Cultuur & bezienswaardigheden in de Dolomieten

The mountain school of Lanebach bei Gais is unique in its form and is considered to be one of the last fully preserved mountain schools in the entire Alpine region.

It consists of a single classroom and an adjoining "apartment" for the teacher. Located at more than 1500m above sea level, it is one of the highest mountain schools around.
Due to its sheer size, it is also called a "dwarf school".
Numerous writings, documents and testimonies of the past 100 years as well as the stories of contemporary witnesses, pupils and teachers tell of lessons and survive in this mountain school.
Visit available on request only : phone +39 348 7735477 - Mr. Hochgruber

The Fanes-Senes-Braies natural park, Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage since 2009, measures approx. 25,680 hectares and spreads across the municipalities of Badia and La Val in Alta Badia, Braies, Dobbiaco, Marebbe and Valdaora. The Dolomite high route no. 1 leads through the area of the Fanes-Senes-Braies natural park.

The mountains facing Val Pusteria valley form the park's northern, Val Badia valley its western boundary; in the south the Fanes-Senes-Braies natural park stretches all the way to South Tyrol's provincial border in the direction of Cortina and the Val di Landro valley marks its eastern boundary against the Dolomiti di Sesto. The steep, almost insurmountable rock faces protect a morphologically and scenically highly diverse, broad area of alpine pastures high plateaus.

The majority of Fanes-Senes-Braies natural park's area is covered by mountain pastures and meadows which are characterised by a unique variety of plant life. Leopard's bane, gentian, orchids, bistort and golden hawksbeard are commonly found. The vegetation zones range from mountain forests near the valleys to above 3,000 metres (9,842 ft). Fanes-Senes-Braies natura preserve's fauna is representative for the Dolomites.

The natural park's part in the Alta Badia area offers some particularly interesting zones:

• the Armentara-meadows, a small but highly diverse area with an impressive variety of species:
• the Counturines cave: Up to today, the cave located at 2,800 m (9,186 ft) above sea level, is the highest bear cave in the world. In 1987, a bear's fossilised bones, skull and teeth were found in this cave. Scientists discovered, that the remains belonged to a bear that had lived in the Austrian Alps around 50,000 years ago, called the Ladin bear (Ursus ladinicus);
• the Fanes high alpine pasture with its lithic amphitheatre known as the "Marmots' Parliament" is the setting of one of the prettiest of Ladin legends, the fairy tale "The Empire of the Fanes".

Contrary to Puez-Odle natural park, Fanes-Senes-Braies natural park explodes in colours, waters and life. In order to fully experience and understand its unique world and landscape, one must not just look at Fanes-Senes-Braies natural park from its boundaries.
One must hike in it, experience and get into contact with the area.

It is also called "the shining face of the Dolomites" because of the rich variety of its vegetation and landscapes, with steep cliffs rising at the edge of the Park and protecting a large area of pastures and colorful plateaus.

A hike through the Nature Park will take you to the mysterious places of the legend of the Kingdom of Fanes. The saga, which is considered the Ladin national epic poem, tells of the expansion of the mythical Fanes empire and its fall, of the princesses Moltina and Dolasilla, of the evil wizard Spina de Mul and of the fearless hero Ey de Net.

The Parish Church Saint Cyriak was originally a gothic building. In 1851 the church was newly build (consecration in 1854).

For a long time, the entire religious life of the valley revolved around the church of La Pli/Pieve Marebbe. Once the most important house of prayer in the valley, records state that since the appointment of one Marquardus as the first pastor in 1214, Marebbe has always had its own resident pastor. Records dating back to 1347 list the church as the "parish church of the Virgin Mary of Marebbe".

Today, it is a grand four-naved Baroque church with a particularly beautiful wooden high altar, skilfully carved in Renaissance style in 1636 – at a time when the Black Death raged through the valleys. The centre features a statue of St. Mary of Graces. Both for the population of the Badia valley and many pilgrims from the Pusteria valley, this picturesque temple remains a well-loved and much-visited place of pilgrimage.

Although the clear architecture language of the new building in the middle of St. Lorenzen does not attempt to hide when it was built, it fits well into the historical image of the place as a building representing the modern. It was placed near the church plaza, and closes the space. This has created two independent square areas which are however still in communication one with the other. The sheer volume of the town hall, which also houses the public library, corresponds with the size of the surrounding buildings. The design reflects our times through the materials used and the structure of the facade. Variously sized windows are found in the concrete construction, varying according to the function of the room, which creates a refined and lively variation of the building's ratios.

The parish church in Valdaora di Sotto is one of the oldest of the occident. As district from other churches in the surroundings the mother parish church was able to preserve the baroque equipment.

The origin of the church Saint Egidio in Mittelolang date back to the period of the High Middleage. According to an ancient parchmen Viktor Gatterer discovered at the beginning of XIX Century in the parish archive of Niederolang, the church could have be consacrated on the 1st September 1138 by the bischof of Briexn Rembert to the Holy Trinity, the Victorious Cross and to the disciple Egidio. One of the fourteen aukiliary saints, Egidio was evoked from shepherd and hunters to be wokshipped as patron saint of livestock and plauge.

The church St. Walburg in Antholz Niedertal was built in the 15th century and expanded in 1954.

The church in Haselried was first recorded in 1436. The Church is build in a late Gothic style.

Once known as "Lucke" (or hole), the gate carries a painting by the South Tyrolean painter Rudolf Stolz (1874-1960) which shows Saint Florian, the Bruneck coat of arms and the town's founding bishop, Bruno. In Florianigasse, St. Florian, a work by the Bruneck artist Josef Bachlechner (1871-1923) can be seen.

Located in Enneberg / S. Vigilio at the entrance to Val de Mareo valley, nature park house Fanes-Senes-Prags / Fanes-Senes-Braies provides a wealth of information about nature park Fanes-Sennes-Prags / Fanes-Senes-Braies via interactive media, videos, and interpretive signs. The facility’s levels are linked via spiral ramps that enable visitors to reach the various galleries, which contain exhibitions on the following topics: the origins of the Dolomites; the 1987 discovery of the cave bear of Conturines; the park’s main habitats; and a three-dimensional relief showing the region’s geomorphology. The galleries also contain pictures of the park’s most impressive features. Next to Alpine pasture agriculture and the attendant Alpine pasture villages, the biodiversity of the park’s mountain meadows of Armentara and Plätzwiese, and the Ladin culture are on diplay. The center also features terrariums and a children’s area with games and crafts, as well as a library.

The old Lippa sawmill from the 19th century is located in Oberolang, in an easily accessible location in the immediate vicinity of the Val Pusteria cycle path and the Olang nature and culture trail. It is the last remaining Venetian sawmill, which was restored and put back into operation in 2011 after it was last used in 1958. It is a unique testimony to the history of the Val Pusteria timber industry.

Guided tours are only possible in SUMMER! For more information, please contact the Valdaora/Olang tourist office.

Built around the year 1000, strictly linked with the history of St. Lorenzen and the central Pustertal.

Nowadays is the Castle Michelsburg privately owned.

 

The foursquare chapel near the court Wirther in Rasun di Sopra dates back to the 16th century.

While nursing homes were formerly often pushed “into the green” on the outskirts of the village, it was decided in Valdaora/Olang to attach the elderly to the major facilities within the town center, where the school, kindergarten and other public institutions are to be found. The new nursing home has become an important meeting point. The four-story, wood-paneled structure houses two nursing units with 20 beds and associated spaces. Around the spacious foyer on the ground floor there is a café, a chapel, and a multipurpose room for events. In addition, an outpatient medical clinic and the offices of the district community are housed here. Glazed notches across the entry hall provide for good illumination; a partition of a pleasantly light, inviting architecture further emphasizes this impression through color, light natural stone and wood.

The church is build in Gothic style and is dedicated to St.Nikolaus.
The church is located in Issing/Issengo.

The late gothic church in Oberolang was consecrated by Bishop Albertin in 1472. Around 1650 the church was renovated changed into baroque style. The actual appearance of the church is neo-Gothic (about 1900). Especially at the inside the church underwent a consistent change. In 1899/1900 architect Roman Picher took care of the renovation. The stoned glass was made in a Tyrolean Glass factory in Innsbruck. The wood work was completed by Jakob Veider from Niederrasen.

The year of construction of the first church is uncertain, but certainly in the year 1490 it was destroyed by a landslide that destroyed a large part of the village. 1492 another church was rebuilt. Over the centuries this church changed style several times and was also enlarged. In recent times the altar has been modernized with works from the artists Mellauner y Promberger. The church can be visited all year round.

The valley along the Seres brook, in the mountaineering village Lungiarü, is also known as the Mills because of the many hydroelectric mills along its banks . Between the orographic left hamlet Seres and the orographic right hamlet Miscì are eight mills , two of which are equipped with two water wheels

At the foot of the sunny mountain side are located the courts Mairhöfe with the chapel Siebenter. The chapel was built in 1736 and renovated in 1913.

Walking through the Gate Raintor you will reach the Oberstadt district where there is located also the Parish Church. Many years ago this gate did not have much importance for the traffic, indeed it was used only to connect the town center with the main cemetery.

This irregular building shows that the church was built in different periods, from the 13th to the 16th century. In the church stands the famous "Madonna with the infant Jesus holding grapes" by Michael Pacher. In the attached Egererkapelle, frescos from the Michael Pacher school.

In this museum, Reinhold Messner deals with the final aspect of the conflict between man and the mountains; the heritage of the mountains and the people who have lived in them since time immemorial.

The fifth Messner Mountain Museum was opened in summer 2011 in Bruneck Castle by the well-known mountaineer Reinhold Messner. There are countless exhibits from everyday life. With the interactive "MMM Mountain Peoples" project, Reinhold Messner aims not to "exhibit" people, but rather to invite them to take part in an exchange of experience with the local rural population.

Every year guests from another mountain region will spend the summer in the Messner Mountain Peoples Museum and talk about their way of life, accompanied by everyday cultural exhibits belonging to different mountain regions and their inhabitants, including the Sherpas, Incas, Tibetans and Mongolians.

Ticket prices:

Adults € 14,00, kids (6 - 14 years) € 6,00, students under 28 years and seniors over 65 years € 12,00, family ticket (1 adult + kids under 14 years) € 32,00, mini family ticket (1 adult + kids under 14 years) € 18,00, groups of 15 persons and more € 12,00, school classes (6 - 19 years) € 6,00

Most of the sacred buildings are bound on legends, like the parish church in Sorafurcia. A bear shall have attacked the Arndt farmer whereon he built a church.

The chapel is reminiscent of the famous freedom fighter Peter Sigmayr. The Tharerwirt was shot 1810 from the Frenchmen near the Baumgartner farm.

The church of St. John in Niederrasen is already mentioned in 1070. Today's church was built in 1822 (late baroque).

That poky chapel is the oldest in the valley and has been rehabilitated recently.

During the First World War there were several battlefield hospitals in Bruneck, in which many wounded and sick soldiers and prisoners of war unfortunately died. As it was not possible to bury them in the municipal cemetery, the authorities ceded the "Kühbergl", a wooded hill to the south of the town, to the military commanders, in which a suitable place of rest was established. A pioneer officer serving in Bruneck, architect A. Bechtold from Bregenz in Austria, designed the cemetery so that it blended harmoniously into the forest. 669 soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army, plus 103 Russian, 13 Serb and 7 Romanian soldiers are laid to rest here in individual and mass graves. The 77 Italian soldiers who were once buried here were reburied in 1932 in the newly built mausoleum in Pocòl; the same is true of 45 German soldiers, who were reburied in the cenotaph on the Pordoi Pass. 19 German soldiers from the Second World War who lost their lives in bombing raids also lie here, together with an Italian officer and five citizens of Bruneck, who fell nearby in the final days of the war and were brought here. The war cemetery is taken care of by a ladies' committee, who give equal attention to every grave.

The Meizger-Stöckl, built in 1816, is a Mariahilf chapel in Antholz Niedertal.

Above the forest cemetery in Brunico, an easy family-friendly path leads to the three lakes. A beautiful recreation area on Kühlbergl next to the city center in the middle of nature.