Cultuur & bezienswaardigheden in de Dolomieten

The Resciesa Alp is part of the Dolomites - UNESCO World Heritage and a popular excursion destination for everyone. Hikers, families, hobby photographers, bikers and connoisseurs are taking advantage of this unique space in the middle of Nature park Puez - Odle. The natural park with an area of ​​over 10,000 ha is bordered in the north by Passo delle Erbe and in the south by Passo Gardena; in the east the area reaches Val Badia, in the west into Val di Funes up to  Val Gardena. The northern part of the area is dominated by the Aferer and the Funes Odle and the Sas de Pütia, the southern the plateau of Gherdenacia, Sassongher, Puez with Vallunga and the Cir Group.

 

The Tervela waterfall is situated at the opposite of the centre of S. Cristina. The creek has its source at the Sassolungo and after crossing Monte Pana, it falls 50 m and flows into the Rio Gardena.

The monument is near the parish church square in Ortisei. It was built in memory of Johann Baptist Purger (1805-1872), the mayor who fought for the construction of the Val Gardena Road from Ponte Gardena to Ortisei.

St. Jacob’s Church San Giacomo’s Church, dedicated to the patron saint of pilgrims and travellers, is traditionally known as the oldest church in Val Gardena: its origins date back to the 12th century. | It is located right above Ortisei, along the ancient path, “Troi Paian”. From Ortisei you can reach the idyllic , sunny hamlet comfortably by ski- or summer bus or by car. Here you are surrounded by nature and you can enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view. After a 15-minute walk (slightly uphill) you will arrive to the San Giacomo Church. Alternatively, you can start from Ortisei and take a slightly sloping trail (Path of Dialogue), which takes you to the San Giacomo Church in about an hour. Another beautiful circular walk connects S. Cristina (Plesdinaz) with the church. The current overall appearance is Gothic, and the inside is part Gothic and part Baroque. The church features remarkable frescoes (late 15th century) in the presbytery. Wall paintings from the 16th century, illustrating the legend of San Giacomo (St. James), decorate the area near the pulpit. The local wood-carving tradition is represented in the main altar. Around 1750 the Vinazer-Pescosta brothers decorated it with spiral columns, gilded images of ancient church leaders, apostles and angels. The current sculptures and artwork on the main altar are replicas made by local carvers. The originals are on display at the Val Gardena Museum in Ortisei.

GUIDED TOURS to the church weekly in Winter and Summer. Reservation and more details at the Tourist Office Ortisei.

The eponymous bronze statue were built on the "Raida dl luech" walk in S. Cristina. The project is the result of a competition backed by the partnership between S. Cristina, the Tourist Association and the S. Cristina Art Sculpture Association to embellish the "Raida dl luech" and to o emphasize the importance and value of artistic activity in Val Gardena. The bronze statue freerider was built in 2012 near the Cisles Street in S. Cristina.

From 1917 until 1960, the Val Gardena Railway drove through this Railway tunnel near the parish church of S. Cristina Val Gardena. In 2017, after works of restauration, the tunnel has been made accessible to history enthusiasts and people who walk along the Val Gardena Railway Trail.

On the interactive panels inside the tunnel, you can listen to the famous Ladin song "La ferata" or discover interesting facts, technical details and stories related to the Val Gardena Railway.

The Holy Cross Chapel, built in 1755 in Rasciesa di Fuori (over 2200 m) is also worth a visit. The chapel was restored in summer 2012.
The chapel is located at Resciesa and can only be reached on foot in about 45 minutes, starting from the top station of the Resciesa funicular. It is a flat and easily walkable trail suitable for the whole family.

The Sëurasas below the Picberg (2,119 m) is one of the most popular vantage points in Val Gardena. The viewpoint not only offers a marvellous view, but the interesting nature of the path also makes this area a special feature. The starting point is the Cristauta car park above S. Cristina. The destination is the beautiful large hand-carved summit cross of Sëurasas.
In winter, you can reach the "Crujeta" summit cross on snowshoes.

A spherical equatorial sundial with a diameter of 2 metres is positioned at Monte Pana. Made of iron, brass and gold, ist is positioned on to of a 10-ton porphyry plinth. It indicates the true solar time for S. Cristina and 60 more cities around the world. It also shows the Central European Time, the current sign of the zodiac, equinoxes, solstices and seasons.

In 1917, the mudslide at Insom below the Pic mountain broke loose for the first time.  Two buildings and a barn were buried under the mass of loose rock, mud and snow. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. 24 years later, in the spring of 1951, the Insom mudslide threatened the village of St. Christina for the second time. The mudslide followed in the footsteps of the 1917 mudslide and at the Insom farmstead, where it dug deep into the ground, beams, floorboards and foundation walls (remains of the buildings buried in 1917) were visible again for some time. It was only thanks to the energetic efforts of the fire brigade that a major catastrophe was prevented.

The 19th century neo-Gothic nave was demolished in 1988 and replaced by a modern octagonal structure. The beautiful chancel dating back to 1670, however, was preserved, complete with the painting of the Madonna with Child by Lukas Cranach on the high altar (now a copy). In 1503 Wilhelm von Wolkenstein had a chapel dedicated to the Virgin built here, which subsequently had to be enlarged several times to cope with the large numbers of people who came to this popular place of pilgrimage as they still do today. On the outside wall of the sacristy there is a stone painted with the coat of arms of the Counts of Wolkenstein.

One of the most beautiful viewpoints in Val Gardena is definitely the Seceda . At an altitude of 2,500 metres, you can admire the Odle, Sassolungo and Sassopiatto and the Sella massif. The numerous mountain huts invite you to enjoy a delicious lunch.

A musical clock is set into the facade of the "Sarteur" house in Selva. Every day at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. (5 p.m.), fourteen valuable bells play different tunes. Four wood-carved medieval statues appear as the music starts. The paintings on the wall depict the craftsmen who used to work in the area, which was once called "Ghetun".

An unique botanical attraction, the highest rosary of Europe waits for you at the Hotel Uhrerhof in Bulla. Discover the variety of 6.000 roses of more than 150 various species. A steep mountain hillside was transformed into a garden park filled with flowers and perfume. Enjoy the beauty of nature! From July to September every day from 10.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. along the hillside at the Hotel Uhrerhof in Bulla. Dogs are not admitted.

The Dolomites are part of the UNESCO world heritage since 2009. The UNESCO viewing platform on the Alpe Mastlé in S. Cristina has been built as one of the 7 Viewing platforms in South Tyrol at a particularly beautiful viewing point. Each position of a viewing platform has been selected due to its peculiar geological and scenic aspect of the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites.

The chapel was built by the local "Alpini" groups and it is dedicated to their patron saint, St.Maurice. It was inaugurated in Spring 2004. Open from mid of May till mid of October.

The castle was built between 1622 and 1641 by Engelhard Dietrich von Wolkenstein-Trostburg. It is located between Selva and S.Cristina and was used as a summer and hunting lodge. In 1863, Count Leopold von Wolkenstein-Trostburg granted the castle to S.Cristina municipality to transform it into a almshouse. The castle has been owned by the Franchetti Barons since 1926, and it is currently closed to the public.

The sundial created by the artist Roland Moroder is located on the Alpe Juac on a huge meadow and counts as usual all the serne hours. From Selva Gardena one reaches the sundial about the cozy walk no. 3 from the "Daunëi" fraction. Walking time: 30 min.

Museum Gherdëina

The heritage of an entire valley

Geology and wooden toys, artistic tradition and Luis Trenker: the Gherdëina Museum offers an overview of everything that makes Val Gardena special. The journey through time begins there 250 million years ago with unique fossils and minerals. And if you feel like it, you can experience the large ichtyosaur from the Secëda mountain in its habitat in virtual reality.

Another attraction is the wooden toy from Val Gardena that has conquered children's rooms all over the world. From December 2025, a new exhibition will show the3 evolution of toys, with pieces from the collection of the toy manufacturer Sevi, which comprises 8,000 samples from seven decades.

The museum also houses secular and sacred wood carvings from the 18th and 19th centuries as well as a pictorial Lenten cloth and sculptures from the church of San Giacomo. Late medieval red chalk drawings from a farmhouse are presented in multimedia form and are not the only insight into local rural architecture.

Finally, there ist the cult figure of the mountaineer, film and television star Luis Trenker, whose film requirements, posters, books and awards are on display in the museum.

 

Guided tours in Italian, German and English (upon request)

For current opening hours, admission prices and events visit: www.museumgherdeina.it

The beautiful Romanesque church, dedicated to St. Leonard, was built around the 13th century. Its main altar dates back to the 18th century.

The monument is located along the path named after him. It is dedicated to "Bera Luis", the famous local actor, director, writer and passionate mountaineer who successfully conveyed his love for the mountains to his vast audience.

Luis Trenker was born in Ortisei on October 4th 1892, and died in Bolzano on April 12th 1990, at the age of 97. He was buried in the family tomb in the cemetery of Ortisei.
During his school days he worked as a mountain guide and ski instructor. He studied architecture in Vienna and Graz and opened an architectural office in Bolzano, which he had to close shortly after because his degree was not recognized in Italy.
For this he worked as an artist and lived in Berlin from 1927 to 1940.

His first contact with film came in 1921, when he was hired as a mountain guide for the film "Berg des Schicksals" (Mountain of Destiny). When the director realized that the lead actor was unable to climb, Trenker took on the lead role. Other films followed in quick succession, initially as an actor, then also as director and screenwriter. Not only mountain films, but also adventure films, comedies, thrillers, and historical films.
In addition to his films, Luis Trenker also published a number of novels, articles and accounts of his experiences.
In the last years of his life, Trenker also fought for environmental protection and nature conservation.

The most known films:
Struggle for the Matterhorn (1928)
Mountains on fire (1931)
The Rebel (1932)
The prodigal son (1934)
The mountain calls (1938)
Monte Miracolo (1943)

Natural gardens are man-made habitats..
Flower meadows, dry stone walls, ponds, hedges and much more ....

The 19th century Neo-Gothic nave was dismantled in 1988 and replaced by an 8-sided building. This remarkable church is decorated with several paintings, carvings, statues and images (among which a statue of St. Ulrich by Ludwig Moroder and the altar painting depicting the Adoration of the Magi by Josef Moroder-Lusenberg).

On Wednesdays you can find our weekly market on the Town Hall Square in S. Cristina where they offer fresh fruits and vegetables, cloths and other. The market is smaller in winter.

A steep path starts near the "Carabinieri" training centre in Vallunga and heads up to the castle ruins. Built at the beginning of the 13th century, it collapsed in 1525 and has never been rebuilt. It has been owned by the Wolkenstein family since the 14th century. Oswald von Wolkenstein, a famous minstrel and poet born in South Tyrol between 1376 and 1387, died in Merano 1445, probably spent his summers in the castle.

Monpiër - from "mo n pier", the typical Ladin phrase pronounced by those who want "another beer" - is the name of the first craft brewery in Val Gardena.Founded in Ortisei in 2016, born from the desire to get involved by Carmelo, Diego, Jan and Tobia: four people from Val Gardena who have found a common denominator in beer. Monpiër beers take their name from the surrounding mountains and their respective heights and are a dedication and hymn to the beauty of the Dolomites.Our 1000 liter manual batch system allows our brewer a lot of flexibility in the construction of the recipes and styles to be produced. In our laboratory, low fermentation beers are born, high beers and exploiting the local microflora we carry out a wooden project of spontaneous fermentations. Selected malts and a skilful dosage of hops combined with pure high mountain water from the Cunfin spring located at the foot of the Sassolungo are a guarantee of high quality. Monpiër is proof that craft beer can be simple, drinkable, immediate - and at the same time incredibly seductive.In addition to the beers produced by our brewery, we offer a vast assortment of over 70 national and international craft beers in our Labetula brew pub.

The Chapel was built in the Selva's graveyard to commemorate all mountaineers who die in the Dolomites in Val Gardena. Their names are engraved in a large coper book.

The old mills in Bulla, right above Ortisei, were built in the 8th and 19th century. The Zaramin mill is abandoned, but the Rumanon mill was restored in 1999 and the Droch mill in 2010. They are now fully operational. Visitors can join a guided tour and learn more about the mills and the ancient local lifestyle. More information is available at the Tourist Office in Ortisei.

St. Anna’s Chapel | A small church built at the beginning of the 15th century in the Ortisei’s graveyard. It features a noteworthy portal and several ancient gravestones and memorials.

The church will be open only for special occasions.

Wherever the ancient is combined and blended with the modern, a fertile ground is created, where creativity and art begin to sprout and culture to flourish. The cultural center Tublà da Nives offers personal or collective art exhibitions, historical exhibitions, presentations, conferences, symposia, artistic, literary, musical and multimedia performances.