Churches and monasteries

The church of Pineta is the youngest in the surroundings of Laives/Leifers. The building process began on 15th september 1963. Since building a church was extremely expensive, lots of people helped voluntarily. The first mess was celebrated in 1969, even though the church wasn't finished yet and there were no benches.  

In the year 1848, Christian Altstätter, the ‘Kaiserjäger’, vowed to build a chapel if he returned alive from the Battle of Custoza. Dedicated to St. Martin, the chapel was built in 1873 and today it is privately owned.

Saint Nikolaus was bishop of Myra in the 4th century. He is valued as the Patron of the travelers and the hikers. The church is being mentioned the first time in the year 1369. The walls and the tower, however, seem to be built during the roman time. The choir and the portal have been built during the late gothic period (1493). Later on the church has been changed into the typical style of the baroque era. In 1899 a huge fire destructed most of the church, but has been rebuilt. The most precious piece in the church is the late-gothic Altar, probably deriving from the house of Hans Schnatterpeck.

The Church of S. Ulrich was built in 1842, at the behest of the then parish priest, Martin Tappeiner and, on the altarpiece, there is an image of the Bishop of St. Ulrich.

The church from St. Georgen is situated on a very historical plateau close to Versein. Numerous findings from the Bronze Age testify the prehistoric settlement of this beautiful place. The carved Gothic altar is ornamented by the statues of Saint Georg, Saint Oswald and Saint Leonhard.

St. Anna Chapel in Schanzen was built during the first part of the 15th century, it includes a late-gothic wing-altar.

Although consecrated in 1281, St. Margaretha, the late Gothic parish curch in Schabs was only completed in 1454. By the end of the eighteen century its interior had been reconstructed in Baroque style with its poral framed in Stone. It is worth noting that the 72 m bell-Tower is unusually tall and narrow.

The succursal church of St. Ägidius in Raas is a late-Gothic building, and was completed by the constructor Thomas Maurer in 1532. The neo-Gothic interior mostly dates from around 1880. On the high altar, one can see St. Ägidius, the patron of the church and the protector of viticulture. In Raas, the now rare custom of the bread donation and bread distribution is still practised on the day of the church patron in September.

The unique tabernacle is particularly interesting: the Cross is made from a grapevine. The key can be collected at the nearby Gasthof Lamm.

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.

Named after the Virgin Mary, the church and its tower date back to
Romanesque times. The church was rebuilt and re-consecrated in 1638. A
stone with a magnificent coat of arms is set above the pointed archway
and the 17th Century Cross on the west façade survived a devastating
village fire in 1876.

Revered as Guardian of the Crusaders, St. Oswald was the King of Northumberland/England in the 7th Century. Today, however,he is known as patron saint of the Peasants and the Poor, as well as of Water and the Weather. 800 years ago, the St. Oswald Church and its lands
formed part of the Welfen-Klosters-Weingarten in Baden-Württemberg.
The Gothic church was redesigned in 1433 and renovated in 1669. The 17th Century altars, altarpieces and frescoes are the work of Simon Ybertracher (1694 – 1772), a baroque painter from Naturno/Naturns. The relics of the Gothic fresco on the southern wall was discovered during the last restoration.

The Paul Schuster Bild on the only way from Vilpiano to Meltina is located sideways to Salonetto and was built in 1900 as a sign of gratefulness towards the protection of Mary.

The church of St. Magdalene was first mentioned in 1394. The present-day late Gothic building dates back to 1492 and the interior is characterised by baroque elements. The paintings by the Ladin artist Johann M. Pescoller in the choir vault from 1928 are well worth seeing.

Important information on arrival:
The access road to the church is closed for cars (gate) and only accessible to residents. It is best to park at the "Putzen" car park shortly after the village St. Magdalena and walk to the church (approx. 30 min.).

Baroque chapel at the eastern part of the town. The simple building with dome and lantern was built in 1713. The chapel of "Our Lady of Sorrows" in the eastern part of Laces is a baroque construction. The chapel can be visited during the summer months.  

The parish church Maria Himmelfahrt in Meltina/Mölten celebrates its patronage on August 15th. Of its original Romanesque structure, only the lower part of the bell tower is left. The church was Gothicised in the 15th century and extended in the Renaissance style in 1651. Particularly impressive are the coronation of Mary on the high altar (late Gothic) and the Gothic predella on the side altar representing the death of Mary (from Michael Pacher's school).

The St. Blasius Church in the  fraction Verschneid celebrates its patronage with the distribution of the Blasius blessing on February 3rd. The tower is still Romanesque, the church was enlarged and gothicised around 1500. Very expressive is the baroque fresco (1621) "Vom Gastmahl des reichen Prassers".

The church St. Valentine dates back to 1303 and the nave as well as the bell tower are built in Romanesque style. Probably there was already a previous church at this position around 1090. While the majority of the frescoes inside the church date back to the 15th century, the oldest ones were painted in the 14th century. Exceptional is the Gothic winged altarpiece, an oeuvre by Hans Klocker from 1500.

In 1709, Eustach Waldner built the Radund Chapel in Val Martello. Following a serious mountain accident, he promised to build a chapel if his life would be spared. The chapel is dedicated to the fourteen emergency helper, who were involved in his rescue.

The keys are available at the familiy Waldner Alois
Tel. +39 0473 744675

Natz is the original seat of the ancient Natz parish from the Carolingian period. The curch was built in 1208 in the late Gothic style, commissioned by the Prince-Archbishop Konrad and consecrated in honor of St. Philip and St. Walburga. The tower was built from 1,400 granite blocks. The wooden sculptures that decorate the neo-Gothic main altar date back to 1470 and were influenced by the famous Artist Michael Pacher.

The church was first mentioned in 1237. The main patron is the Saint James the Greater, but the church was also dedicated to St. Barbara and St. Christopher. Originally, the little church was a Romanesque nave construction, which in the 15th century has been adjusted to the new gothic architectural forms. The old Gothic winged altar, also of the 15th century, is still preserved inside the church.

The Church of Blessed Henry, patron saint of Bolzano/Bozen, is the youngest church in the district of Laives/Leifers. In 1853 donations were collected to make the construction possible. All donors were immortalized on a board in the church. In the church there are three altars, the picture of the high altar shows Blessed Henry. 

The Romanesque church of St. Jacob on the Langfenn is located on the highest point of the plateau Salten (1525m). It stands on prehistoric ground and could probably tell exciting and captivating stories from the past . On the altar there are St. Jacob, the protector of the hikers, and the two patron saints of pest Rochus and Sebastian.

The chapel at Bad Salomonsbrunn is also called "Bade Stöckl" and was built in 1725 by Peter Josef von Walther from Brixen.

Erected in the 12th century, St. Mark’s Church – known colloquially as “St. Marx” – is located close to the parish church of Lasa and is considered one of the most beautiful Romanesque structures in South Tyrol despite lacking a bell tower.

The walls of this desecrated church consist of large stones hewn into even layers. St. Marx catches the eye on account of its exceptional height for the time at which it was built and its division into two storeys. The crypt was used for a number of centuries as a depot for storing bones, while fragments of frescoes have been revealed around the apse in the interior.

In the course of the Josephine church reform, St. Marx was desecrated and ultimately used for entirely different purposes. Following an extended period in which the church housed a workshop for the renowned Lasa stonemasonry school, the upper storey subsequently served as a rehearsal venue for the local brass band.

The church underwent a thorough restoration in 2000, which led to the discovery of long-forgotten fragments of valuable Gothic frescoes from around the year 1400.

Opening times:
closed, to be visit from the outside

Guided tours:
no guided tours

The church, situated on a hill in Viums, was consecrated in 1281 and is considered as the most beautiful shrine in the surroundings. The present church construction dates from 1500 and was build on the fundament of a church, the expansion of the tower happened in the 17th century.

The first church was dedicated to St. Maria Magdalena and was built in the 12th century. In the 14th century there were structural changes, which served the beautification and were necessary for conservative reasons. The change of the patron of Magdalena to Martin was supposed to have been completed in 1613, from then on, only a church of Saint Martin is mentioned.

Already in the 13th century, there was a St. Mary’s church at Teis which, however, was destroyed by the heavy earthquake in 1471. The present-day neo-Gothic nave was completed in 1890 and consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The bell tower dates back to around 1500 and the great bell was cast at Innsbruck in 1734.

The Church of St. Valpurga is already recorded in 1233 as the Basilica in Gevelano and was rebuilt in late gothic style in 1502. It is the only sacral late gothic edifice in the whole of the Venosta Valley and today it serves as a funeral chapel. Opening times: during the church service, sun 8.15 am

The Church of the Assumption is a modest little chapel that was probably built sometime during the 1860's and was refurbished in 1984.