If you wander in the footsteps of South Tyrol’s history, you’ll discover the most impressive forts and castles, visit charming churches and monasteries, explore the most stylish twentieth-century architecture and places that are worth seeing on guided tours. Shaped by old and new masters, traditional customs and contemporary trends, the wide variety of cultural events like exhibitions, plays, dance shows and music concerts, are the ideal scenarios to interact with the local art and culture.
Zu Plun is the artisanal distillery of the Dolomites, founded and run by the Rabanser family. It was established by Florian Rabanser in an old 15th-century farmhouse, located at the foot of the Schlern massif. Here, excellent spirits are produced by combining local raw materials with high-quality ingredients from around the world.
Kastelruth's exceptionally imposing, free-standing bell tower already beckons to visitors from a great distance. The tower and church form a captivating achitectural ensemble together with the town hall and the houses built around the church square by leading citizens. It is no coincidence that this village's historical core has been selected as one of the most beautiful in Italy.
The Parish Church of Kastelruth – also known as the “cathedral on the mountains” is dedicated to the apostle princes Peter and Paul. The parish church is an example of Viennese engineering.
Open daily from 08:00 - 18:00.
Worship services: Sunday: 10.00 a.m. (in German)
The parish church is open during the day throughout the year
Due to its favourable setting, the area around Seis was settled very early on in history, as far back as 2000 BC. The Wallburg fortresses on the Laranz ridge to the north of Seis date back to this time. The inhabitants of these fortresses were Rhaetians or, more specifically, natives of Isarck. A bronze sword found on Hauenstein provides evidence of a further hill settlement in that area. In the Iron Age, settlements were established on Gschlier and Runggereck. In Gschlier (in the Laranz Forest), archaeologists have discovered many pieces of Southern Alpine querns typical of those used in the Middle Iron Age. A further impressive Wallburg fortress can be found in Runggereck, in the area around Laranz. It is, however, impossible to date and classify the finds from this area with absolute precision. Iron Age ceramics have been discovered and, underneath them, numerous pieces of pitchers and bowls. The remains of these Wallburg fortresses in the Laranz Forest can still be seen to this day.
You will soon find more information about Josele mill in Gfrill/Caprile here
At the entrance of the Tschamin Valley, you’ll find the visitor centre of the Sciliar-Catinaccio Nature Park, located in the historic Steger Sawmill – a rare, water-powered Venetian sawmill.
Until 2021, the building served as the Nature Park House Schlern-Rosengarten, making it the oldest nature park centre in South Tyrol. In recent years, it has been carefully restored, and the sawmill has been brought back into working condition.
Inside, visitors can explore authentic traces of traditional alpine craftsmanship and living culture – with the original saw and a reconstructed living area offering a glimpse into the past.
Free admission!
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.
Witches'spring: adventure path with the witch Curadina to the sulfur springs
TSCHETTERLOCH
At the path between the so-called Bärenfalle and the Sciliar mountain you can see a small hole, which scales up to a hidden hall. In there you can find a large rock which looks like a table and chairs. According to the legends a forest ghost, wild men and other mystic figures lived in this cave.
The ascent to the cave is only possible with an appropriate equipment.
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.
From the old church from 1332 only the lower part of the tower with its Roman round arch window still remain. The red tower with its imperial roof was built in 1739. The last redesign of the churchs interior during the second half of the 19th century gave the church its New-Roman touch. The artist Karl Hernrici painted an impressive ceiling fresco in 1772.
The Witches’ Benches The resting place of the Sciliar/Schlern witches on the Bullaccia/Puflatsch mountain is a truly mythical location. Starting point: Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm
Farmer´s Museum in Tschötscher Hof St. Oswald is a district of Kastelruth located on a fertile high-altitude plateau which extends over the precipitous slopes high above the Val d'Isarco. Michl Jaider of the Tschötscherhof remembers the old days before the war well – back when everyone had to pull his own weight when plowing the cornfields, helping with the hay harvest, working in barns and stalls or in vineyards. When he took over the farm and the adjacent inn from his father, the modern era had already begun. Tractors replaced yoked oxen, automatic threshers replaced scythes, and the growing of grain was displaced by the more-profitable dairy industry. Of course, all of the old equipment was now only in the way, but the young Michl didn't want to throw it away. Too many vivid memories from his childhood were connected with it…
Admission ticket: volontary contribution
Categories: Farmer, Craft, culture, Popular culture, Etnography
March 1 - November 30 Thu-Tue 9 am - 20 pm
Witch Martha The Witches´ Chairs remind us of the Schlern witches who met on the Schlern mountain to celebrate their rites. Together with the Witches´ benches they constitute the resting place for the witches. Witches´ Chairs Starting point: Kastelruth Highest point: 1368 Map/guide: Kompass 067 Walking Quide Lift systems: Kastelruth - Schererplatzl - Tiosels - Witches´ Chairs
Cheese dairy Plattkofelschwaige hut
Homemade goat cheese and we have our own cow milk.
St Anne´s Chapel was built on a slab of rock south of the middle of Kastelruth. This High Baroque structure was consecrated in 1724 by Kaspar Ignaz von Künigl, Prince- Bishop of Brixen. The question of who served as master builder remains unresolved, but there are stylistic similarities to church buildings by the Delai family of master builders from bolzano.
It is the ruin of a castle once belonging to the lords of Aichach in the 12th century, whose decline is linked to bitter disputes with the lords of Kastelruth. The lords of Kastelruth got hold of the castle and kept it until 1741. Hiking route no. 7a from Seis.
The church is of Romanesque origin, and its dedication to the archangel also point to its antiquity. However, St. Michael´s Church is not mentioned in any document prior to an indulgence certificate from 1353. Parts of the masonry above the base of the church itself and in the tower are still from the Romanesque period. Gothic modifications were carried out after 1465. The nave was not provided with a vault until the 17th c.
The ruins of Salegg are not far from the Hauenstein ruins, at the foot of the might rock face of the Santner, hidden deep in the forest. The castle dates back to the 12th century and were passed in the hands of the Wolkenstein dynasty.
Today all hat remains of its former glory are the castle walls, and yet the site continues to emanate a very special, mysterious energy.
According to an old legend, a secret passageway runs between the two castles Hauenstein and Salegg.
In the year 1937 the construct of the building began, which should be consecrated to the holy cross. The finished place of worship was consecrated in 1950. The arrangement of the walls reminds of the strict forms of old basilicas. In 1962 the tower received five new bells. In the four large windows the mountain lecture, the sacrament of the baptism, the altar and the marriage and the Eucharistie are represented.
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