church.
