Culture & attractions in the Vinschgau/Val Venosta region

From Castelbello to Juval Castle, property of Reinhold Messner. The Schnalser Waalweg was built in the 16th century and runs through chestnut trees and mixed forest over the sunny slopes of the Lower Venosta Valey to Juval Castle. From Castelbello to Galsaun you follow the Latschanderwaal, then the path is called Schnalser Waalweg. At Juval there is a Messner Moutain Museum housed in Juval Castle. The collection there is focused on the “Myth of the Mountain”. Attention: Closed on Wednesday, July and August.

The Texelgruppe Nature Park, which encompasses more than 30,000 hectares, is the largest nature park in South Tyrol. It is situated between the Etschtal, Vinschgau, Schnalstal and Passeiertal valleys and the main chain of the Alps.

Some of the most beautiful hiking routes around Meran/Merano are located within this unique protected area. Examples include the Merano High Mountain Trail, which loops around the Texel Group over the course of several days, or the hike to the Spronser Seen lakes, one of the largest lake districts in Europe. The diverse geography and nature of the Texelgruppe Nature Park boasts deciduous and larch forests, high moors, blooming Alpine pastures, rugged rock faces, roaring streams, crystal-clear mountain lakes and panoramic peaks.

The Texelgruppe range boasts attractions beyond its diverse flora and fauna: the remains of prehistoric settlements, fortifications and places of worship demonstrate that mankind has long been attracted to this fantastic area. Neolithic engraved stones, "Ötzi the Iceman,” as well as the old ‘path of the dead’ from Pfelders/Plan to Dorf Tirol/Tirolo underscore the early presence of man in the Texelgruppe range area. In the late Middle Ages, due to the increase in population, farmsteads were operated year round up to an altitude of 2,000 metres. 

The Texelgruppe Nature Park is shared by the municipalities of Schnals/Senales, Naturns/Naturo, Partschins/Parcines, Algund/Lagundo, Dorf Tirol, Riffian/Rifiano, St. Martin in Passeier/San Martino in Passiria and Moos in Passeier/Moso in Passiria.

 

At the S-charl ridge, also called Cruschetta pass, there is a viewing platform with carved wooden figures.

The Church of St. Martin was, during the High Medieval period, the main church in the Central Venosta Valley. Legend has it that its area of jurisdiction extended from Prato allo Stelvio/Prad am Stilfserjoch past Ciardes/Tschars all the way to Vent, in the Ötztal Alps. In 1212, the church was handed over to the Teutonic Order. Of particular interest are a 15th Century polyptych, the baroque main altar and a swivelling eighteenth-century tabernacle.

The Church of St. Michael in Taufers/Tubre originally from the 14th century, has housed a religion museum since 2000. On display in the S. Michele Parish Museum are precious Gothic frescoes, and alongside over twenty works of sacred art, which mainly come from the eight churches in Taufers i.M. The highlight of the exhibition is late Gothic winged altar from the S. Michele's Church from around 1520.

Dating from the 13th century, with gothic chapel from the 15th century. Was the property of the Lords of Mazia (choir chair and altar are located in the regional museum in Innsbruck). Later the castle became the property of the Counts of Annenberg.
Cannot be viewed interior - private property.

At 2,160m above sea level, in the middle of the national park, behind the reservoir at the end of the beautiful Val Martello, lies the fascinating red ruin of the former luxury hotel Paradiso.
(can only be viewed from outside).

The fomer luxury hotel Paradiso experienced only a short period of prosperity between its realization in 1936 and the outbreak of war in 1940, which ended the civilian hotel business. After the outbreak of the second world war the guest business came to a complete standstill.

Built 1933-1935 by the Italian star architect Gio Ponti. Temporarly occupied by the nazis as their own holiday hotel. Went bankrupt in 1946 and has been abandoned since 1955.

Since then, the hotel ruin have had a mystical attraction. In the middle of the national park the abandoned red building defies and offers a fascinating contrast to the beautiful natural landscape, the mountain waves and the Plima gorge. 

The Farmstead Finailhof is one of the oldest farms in Schnalstal Valley, first records date back to the 11th century. It is known for its rare visit in 1416. Those days the farmers harbored Duke Frederick IV by employing him as a shepherd. Until 1967, the farm was highest one in Europe which cultivated cereals. To preserve the rural culture and architecture the entire farm became a listed building in 1981. Today the family Gurschler lives with four generations on the farm and welcomes guests in their „Stube“ and a huge sunny terrace with a great view over the lake Vernago/Vernagt.

In Manni's private museum you will find many exciting objects and stories from the area and on various topics: whether fossils and minerals, the First World War on the Ortler front or the castles of Upper and Lower Montani - there is guaranteed to be something interesting for everyone.

The mountain lake of Covelano/Göflan is idyllically situated in the Stelvio National Park, above the Covelano marble quarry and at the foot of Jennwand summit.

Refreshments stop: Göflaneralm, Haslhof

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.

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).

..................................................................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................................................................

The parish church of St Martin is located high up on the Murkegel, before the Sonnenberg of Tschars, and it presumably rises up directly on top of the foundations of its Romanesque predecesor. It is a fourbayed hall church from the first quarter of the 16th cent. with a narrower choir that concludes in a three-sided apse. Its formidable tower with a Baroque onion dome rises up in the south. The interior was renovated in a Baroque style in the third quarter of the 18th cent.

At the eastern entrance of Silandro one sees the white blocks, which are worked in the marble work of the company Covelano Marmi.

In the Schlandersburg castle with the Menhir exhibition and in the entire municipality of Silandro, one sees traces of the marble, e.g. at the town hall and at the main square in Silandro and at the ornate fountain in front of St. John's Church in Corzes - as well as in the marble studio at Art & crafts (Covelano marblework).

Covelano marble is used all over the world, for example in luxury bathrooms and kitchens in the One57 - New Yorker skyscraper of superlatives and also the tombstone of Udo Jürgens, the white stone of the grand piano comes from South Tyrol.

The world of marble can be discovered during guided tours and hikes.

..................................................................................................................................................................................................

test as Kirchlein St. Ottilia wurde im Jahr 1681 im Auftrag von Caspar Perlinger erbaut. Auf einem Großen Votivbild sind Maria mit dem Jesuskind und Perlinger mit seiner Familie dargestellt. Die Kirche ist ein einfacher Bau mit achteckigem Chor und einem Tonnengewölbe.

..................................................................................................................................................................................................

 

Abgesehen von einem durch Schlackenfunde bezeugten vorgeschichtlichen Bergbau im Bereich der Urzeit-Siedlung Kaschlin, sind uns aus dem 14. Jahrhundert erstmals konkrete Angaben über lokale Montangeschichte überliefert. Aus der Lehensurkunde des Ludwig von Brandenburg  vom 26. März 1352 erfahren wir, dass dem Berthold von Lebenberg mit der Feste Tschenglsberg auch das inkorporierte Bergregal in Sulden verliehen wurde1. Um 1421 wechselte  dieses Lehen dann an die Herren von Lichtenstein2, die das Bergrecht weiterverliehen und dafür Ertragszinse einhoben. Während um dieser Zeit das geschürfte Erz dortselbst verhüttet beziehungsweise zu Rohmetall verarbeitet wurde, entstand später parallel dazu ein gewerblicher Schmelzbetrieb in Prad. Die auf den Obervinschgauer Bergbau fußende „Prader-Schmelz“ bestand darin, dass dieser Betrieb nicht nur die Erze der ausgedehnten Gruben vom nahen Stilfs dem Schmelzprozess zuführte, sondern metallhaltiges Gestein auch aus den Gruben und Stollen von Prader-Berg, Gomagoi, Eyrs, Nauders etc. entgegennahm. Das in Prad gewonnene Rohkupfer und Roheisen, wobei letzteres zum Teil in der werkseigenen Wasserschmiede3 in Prad zu Halbfabrikaten Verarbeitung gefunden haben dürfte, deckte wohl nicht viel mehr als den lokalen Eigenbedarf4. In der zweiten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts ist dann vom Verfall des Hüttenwerkes in Prad die Rede, aber gegen 1700 wurde der Bergbau nach Kupfer- und Bleierzen intensiviert, sodass in der Folge die „Prader-Schmelz“ eine dementsprechende  umstrukturierte Aufwertung erfuhr. Dazu hatte 1726 der Werksunternehmer Graf Caspar Ignatz Trapp, gegen alte Rechtsprinzipien und trotz heftigster Proteste nicht nur von Seiten der Prader Bevölkerung, eine neue Schmelz errichtet. Die sich mit der Verstaatlichung im Jahre 1729 „Das Kayser und Königlich Freye Schmölzwerkh zu Pradt“ nannte. Mit dem Ausklang des 18. Jahrhunderts endete allerdings der Schmelzbetrieb ohne Wiederkehr und an den Gebäuden fing der Zahn der Auszeit an zu nagen. Loses Gesindel und Wegelagerer begannen sich einzunisten. Sodass selbst das Landgericht Glurns, durch die Einstellung des Anton Fahrner als Hüttenwächter dem Frevel Einhalt gebieten musste. Mit der Landnahme durch Bayern 1805 – 18145, wurde die „K. K. Schmelz“ vorerst in „Königliche Schmelz“ umgetauft und schließlich 1812 an den Hüttenwächter verkauft. In der Folge veräußerte Anton Fahrner der Ältere nach und nach, gewinnbringend, sämtliche Realitäten der ehemaligen Prader-Schmelz. Aus dieser entstand dann bis 1850 eine neue Wohnsiedlung, so wie sie sich uns zum Teil noch heute präsentiert.

Im speziellen Teil soll es nun darum gehen, die Gebäude-Chronik der „Prader-Schmelz“ ab der Zeit der Erstellung des Steuerkatasters von 1775, zu beleuchten. Zumal uns damit erstmals konkrete Angaben über die Funktionen der ehemaligen „Schmelz-Gebäude“ vermittelt werden.

 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

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 in Freiberg is from the 19th cent. and its neoromanesque altar was installed in 1919. The altar paintin depicts the earthly and heavenly family of Jesus

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.

In 1992 in the church "Unsere liebe Frau auf dem Bichl" the in Laces standing stone (3.300-2.200 B.C.) was found during restoration work by the State Monument Authorities. The stele, which is made from the finest Vinschgau marble, formed the supporting surface of the altar table. The top and bottom parts as well parts of the left upper side of the 107 cm high, 77 cm wide and 12 cm thick stone are missing. It was probably originally located around where the current church stands on the hill and would thus have been visible from afar. As well as the iconic features common to all the male engraved stones from the Etsch valley group, such as scalloped belts, axes, daggers, clubs, bows, various decorative elements and fringed capes, elements are present that belong to the Lombardy group from Val Camonica and Valtellina, such as suns, deer and stylised male figure. Thus the in Laces standing stone is great proof of the ancient connection of the Vinschgau and the Etsch valley and the valleys of north-eastern Lombardy.

The castle ruins Hochgalsaun lies in a dizzying height on a steeply sloping rocky spur over the fraction Galsaun the place Kastelbell-Tschars.It was built in the course of the 13th century by the Tyrolean noble family Montalban. After destruction and reconstruction in 1300 she went to the Lords of Schlandersberg before it was destroyed again in 1423 and then finally ruined.From the castle, only a few remains of the walls have been preserved, giving hardly binding information about their original appearance. To a small yard to the valley side residential buildings and the direction of attack on the mountain side of the keep on the highest point of the castle square should have been. On the valley side, far lower are the remains of the former castle chapel.

An Adventure Playground for Children on Watles, the Hikers' Paradise  

Amidst the expansive Watles hiking area, there is the 1500 m² Spielesee – an artificial lake for children, designed as an exciting adventure playground for little ones and families. Kids can play on the wooden rafts, hanging bridges, waterfalls and streams where they can try their hand at "gold panning" or exploring for minerals and other gems. Children love the long slide and the new Funballz, a water–walking-ball which kids can hop and run with along the surface of the water. 

Wooden chaise-langue’s are also available and adults can unwind and enjoy the view from the platform, with its magnificent mountain panorama. Admissions are free of charge.

..................................................................................................................................................................................................