Cultuur en historie

The Museum of Popular Culture is situated in a historical building under the arcades of Neumarkt/Egna. You can visit the living space of a middle-class family of the 19th an 20th century.

With an extensive collection of furniture and utensils used in everyday life, the museum gives insight into a long-gone way of life. Thus, in the museum you can find a playroom, sewing room, a kitchen with pantry, as well as a salon and a bedroom.

In lieu of the parish chapel built in Widum itself under parish priest Paul Nardin, a free-standing and somewhat larger Widum chapel was built in the courtyard in 1869 under parish priest Johann Clauser. It is dedicated to St. John of Nepomuk. The parish with its vaults at ground level, flight of stairs to the 1st floor, and the window and doorframes made out of stone is one of the most ancient buildings in Auer/Ora. It was renovated and extended in an exemplary manner by parish priest Peter Paul Hofmann in 1992. In addition to the parish flat, it houses rooms for the church associations as well as small and large parish rooms.

L’affascinante paese di Ora è circondato da vigneti che gli conferiscono il suo tipico carattere rurale. Il centro del paese è fiancheggiato da mura in pietra naturale e vicoli stretti che ricordano un labirinto, da cui il nome labirinto di vicoli. Le origini del primo insediamento risalgono all'età della pietra e ancora oggi gli edifici medievali, che conferiscono al paese il suo fascino particolare, testimoniano i tempi passati.

The Saalhaus is a type of building which is about 45 to 60 meters deep with a façade width of 5-11 meters. Through the entry door in the façade, you pass through a long, vaulted archway into the inner courtyard onto which rooms, used as storerooms, open. In the heart of the house, facing the courtyard, is the "Saal" or hall, a room of large dimensions, reaching from the ground floor up to the roof. Thanks to its opening onto the courtyard and its dormer windows, the room is well lit and remains cool during the summer months. These characteristics make it suitable for many domestic activities, for example, the preparation of agricultural products or drying of laundry. All the second-floor rooms and the balconies for accessing the upper floors face this room; all of this contributes to making the "Saal" the heart of family life. It is possible to look at the internal structure of a Saalhaus while passing through the pedestrian passageway that leads through the inner courtyard of Via Andreas Hofer 32.

The “Weißer Adler'' Inn dates back to the latter half of the 17th century and features stone-framed windows and a turret stairway. The beautiful building has passed amongst many owners. In the 18th century, the Bombardis and later, it was home to a branch of the Fenners family; between the 19th and 20th centuries, it was owned by the Hofers and the Seppis. With the establishment of the Taxis family's postal service, the "Weißer Adler '' hotel became a post house and its owners were made postmasters. The 3-storey building stands at the southern end of Via Trento, concluding the street at this end, which, from here to the "Schwarzer Adler'' hotel at the northern end, is quite closely arranged, showing the intention behind the urban layout in its main use as hotel district, thoroughfare and centre of movement for guests.

Griesfeld estate in Neumarkt/Egna. This beautiful residence was built by Karl Balthasar of Cazan around the middle of the 17th century. Rectangular windows, two biforiums and six ox-eye windows adorn the elegant façade. On the second floor of the building there is a wonderful Baroque chapel, whose barrel vault is decorated with rich stucco and valuable 17th-century frescoes depicting the lives of saints and the Blessed Mother. Today this stately building houses a home economics school

During some excavations in the "Kahn" area in 1983, remains of an ancient Roman edifice were found. Those remains almost certainly belong to the "Endidae Mansio," which appears in the "Itinerarium Antonini." The large edifice with ground area of 737 m² featured a rectangular shape with a huge arcade and a central, partly roofed court. Several rooms were built around the court, which were probably relaxation rooms (cubicula) and a kitchen.

The “Schwarzer Adler'' Inn dates back to the 15th century. It was the largest and most solid inn in Salorno/Salurn, located at the most important crossroads of the time. It was equipped with a parlour that exerted great attraction on passers-by and villagers and knew how to maintain itself as an inn best and longest. This large inn, once owned by various noble families, later fell to merchants and the bourgeoisie and was eventually divided among various owners: in 1500 it was the Rölls, 1600-1680 the Lansers, between 1680 and 1700 Andrä Nagele, who sold his property to Peter Tolloy, who in turn ceded it to Baron J. F. von Coret. In 1801 the inn was acquired by the Tschurtschenthaler family, who sold it in 1825 to Anton von Gelmini and Anton von Vilas. In 1833 the inn fell into the hands of the Petermair family. With the construction of the railway (1859), however, there was a drastic decline in the number of guests. From that time on, the inn's activities were almost exclusively limited to guests from the village.

Remarkable is the magnificent black eagle made of wrought iron, which has been preserved to this day in the same place above the old post road and reminds us of the old name and the centuries-old hospitality business that was practised there. The "Black Eagle" proved to be the most frequented inn in the village at that time.

The military cemetery in Auer/Ora was originally established in 1916 as a burial ground for the chiefly Russian and Serbian war prisoners who had died while working on the old Val di Fiemme railroad. Additionally, a military hospital was established in Auer during WWI. A burial ground was set up at the site of today's military cemetery for fallen soldiers and for the workers who died during the construction of the railroad.

During WWII, the burial ground was likewise used as a cemetery for the war dead. The bodies of Austro-Hungarian soldiers who had fallen on the Dolomite Front were exhumed and transferred to their respective national cemeteries. Until 2003, the association for victims of war and combatants of South Tyrol took care of the military cemetery. From 2003 on, the "Schützenkompanie" Auer took over the cemetery's administration.

The Hausmann-Locherer estate dates from the Renaissance period, was built in the second half of the 16th century and is characterised by architectural elements of Nordic and Italian origin that are typical of the Überetsch/Oltradige architectural style. Architrave-shaped windows and an entrance portal with a round arch decorate the façade of the building. Above this round arch is the coat of arms of Andrä Locherer from 1593, consisting of a unicorn standing on its hind legs. The interior rooms with their central hall are arranged symmetrically. Some rooms have stuccoed ceilings, others are covered with 17th century woodcarving decorations. The entire building encloses an inner courtyard.

Montan/Montagna is located at the border of the Trudner Horn/Monte Corno Nature Park and surrounded by vineyards and orchards. Paved alleys and colorful buildings characterize the historic center of Montan. The parish church was built in the 12th century and is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew. The Schloss Enn/Castel d'Enna is located high above the village and was built in 1172 by the Lords of Enn. The small hamlets of Pinzon/Pinzano, Gschnon/Casignano, Kaltenbrunn/Fontanefredde, Glen/Gleno, and Kalditsch/Doladizza also belong to Montan. The plateau is characterized by the typical vineyards, where the best Pinot Noir wines of South Tyrol thrive. Montan is a popular starting point for numerous hikes and mountain bike tours.

Castelfeder (from castello, the Italian word for castle) is nestled between the holiday villages on this strategically important porphyry hill. Castelfeder is a prehistoric and Roman as well as early medieval settlement characterized by the remnants of several structures and buildings on a large hilltop. It is a true place of energy and a popular destination for excursions, especially in spring. Today, sections of the encircling defensive wall with the well-known "Kuchelen" castle walls, and parts of the Barbara chapel from the 6th century can still be seen. In addition, the sunny Castelfeder hill fascinates with its unique and diverse flora. A special feature is the smoothly polished fertility chute carved in porphyry. It was a central component of an ancient cult. Rumor has it that even today sliding down it results in the arrival of a much yearned-for baby.

At the church square, a medieval village castle rises majestically. This castle received its present form around 1600. Auer Castle is said to have been the ancestral seat of the Lords of Auer/Ora, who were first mentioned in 1190 as "Conradinus de Aura de masnada filiorum Enrici de Egna." In documents, the castle was also called the "Gesäss," as it housed, among other things, the official residence of the sovereigns. In the 19th century, the von Fioreschy family took over the property and gave it its present name: Von Fioreschy estate. In 2014, the estate underwent extensive renovations.

The most interesting building in Andreas-Hofer-Street from a historical point of view is surely the "Ballhaus." This construction functioned as a warehouse and repository for goods passing through Neumarkt/Egna, which, by disposition of the reigning sovereign Duke Otto, were obliged to pay duty and remain there for a night. Above the semi-circular stone framed arch of the portal, the erroneous date of 1372 appears along with the Egna coat of arms. In fact, the Ballhaus was built some 150 years later. You could say that the Ballhaus is the symbol of the privileges which Egna enjoyed until the 18th century and which permitted it to develop into the great and beautiful village we know today. Currently, following very careful restoration, this building is the site of the community library for the German-speaking population, the "Bibliothek im Ballhaus."

The Hausmann-Locherer estate dates from the Renaissance period, was built in the second half of the 16th century and is characterised by architectural elements of Nordic and Italian origin that are typical of the Überetsch/Oltradige architectural style. Architrave-shaped windows and an entrance portal with a round arch decorate the façade of the building. Above this round arch is the coat of arms of Andrä Locherer from 1593, consisting of a unicorn standing on its hind legs. The interior rooms with their central hall are arranged symmetrically. Some rooms have stuccoed ceilings, others are covered with 17th century woodcarving decorations. The entire building encloses an inner courtyard.

The „Wohlgemuth zu Wendelstein“ estate dates back to 1592. The date is above the portal in the fresco of the triangular pediment on the double-arched window, which is adorned by a beautiful wrought-iron balustrade. The Renaissance building has an irregular floor plan and is set around an inner courtyard. The hall on the first floor with the aforementioned double-arched window has a precious coffered ceiling.

Piazza della Libertà at Egna. The nucleus of the hamlet developed around the Piazza della Libertà/Freiheitsplatz, which, after being used for years as a parking area, was the star of an important restoration project. The ancient well was renovated and the “Sas del poz”, a calcareous monolith probably used in conjunction with ancient German judicial tradition, was reinstated.

During his first trip to Italy in 1494, the famous German painter Albrecht Dürer had to deviate from his route to Venice because of a flood on the Adige River. After possibly spending the night in the monastery "Klösterle" of St. Florian/San Floriano or in Neumarkt/Egna, he probably arrived at the Freedom Square in Laag/Laghetti and from there took the path over the Sauch Saddle into the Cembra Valley. This assumption is based on Dürer's watercolors of Segonzano Castle and a mill. Today it is possible to follow Dürer's footsteps on the Dürer path of the same name, which begins in St. Florian near Laag.

The stately Gebhardthof has stood here since 1539. At that time, one of the sons volunteered to go to war as a lansquenet with three other young men from Montan, while his brothers managed the farm. At the same time, they marketed wine - including white Lagrein - even as far as Rosenheim. Already in the next generation, the estates and the stately accessories are separated from the house. After several changes of ownership, the Rosenwirt from today's Amplatz on the opposite side of the village square married into the house in 1671. He gave the former Gebhardthof its present name. There has been the right to manage it as a restaurant since at least the middle of the 17th century. After further changes of ownership among old-established Montan families, the Wegscheider family became the owners in 1862. Since 1990 it has been owned by the Malojer family, who run this house as a traditional inn.

This house, which forms a unit with the Wegscheiderhof to the south, is a good example of the Überetsch architectural style. The primetime of this architectural style was between 1550 and 1600. Typical features are the stone-framed door frames and window arches, bay windows, double-arched windows with slender central columns, and the enclosed courtyard.

The “zur Goldenen Krone” Inn dates from the 14th century and had a long row of spacious arcades supported on massive stone blocks. The entrance to the inner courtyard of the inn dates from the 17th century. The year 1650 is engraved in the key. The farm was ceded by the Lichtenstein family to the monastery of St. Michele all’Adige in 1470. In the 16th century, the Perkmanns were mostly the owners or rather leaseholders of the house, in the 17th century the Feigenputz and the Röll, Traxl and Lutterotti in the 18th century. It was considered the best inn between Bolzano and Trento and had a wealthy clientele. Despite decay in the previous two centuries, ownership of the building passed to the Mutschlechner family in 1811, who used it not only as an inn, but also for retail trade, horse-drawn carriage hire, a distillery and a butcher's shop.

The Gelmini estate was built in the first half of the 17th century. It belonged to the An der Lan and Fedrigotti families and to the Gelmini family. The three-storey building has a beautiful garden and several courtyards leading to the service buildings. Another interesting feature is the oriel with turrets and ox-eyes in the upper part of the façade, located on Schillerstrasse. The building is decorated with a mosaic created in 1911 depicting a Virgin and Child inspired by Raphael's Renaissance Madonna. Particularly worth seeing are the coffered ceiling in the wood-panelled oriel room, which dates from 1661, and the carved wooden walls, which run in two vertical strips and are separated by refined half-columns. Dr. Max von Gelmini was one of the largest silkworm breeders in South Tyrol. He built the so-called "silk spinning mill", one of the most important examples of industrial architecture in the entire country.

The parish church is situated in the old center of the village and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was built in 1674 in order to have a second church because the Church San Pietro was often not accessible due to flooding of the Rio Nero. The architecture of the church is modest and simple. Inside, the baroque main altar with the life-size statue of Our Lady stands out. The two side altars are simple Baroque altars and dedicated to St. Anthony and St. Joseph.

The most interesting part of the façade of the “von Lutterotti” estate, a 17th century Baroque building, is probably the portal. It is framed by two half-columns with capitals and scroll and smooth and broken headstones. This is the magnificent archway of the court and prison building of the former Salorno/Salurn jurisdiction. The seat is adorned by three wrought-iron balconies. The hall on the first floor is decorated with stucco work. After the building was no longer used as a seat of jurisdiction, it passed to the namesake Lutterotti family from Salurn.

The Loreto Chapel is located in Kalditsch/Doladizza above Montan/Montagna and is part of the "Rothenhof." It was consecrated on September 22, 1702 by Prince Bishop Michael von Spaur. The church day is celebrated annually at the end of September with a solemn service. The high altarpiece is a magnificent work by the Val di Fiemme-based painter Giuseppe Alberti. The inscription on the church roof, visible from afar, depicts a monogram of the Virgin Mary.

The first written documentation referring to this church appears at the end of the 14th century. From this era, the bell tower remains today, with its double-mullioned windows surmounted by triple-mullioned windows and frescoes on the façade representing the saints Anne, Catherine and Margaret, Christopher with the baby Jesus, and St. Michael, to whom the church is dedicated. In 1672, the church was restored, supplied with a barrel vault, and supplemented with a new chancel, side altar, and sacristy. Particularly rich are the decorations of the choir stalls: The scenes depicted on the parapet stem from the 17th century and represent the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth, the Adoration of the Magi, the circumcision of Jesus, the flight from Egypt, and the Massacre of the Innocents. The busts painted on the lower part of the choir stalls represent the twelve Apostles and date back to the 18th century. The interior of the church is bare due to the theft of the furnishings and sacred images in 1969. The stolen original altarpiece was replaced by a representation of St. Michael fighting evil.