Churches and monasteries

The old church is a simple building made by wild rocks between the tower and the sacristy. Its today`s shape dates back to the XIVth century and under the plaster of roof and walls were found frescos dated back the same period.

Quite exceptionally and thanks to the cooperation with the Parish of Central Churches in Bolzano, the Touring Club of Italy and the Bolzano Tourism Board, this tiny church opens the doors to the visitors. The late-Romanesque Church of St. Martin in Kampill, consecrated in 1180, boasts prestigious frescos of Bolzano's pictorial art.
During the special openings the loading zone on Via Innsbruck Straße is suspended. Due to the lack of pedestrian crossing, reaching the Church by public transport is recommended.

The picturesque Castelbello Castle, first mentioned in 1238, was built by the Lords of Montalban. Majestically, it is situated on a cliff on the left bank of the Adige River. Because of its exposed position, the castle had to be protected by strong fortifications, which needed to be remodernized over the years. In 1813 and 1824, the castle was largely destroyed by fire. The Counts of Hendl rebuilt only a small part for residential purposes. At the end of a protracted court process held over decades between Count Siegmund von Hendl and the Republic of Italy for the possession of the castle, eventually a settlement was reached. This allowed the State to acquire the castle. The Castelbello Castle is the cultural center of the village. In addition to permanent exhibitions in Spring and Autumn, alternating art exhibitions take place here.
The building of the chapel followed in the late 13th or early 14th cent. The walls contain a frieze with the Twelve Apostles as well as texts from the Confession of Faith. Because the apostles are turned towards one another in pairs, the quotations are alternately written in plain and inverted script.

Opening times
Guided castle tours from July 5th until September 11 | 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., 3 p.m.
Closed on Monday
Spring exhibition by Hans Ebensberger from mid April to the begin of June
Autumn exhibition by Bruno Ritter from end of September to end of October

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 Church of the holy cross was foundet in 1896 in gotic style.

The Church of the Sacred Spirit is a 14th century gothic construction, which, in 1499, was destroyed in a great fire and was subsequently rebuilt in 1514. The church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity and houses several frescos dating to the 13th and 16th centuries. The church of the Sacred Spirit is a typical construction of the period complete with portal, inset windows, marble cornerstones and choir stall.

The church can be visited as part of the art history tour, which takes place every Friday at 10 am from June to October. Booking is required.

Information & registration: Tourist Office Silandro-Lasa/Schlanders-Laas, +39 0473 730155

The St. Michael’s Church plays a relevant part in contributing to the scenic appearance of the village. The construction is located nearby the main church of Villandro and was dedicated in 1344. Nowadays, the almost quadratic basement of the church acts as a funeral chapel. Sanct Michael, who is the patron saint of the dead, stands sentinel over the cemetery. The cemetery of Villandro represents one of the most beautiful and unusual cemeteries in the region. There are exclusively forged grave crosses and the front side of the grave crosses is averted from the burial grave.

The church, mentioned for the first time in a letter of indulgence from 1338, has a neo-gothic winged altarpiece with beautiful figures (including the patron saint of St. Nikolaus), two neo-Romanesque side altars and 18th-century paintings. The crucifix on the triumphal arch dates from the 17th century. Around 1900, the Val Gardena carver Josef Senoner made today's church door. Their two wings represent the awarding of the key power to St. Peter. The glass windows on the front of the presbytery show St. Notburga with sickle and St. Cecilia with lyre.

St. Zeno Parish Church in Naturns A Romanesque chancel chapel is known to have stood on the site of the present-day parish church which dates from 1200. The older pre- Carolingian building was later incorporated to become the apse of the present-day Late Gothic church which is dedicate to St. Zeno, patron saint who protects against flooding and erstwhile Bishop of Verona. It was built between 1474 and 1475. The choir was re-built in Baroque style in 1760.

The parish church in St. Sigmund is one of the most beautiful historical monuments in South Tyrol. First mentioned in the year 1363, today's building was built between 1449 and 1489. The altar (1440) is one of the oldest and most important sidepiece altars in South Tyrol. The church “Unsere liebe Frau im Stöckl” was built in the year 1621 and enlarged in the year 1644. It was built totally new in the year 1680.

The church of St. Mary is built in Gothic style. The Gothic middle relief and the side figures are significant. From the church there starts a path of meditation which leads to the chapel San Pietro in Monte/St. Peter am Kofl.

The Parish Church of Hafling, which is first mentioned in documents dating from 1291, is dedicated to John the Baptist. The walls of the nave date from the same period while the Gothic chancel and tower, which can still be seen today, were added in the second half of the fifteenth century.

The rededication took place on June 11th, 1469. In the seventeenth century, a barrel vault replaced the flat wooden ceiling. Of particular note is the remarkably large mural depicting St. John the Evangelist, which dates to around 1600. In the chancel arch, there is a precious fresco by Karl von Blaas. A few sculptures from the eighteenth century grace the church as well.

The porphyry relief on the outside of the cemetery chapel, now the vestry, is a mystery. It depicts a man, a tree, a flower, and a wheel-shaped ornament. The enigmatic relief is often associated with an agrarian devotion to the sun, but a precise interpretation has yet to be firmly established.

In the village centre the picturesque parish church is witness to a pious past. Its tower is typical of the Roman Age. The foundation of the parish, according to local lore, dates back to Charles the Great. The church is surrounded by modern artwork. In the graveyard, the Vinschgau artist Luis Stefan Stecher immortalised himself a few years ago in 18 paintings, the "Dance of the Dead" frescoes. The illustrations, of great artistic significance, depict the farming traditions and character of the region, and draw our attention to social outcasts and to our eternal accompaniment, Death.

The Franziskus Church. The modern church of Franziskus, designed in the shape of a dove, on the Seiser Alm invites visitors to contemplate and reflect. St. Francis of Assisi, who loved nature and God’s creation above everything, is the patron saint of the church. The plan of the church building shows the dove as a contour drawing. The body forms the sanctuary of the church and the wings the side additions. The towering bell tower represents the head in the upright projection. This rises smoothly out of the church sanctuary through a laminated timber construction. The interior of the church impresses with its brightly designed space and an interesting interplay of light and shadow. The slightly raised chancel faces east in accordance with ancient tradition. As it was very important to use simple, local building materials, larch wood and porphyry were used. The subtle fragrance of the wood is particularly pleasant. This conveys feelings of security and warmth to churchgoers.

First mentioned in 1347, elements of the Tyrolean late Gothic (1488) are still preserved in the polygonal choir end, as well as in the sound windows of the tower. Around 1840 the church was extended by one bay, regotized, the same happened again in 1952 under architect Erich Pattis and carpenter Josef Pattis. The altar-pieces are by K. Jele from Ried in the Upper Inn Valley (1814 1893) and depict on the main altar the Penitent Magdalene, and on the side altars the Bishop Sylvester with the martyr Sebastian, then Joachim and Anna with the Child in the Nazarene style in a clear position. On the main altar of St. John the Baptist, wooden sculptures by Franz Xaver Nißl. Stations of the Cross panel by Maria Delago (1953). In the apse, paintings from the life of St. Magdalene by the priest painter Johann Bapt. Oberkofler. On the east side a wrought-iron cross points to the witness of the resistance against the Nazi regime. This is the Jesuit priest Johann Steinmair (1890-1944), who became a blood witness of Christ by beheading in Berlin-Brandenburg. The chapel of the dead in the cemetery area: It serves as a memorial for the victims of the two world wars, for Reverend Peter Agreiter (1911 1948) and as a place of devotion for the Lourdes pilgrims.

Romanesque St. Michael’s church of the 11th century, Gothic choir loft and the „Weißer Turm“ (White Tower, 72 m) dating from the 15th century, hall church of the late Gothic around 1500, after 1750 redesigned in a baroque manner with frescoes by Josef Hautzinger, Troger’s apprentice from Vienna, altars of the Baroque, Classicism and Romanticism. Famous sculpture of Simon, the „Kreuzträger“.

Saint Joseph Freinademetz, the saint of Alta Badia, is the first South Tyrolean Saint.

Today, the hamlet of Oies is a much-visited place of pilgrimage, especially the birthplace of the missionary Josef Freinademetz, who belonged to the Society of the Divine Word. The Steyl missionary was born in 1852 and died of typhoid fever in China on 28 January 1908.

He was beatified by Pope Paul VI in Rome on 19 October 1975 and canonised on 5 October 2003.

The cellar of the Oies farm was converted into a chapel and decorated with works by the artists Kollreider from Lienz and Lois Irsara from Badia.

The church was built during the 12th Century and is the oldest monument in Scena. It was constructed according to the Carolingian measurements, has two naves with one round apses each and two central octagon pillars. Previously, in both apses, there was an altar, one of which was consecrated to Saint Martin. For safety reasons, this late-Gothic altar, originating from the 16th Century, was transferred into the old parish church. After a number of small changes, the church received its current shape in 1922, as the Italian Department for Monuments intended to put an emphasis on the Roman monuments in South Tyrol. Today, the church is used as a commemoration chapel for the dead.

The beautiful portal and the frescoes on the façade are particulary noteworthy. The interior houses interesting frescoes and paintings from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Masses in German: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: 8:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays in winter: 6:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays in summer: 7:30 p.m. Sundays: 8:30, 10:00 Kolping chapel first Thursday of the month: 19.30

Built in 1652. The black Mother of God with Infant Jesus is worth a visit. After the Mauren begin the stations of the Cross leading to the most popular place of pilgrimage of the middle Pustertal: Maria Saalen. The little pilgrimage church "Unsere Liebe Frau von Loreto" was built in the 17th century and once had a hermitage. The entrance has the year 1652 written on it and on the top right-hand side a modern painting of the Blessed Virgin of Loreto. The gable of the altar shows the Annunciation, and below the Black Mary with the Infant Jesus, Saints Anne and Joachim, and above the doors Saints Joseph and Sylvester.

The hospital church was donated by Heinrich von Annenberg. The original gothic construction's consolidation into one building dates back to 1470-1520. The church jewel is the winged altarpiece (1524), a precious work by the swabian master Jörg Lederer. A Heinrich von Annenberg foundation, amalgamated into a unified gothic building (1470-1520). The winged altarpiece by the swabian master Jörg Lederer (1524) bears masterly paintings on the reverse, presumably by Hans-Leonhard Schäuffelin. The white marble gothic portal is a work by Oswald Furter; the fresco cycles (Judgement Day, Works of Charity, The Whitsun Miracles, The Multiplication of Loaves etc.) from the 1st decade of the 17th century are by Adrian Mair, who also was born in Laces. Baroque side altars and organ dating back to 1741.

The curch is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m (march-november).

Of demotic power is the church of St. Leonhard. Leonhard, the patron saint of cattle and prisoners, is commemorated by the heavy chain that winds one and a half times around the entire church. Consecrated in 1194, the church was redesigned around 1430 and baroque in the 18th century. The rich ceiling stucco from Franz Singer's workshop (around 1770) is a reminder of the Baroque and the creative joy of master builder Tangl. More recent history is evoked by the frescoes by Toni Kirchmair (around 11920), which interpret St. Leonhard as the patron saint of prisoners and fallen soldiers of the First World War.

The Capuchin monastery and its small church were built between 1617 and 1620. The church has a simple design in accordance with the style and regulations of the Capuchin Order: simple in terms of furnishings, bare walls, barrel vaults, and a side chapel on the south side. The high altar is dedicated to the Sacred Heart. The pulpit and the side altars are neo-Romanesque and date back to the 19th century. The altar of the side chapel contains a statue of the mother of God with Child from the middle of the 16th century, which is said to have miraculous powers. Between 1999 and 2003, the whole complex was carefully restored. In the little church, this also led to the renewal of the windows and the benches, which – in harmony with the surroundings – are now simple and linear. Thus, the light penetrates through seven beautiful glass panes that seem to communicate with the faithful through their symbolic meaning of colors and number.

With a height of 82 meters, the church steeple in Castelrotto is not only the highest in the vicinity, it's also – they say – the one with the most-beautiful-sounding bells. But the big tower bell has always been the greatest source of pride. They never fail to admiringly mention "Big Bell." The citizens of neighboring villages were so incensed by this that the young fellows in nearby Laion finally decided to teach the boastful natives of Castelrotto a lesson…
The chapel in the church tower is open daily from 08:00 - 18:00.

This chapel in the hamlet "Rü" was built in 1973 and is dedicated to the Madonna of Lourdes.

St. Nicholas, the Patron Saint of miners, was held to be the protector of those in danger from water. In Eggen, it was believed that he protected the village against the raging waters of the Sam Brook and of the Gerold Brook. Until the curacy was built in 1681, Eggen was served by the parish of Deutschnofen / Nova Ponente. While St. Nicholas had the right to bury its dead parishioners as well as to read the Mass, since 1435, Eggen was ministered by a priest from Deutschnofen / Nova Ponente. With the establishment of the first curacy, this stopped, and in 1919, the curacy was elevated to the status of an independent parish. The church is open daily from 8:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m.

The mystical Hill of Tartsch towers amidst the green valley of Upper Vinschgau Valley, surrounded by the villages of Glurns/ Glorenza, Matsch/ Mazia and Mals/ Malles. Due to its position as viewing platform, the schist drumlin was already settled in prehistoric times. In the 11th century A.D. the Romanesque St. Veit Church dedicated to St. Vitus was erected upon a pagan cult site. It is one of the few churches that were never restored and displays precious medieval murals.
The Romanesque frescoes, which unfortunately have only been preserved in a few places, are of great art-historical importance. The interior of the church has a wooden ceiling from the 16th century. 
Traces of fire can still be seen in some parts of the church. These date back to the Engadine War of 1499. 

The church S. Veit is open from June to October every Thursday at 5pm for the guided tours in German and Italian language (Info: +39 0473 831190).

The church of Saint George in St. Georgen originates from the 12th and 13th Centuries. This original round church was previously the fortress chapel of St. Georgen or Alt-Schenna. When lightning struck in 1591 and nearly half of the church was destroyed, the central part of the church was strengthened with an additional pillar. The frescoes from the 14th Century are well restored and represent the martyrdom of Saint George, the Day of Judgement and the legend about Saint Nicolas. The Gothic wing altar shows Saint George on a horse, fighting with the dragon. It is also worth mentioning that there is a rare illustration of Saint Kummernus from the 17th Century. Legend has it that she was a king’s daughter from the Iberian peninsula. She had taken a vow to stay a virgin. However, her father, the king, wanted her to marry. In this difficult situation, she prayed she would grow a beard, so to disguise her face. Her prayer was answered, but her father got her thrown into the dungeon and nailed to a cross. The only remain from the former St. Georgen fortress is the keep, which is known today as the ’Uhlentower’.

This “new chapel” was opened on November 12th 1510. It is outside the castle and you can reach it through the small inner courtyard by a wooden ladder. In 2000 this area of the castle was fastened and anchored and during these restoration works small colour strokes were discovered. In autumn 2005 an important restoration work was started and, above all, the dry paintings on the eastern wall, the ancient walled altar and, sideways, the apostolic symbols of different ages were discovered. The paintings represent Christ Crucified, on the left Mary and St. George with the dragon. On the right there are St. John the Apostle, St. Blaise (painted as a young martyr with only one candle and not as a Bishop) and St. Florian who is throwing water on a building in a blaze. On the top angles there are the two baronial coats of arms of the Welspergs. The work was painted between 1540 and 1560 at the end of the Gothic Age. The ceiling is more recent and belongs to the Baroque Age.