Culturele en recreatieve tips langs het fietspad

The Town Hall of Sterzing is considered a true gem in the entire Tyrolean region. It was built in the years 1468 - 1473, and the distinctive bay window was added in 1524 during a renovation. The Gothic council chamber, with simple paneling and beamed ceiling, is considered the most beautiful in all of Tyrol. The rooms of the Town Hall have been repeatedly used for historical meetings: in 1525, the emergency council met in the council chamber during the peasant uprising, and from the 15th to the 17th century, several sessions of the Tyrolean Landtag were held there. Additionally, members of the imperial family were received there (Emperor Maximilian, King Philip of Spain, Archduke Ferdinand, Maria Theresa, Joseph II, and many others).

In the courtyard, flooded with light by flat arch windows on the south wall, various museum objects related to the city's history are exhibited. The Town Hall is connected to a citizens' hall, named after Vigil Raber, born in Sterzing and the first theater publisher in the German-speaking world.

In the courtyard at the end of the ground-level gallery, finds from the history of Roman settlement are displayed. A copy of the "Mithras stone" found in Mauls in Freienfeld bears witness to the well-known mystery cult practiced by many Roman soldiers. The adjacent Roman milestone (circa 200 AD) confirms the expansion of the Roman road along the Brenner Route under Septimius Severus.

The courtyard and the historic council chamber are open to visitors during the Town Hall's opening hours.

The Merano Thermal Baths are located in the heart of the city. Nowhere else in South Tyrol is there such a centrally located natural oasis. The five-hectare thermal park stretches around the building. 
With 25 indoor and outdoor pools, a 2,200 square metre sauna area and the modern MySpa, Terme Merano is a place of well-being and health.
The offer is complemented by a fitness centre, various gastronomic offerings and cultural and musical events on the Thermenplatz.

Not mini golf, not golf – something in between: SPIEL!GOLF in Monguelfo is South Tyrol’s first and only Spielgolf course. It features 9 creatively designed holes made of artificial turf, offering a mix of skill and fun. Each hole can be played in two different ways, doubling the enjoyment and challenge. The ideal par score is 52/22 30, and the course is suitable for beginners and experienced players alike. A fun and unique leisure activity for families, friends and everyone looking to try something new.

The Multscher and Town Museum of Sterzing is housed in the Deutschhaus, a former Teutonic Order commandery next to the parish church. The museum houses the largest part of the former late Gothic altarpiece by the famous sculptor and painter Hans Multscher from Ulm. The altar wings are amongst the most important works of art in the southern German region and are considered the last major work of the Ulm master. The altar was created between 1456 and 1459 for the parish church „Unsere liebe Frau im Moos”.

Furthermore, the museum houses imperial fiefs and confirmation documents, privileges and regulations of various craft guilds, seals, guild signs, and guild chests. The premises themselves are already a sight worth seeing and worth a visit. They serve as an information source about the local history of the Brothers and Knights of the Teutonic Order (1254-1809). Particularly noteworthy is the "Count's Room" („Grafenzimmer"), where valuable ceiling frescoes from four different South Tyrolean monasteries are located, and on the walls, there is a panoramic view of the Sterzing basin with culturally significant details. An insight into St. Elisabeth's Church completes the visit.

The museum is about five minutes away from the town center of Sterzing.

Guided tours by appointment: +39 0472 766464 | museum@sterzing.eu

Always being in touch with the latest trends, Gargazon inaugurated its new Natural Swimming Pool of Gargazon comprising 12,000 m² on May 29th, 2010. It is the first public bath in the Western part of the country that does without any chemical water treatment. Instead the natural water landscape is divided into a natural bathing area and an ecologically untouched regeneration zone that purifies the waters with the help of a number of beautiful plants.

The shower water is exclusively heated by solar collectors, yet another advantage of this ecological concept. The fact that the natural swimming pool is easily reachable on foot and by bike accords with the concept's principle of sustainability.

Children can splash in the naturally established brook, complete with wading pool, and there is an area for non-swimmers (max. depth: 1.20 m) which is accessible through a fine pebble beach. Not to mention, there is a grass play area with beach volleyball courts, table tennis, table soccer, loungers, umbrellas, picnic tables and wooden platforms that are ideal for playing, relaxing and having fun with the whole family. 

Water is the element that characterises the Texelgruppe Nature Park like no other. It has not only shaped its landscape, but also has a central influence on the habitats in the park. And it creates challenges for people, animals and plants - where it is lacking and where it is present in abundance.
It is therefore no coincidence that the permanent exhibition in the new Texelgruppe Nature Park House in Naturno is dedicated to water. Under the motto "Towards the water", the journey takes visitors not only upwards through the impressive, snail-shaped building, but also from the Adige river on the valley floor to the eternal ice of the glaciers - and through the various altitude levels of the Texelgruppe Nature Park. 
Adults and children can experience the nature park in a completely new way and discover the complex interrelationships in a playful, varied and hands-on way. At each station of the new 600 square metre permanent exhibition, visitors can lend a hand and work their way through all the habitats: from Mediterranean to high Alpine, from dusty dry to precipitation-rich, from hot to icy cold. 
Animals and plants found in the various habitats are presented like a cabinet of curiosities. There are also special stations dedicated to the irrigation channels and alpine pastures, farms and meadows, where not only attention, but above all curiosity and a little bit of skill are required. The same applies to a technology game from times gone by, which gives an idea of how exciting the geology of the nature park is with its different rock formations and wealth of minerals. The journey through the exhibition even takes visitors to the eternal ice of the glaciers - and into the heart of a mudslide, which also allows visitors to experience the destructive power of water.
The Nature Park House itself is a building with clear lines that - like the landscape in the Texel Group Nature Park - strives upwards. And because, in addition to water, light is also a special feature of the nature park, large windows provide sun and light in the spacious rooms - and an unobstructed view of Naturno, its surroundings and, above all, the Naturno Sun Mountain. The best view of the mountain can be enjoyed from the terrace of the new Nature Park House, which faces the Sonnenberg. And thus the world into which visitors have just immersed themselves.
You can round off your visit to the new Nature Park House with a relaxed stroll through the newly created park next to the house. It features plenty of greenery and a water basin as a link to the exhibition theme and is named after the renowned butterfly collector and researcher Bernardin Astfäller, who himself came from Naturns.

Responsible for the Nature Park House: Annamaria Gapp
Address: Bernardin Astfäller Square 1
Telephone: 0473 668201
Opening period: March - November
Opening hours: Tue - Sat 9:30 - 12:30 and 14:30 - 18:00
     July and August also open on Sundays
     Closed on public holidays
     Free admission

On a dizzyingly high outcrop of dolomite rise the medieval ruins of Salorno’s castle - Haderburg. It was built in the first half of the thirteenth century and is one of the most important monuments in South Tyrol. The castle with its winery is open to the public from Easter until All Saints. Each year Salorno-Haderburg Castle hosts musical, literary and folk events.