Culture & attractions along the Alto Adige Wine Road

Be enchanted from the subtle perfume and the exellent taste of our distillates!

The pleasure of tasting the distillate should wake up memories from a warm summer evening under the fruit tree, from a walk through the wineyards or from gandmothers kitchen, where the jam gets boiled. With great passion, love and ambition we make sure that this experience comes true.

The old building of the Cantina Terlano is situated in the middle of the village. It managed to cautiously expand, mainly underground, as the plot of land it sits upon is quite small. Visible above ground are the large delivery yard and the terrace above it, with the transparent tasting room. The underlying outer wall of the new cellar rooms is clad in dry stone work made from the typical porphyritic rock found in the Terlano vineyards, and the remaining underground construction is planted over with vines in order to help the new sections of building blend into the landscape. The heart of the new cellar rooms is the barrel cellar, decorated in porphyritic rock panels, which create an almost sacred atmosphere. The original parts of the building were carefully restored and a landmark tower, clad in Corten steel, and lift were added.

The people all have totally different personalities, there are no two alike. And this fact is worth studying. The best time is the morning, when your mind is still quite fresh. And the best place is Kaltern's main village market square. Just simply observe, with perhaps a cup of espresso, and - slow down the pace a bit.

Enjoy some ice cream near the fountain, no, here it's called gelato. Or perhaps even a cappuccino. But if you want to continue doing as the locals do in the afternoon, then it should be a glass of lightly chilled Kalterersee wine.

Business carried on as usual during the building and conversion work, which succeeded in transforming the high expectations placed on wine production into an architectural form. A symbol of urban development was simultaneously designed as part of the entranceway. Sections of the pre-existing building were flanked by the wings of the new buildings, making for an impressive welcome at the winery. This means that the delivery area and customer reception are completely separated by a story. The architecture of the new buildings seems to have grown out of the vineyard landscape − the design of the facade, with its steel construction and glass surfaces takes the form of the vineyards in a symbolic connection between the sloping vineyards and the winery. Inside is a light, spacious area constructed from wood and glass, while in the cellar bright colors have been employed.

The building techniques and the disposition of stones in layers let suppose that this little fortress was built around 1180. It is highly likely that the lords of the castle were the Counts of Tyrol. The last written documentation about the Helfenburg goes back to 1353.

In Andriano there is a beautiful wooded area characterized by a strong presence of yew trees, which has been designated as a landscape protection zone.
Yew trees are found in communities with pines, hornbeams and black hornbeams, but also in pure, dark and dense stands, and offer an optimal habitat for many species of animals.
The yew forest with its numerous paths invites you to walk and relax.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

The unusual phenomenon of the ice caves between the two villages of Kaltern (Oberplanitzing/Pianizza di Sopra) and Eppan/Appiano can be explained with a simple physical principle: air streams down through cracks in the porphyry stone, creating a system of windpipes that becomes cooler as it descends. This heavier, cold air mass collects in a 5 meter high pool in the depression. This climate is ideal for plants that would normally thrive in higher alpine regions. We do recommend to make this excursion during warm summer months.

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.

 

South Tyrolean Wine Museum in Kaltern - How could it be otherwise? The South Tyrolean Wine Museum is located in Kaltern! Innumerable objects impress the visitor with the history and significance of wine in South Tyrol. There are impressive wine presses, wine barrels and other wine production tools and equipment. You will hear informative stories and legends about wine - for example the importance of the “Saltner” as the guard of the vineyards.

Strictly speaking, Kaltern Winery was built for 420 clients: winemakers, usually with very small acreage, who joined in a cooperative. In order to strengthen the mobile perception of the winery, a striking building was built in front of the village center, between the old winery building and the South Tyrolean Wine Road. The angular complex around the quiet inner courtyard forms a memorable landmark, together with the tower-like corner building. Large, flush glass areas are set into the bronzed façade cladding, in which the environment appears as in a distorting mirror. As you cross the courtyard you walk into an open interior structure that affords fascinating views from several levels. The materials are limited to glass, white wall surfaces and dark acacia wood. Wine is the star of the show here, accompanied by a sophisticated yet simple art concept.

The Walch Winery is housed in a former Jesuit monastery, with neighboring buildings. For the reception and tasting areas, a garden pavilion was planned at what was likely the most difficult spot in the park: it was built at the top of the junction in the village street that runs down from the town hall square. From there, one can see only the drywall of the boundary, and a curved white roof as an “extension” of the wall covering. Through three slots in the masonry, one can see the park with its huge trees. But one also sees the floor-to-ceiling glass facade of the elegant pavilions under the overhanging roof edge in the garden courtyard, contained by the wall. In the narrow interior space, wooden fixtures with a breakfast bar and a curtain wall are located in front of the side rooms. On it, the bottles are exhibited horizontally. An inviting ensemble with service in the park.

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.

House number 17 of the Via Portici is a building of great historical and artistic interest, whose long period of restoration has allowed for the documentation of the construction and embellishment phases. At the end of the 15th century, the first construction phase took place, from which you can still see the original three-pointed arch vaults of the arcade and the late Gothic profile of the windows on the façade, walled in and substituted in later eras. The painted ceiling of the great central hall stems from the first half of the 16th century and is considered one of the most beautiful ones in the entire region. This hall is situated between the atrium and the back courtyard, measures 17 x 6 meters, and is illuminated by two triple-mullioned late Gothic windows. The ceiling is beamed, with painted friezes framing painted wooden boards that feature allegorical motifs, male and female portraits, and coats of arms of noble and village families of the area. In the middle of the 16th century, the atrium was completed, inspired by the Renaissance, characterized by incised decorations and by a loggia of semicircular arches on three sides of the second floor. The rich painted decoration of the atrium on the first floor stems from the end of the 16th century, while the frescoes on the façade date back to the 1600s. The building was purchased by the town in 1889 and donated to the parish in 1978; today, it is the seat of the parish community of Neumarkt/Egna.

 

North of Wolfsthurn Castle, on the hiking trail from Andriano to the Bittner farm, on a flat slope called Schlosspichl you will find a magnificent chestnut grove.
Chestnut trees of different ages stand on the green meadow and have a special aura due to their fresh, light green foliage. One large oak tree dominates the chestnut grove majestically, which thanks to its position is much warmer than the surrounding forest and radiates vitality through its radiant colours.

A place to fall in love! A place that allows hikers to rest and that is a natural playground for children.   From the chestnut grove a short path leads to a small hill with a cross and several benches, from where you can enjoy a magnificent view of Andriano and the Adige valley.

Piazza della Libertà at Egna. The nucleus of the hamlet developed around the Piazza della Libertà/Freiheitsplatz, which, after being used for years as a parking area, was the star of an important restoration project. The ancient well was renovated and the “Sas del poz”, a calcareous monolith probably used in conjunction with ancient German judicial tradition, was reinstated.

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.

 

This winery, rich of traditions, has seen many alterations over the years and the cellar area in particular was extended and reorganized in 2011. An underground concrete construction was built to form a new fermentation cellar with a pressing chamber, over which a curved roof was built in order to protect the delivery. A concrete structure was also chosen for the new storage room, the west-facing wall, which gives out onto the orchard and was covered in wire baskets filled with excavated stones. These gabions were also used along the border and, as a design feature of the building extension, are reminiscent of the terroir of the vineyards. A beautiful reception courtyard is situated between the old and new buildings, displaying a fountain sculpture and planted tree, forming the new central point in the structure of the building.

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.

Maultasch Castle Ruin (Neuhaus) was probably built in the early 13th century as a double castle, but shows only ruined walls today. These have been carefully restored so that visitors can imagine the castle life at earlier time.

The most interesting building in Andreas-Hofer-Street from a historical point of view is surely the "Ballhaus." This construction functioned as a warehouse and repository for goods passing through Neumarkt/Egna, which, by disposition of the reigning sovereign Duke Otto, were obliged to pay duty and remain there for a night. Above the semi-circular stone framed arch of the portal, the erroneous date of 1372 appears along with the Egna coat of arms. In fact, the Ballhaus was built some 150 years later. You could say that the Ballhaus is the symbol of the privileges which Egna enjoyed until the 18th century and which permitted it to develop into the great and beautiful village we know today. Currently, following very careful restoration, this building is the site of the community library for the German-speaking population, the "Bibliothek im Ballhaus."

The remarkable Baroque residence of the Barons of Longo dates back to the beginning of the 18th century. It presents a simple façade and a Baroque portal which can be reached through a two-winged staircase. The stone frame of the portal is decorated with two putti and a female bust. The interiors are richly decorated: high reliefs in stucco by Franz Hannibal Bittner and frescoes by Giacomo Antonio Delai, two artists who worked in the Bolzano/Bozen area from 1730. The palace also includes a unique park that extends to the forest behind the village.

 

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.

Approaching the Rastenbach gorge, on your way down from Altenburg/Castelvecchio to Lake Kaltern, it suddenly gets really cool and dark. Your steps become more cautious, as if you’re being careful not to disturb the peace. Silently, you look around and enjoy the wonderfully refreshing ambiance. How reassuring to know that the wooden stairs and bridges are reinforced and properly secured. When you get to the bottom of the trail, you are welcomed by a sunny field and Lake Kaltern.

The sedate building on the village square, next to the church, is the headquarters of the winery, the barrel storage and technical rooms were extended into the space between the Gothic church tower and the old building. In order to save space, they decided on a wood-planked tower. Its wide, overhanging flat roof incorporates the first cornice of the church tower, just a few meters away, and the height of the old building’s eaves. The winery tower is thus well integrated. Because wood was chosen as the material and it has a similarly warm tone to the sandstone of the church tower, the two towers do not compete with one another. The strip of windows in the meeting space under the roof of the tower makes reference to the Gothic truss frame of the church tower. The barrel cellar is a structure with concrete supports, fitted with exposed bricks. Both the cellar and the stairwell are pervaded with artistically defined color schemes.

Farther down the street, you come to house number 22, today, the seat of the District Association of Unterland/Bassa Atesina. Here again we find judge Peter Ganel's coat of arms and the date of construction, 1583, on the portal. The building distinguishes itself by the refined character of the interior, the window and door frames in stone, as well as by the elegance of the vaulted and beamed ceilings.

 

Montan/Montagna is located at the border of the Trudner Horn/Monte Corno Nature Park and surrounded by vineyards and orchards. Paved alleys and colorful buildings characterize the historic center of Montan. The parish church was built in the 12th century and is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew. The Schloss Enn/Castel d'Enna is located high above the village and was built in 1172 by the Lords of Enn. The small hamlets of Pinzon/Pinzano, Gschnon/Casignano, Kaltenbrunn/Fontanefredde, Glen/Gleno, and Kalditsch/Doladizza also belong to Montan. The plateau is characterized by the typical vineyards, where the best Pinot Noir wines of South Tyrol thrive. Montan is a popular starting point for numerous hikes and mountain bike tours.

 

Our hiking tip: Outside the Kreuzstein Inn You follow the path a few minutes down to this special place of energy. (Time: approx. 15 minutes)

The castle ruins of "Castelforte/Festenstein" can be described as Andriano's symbol. It reigns over Andriano from the lofty, rocky outcrop of the Gola del Rio Gaido, and can only be reached via a steep mountain climb. Its location was certainly a pondered choice by the stonemason to ensure the weapons of the enemies would never reach the castle. At the same time, the spectacular location of the castle offers a 360° view across the lower Valle dell'Adige. "Festenstein" was first mentioned in written documents in the mid-13th century. We assume that the castle was built at the time or greatly expanded. Regardless, it had already been built by the time the Counts of Appiano oversaw the valley, they probably assigned one of their vassals to administer the castle.
Managing such a castle would have been tedious work  and included collecting taxes from farms, the constant worry about providing the castle with water, food, and firewood, improvement works and endless suveillance shifts. All these tasks, considering the virtually inaccessible location of the castle, would have been pure torture. Sometime between the 13th and 14th century the castle was damaged, probably during the ongoing skirmishes of the time, because in 1383 it became property of the Lords of Villandro, who were tasked with restoring the decrepit ruins to their former glory. This shows how the castle still had a role to play at the end of the 14th century.

In the following period, the castle changed hands various times. In the 15th century it belonged to the Sparrenberger, members of the gentry, followed by the Lords Lanser of Appiano between 1654 and 1818.

In 2008,  Count Meinhard Khuen von Belasi purchased the castle ruins and commissioned, together with the South Tyrolean Office for Cultural Heritage, various restoration measures to secure the state of the walls and protect the castle from further deterioration.

After years of restoration work, Castelforte is now open to visitors. On various dates, the Andriano Tourist Association enables a special opening of the castle.
Special Opening of the Ruins Festenstein 2023:

Sunday, 02.04.2023
Friday,07.04.2023
Sunday, 16.04.2023
Friday,21.04.2023 cancelled
Sunday, 30.04.2023
Friday,05.05.2023
Friday,12.05.2023 cancelled
Friday,19.05.2023
Monday, 29.05.2023
Friday, 02.06.2023
Saturday, 10.06.2023
Sunday, 11.06.2023
Friday,16.06.2023
Friday,23.06.2023
Friday,07.07.2023
Friday,21.07.2023
Friday,11.08.2023
Friday,25.08.2023
Sunday, 03.09.2023
Friday,08.09.2023
Friday,15.09.2023
Friday,22.09.2023
Sunday, 01.10.2023
Friday,06.10.2023
Sunday, 15.10.2023

Opening times:  10:00 – 15:00

Cancelled in bad weather!

This cooperative winery was founded in 1960, and today its 290 members work more than 300 hectares of vineyards. The industrial buildings in which the winery was located on the outskirts of Cornaiano/Girlan, no longer matched the quality of the wines and its associated image. So the first step of remodeling the commercial building was to give it an attractive wood façade, with vertical oak floorboards and deep reveals with steel sheets for the necessary openings. A second construction phase implemented a visually light, steel structure as a roof for the delivery area, under which all-new winemaking equipment was installed. In addition, the tasting room was refurbished. Since the hillside winery is visible from afar, a steel trellis was placed on the street level of the buildings as an entryway, and the road was planted with cypresses to create an avenue.

The "gemain Riglhaus" once stood on this site. In 1574 it is mentioned as a schoolhouse as well as a teacher's and organist's residence, and in 1629 as the "gemain Mesenhaus". In 1788, after the introduction of compulsory schooling, the schoolroom was extended here. In 1820, this house is listed as a parish residence, and from 1829 to 1845 it is again listed as a schoolhouse. In 1880 it became the parish and sacristan's house, and in the 20th century the post office was housed here. After the fascist takeover, the first floor became the meeting place of the "Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro". On the lower floor, the last of Montan's cobblers had his workshop for a long time, later there was the office of the tourist association, then a butcher's shop. Since the end of the 1980s, the headquarters of the "Montaner Schützenkompanie" have been located here. The panelled Gothic parlour on the first floor and the stucco ceiling on the second floor are particularly valuable.