Museums in Alta Pusteria

Choose to visit the most important museums of Alta Pusteria:

Dolomythos at San Candido
In the very heart of San Candido you can put on your explorer's garb and proceed to an incredible adventure in the discovery of the truly grandiose natural phenomena behind the formation of the stupendous scenery around you: the Dolomiti Alps. The journey we propose is one of the most suggestive on earth and carries you back to the Dawn of Time as told by the silent fossils, ageless witnesses of the area's characteristic flora and fauna that came and went over epochs of geological time. The land that now holds the soaring Dolomiti peaks was once the bottom of a tropical sea, and for millions of years inhabited only by ammonites: spectacular coral formations in vibrant hue; the rock layers we see in La Valle were once the bottom and the habitat of the areas' reference fossil, the Daonella lomelli mollusc.
Then volcanoes arose from the ocean floor, erupting to create the modern landscape, and the lava came to preserve intact the remains of many species of plant and animal until today.
Many naturalists and scientists attracted by these splendid mountains have come here for study. Together with the world famous Alpine chain, we would be wise to remember the name of their first patron, Deodat de Dolomieu, who after visiting Alto Adige/Sud Tyrol in 1789 -1790 opened the door to the wave of interest and research in dolomite rock, composed of dolomite rich in magnesium.
Nor should we forget the name of Miss Ogilivie-Gordon, an English geologist, who deserves merit for her study of the rock strata in La Valle and San Cassiano.
Other famous geologists of the previous century dedicated their entire lives to the study of this bizarre and majestic landscape, while numerous mountain-climbers enchanted by the jutting peaks and spires made their way to the top.
But the variety and beauty of the rocks and minerals not only attracted the attention of scientists and mountain climbers. These holders of the secrets of the earth imbued with magic and mystery have always been intimately linked to sagas and legends that speak of precious stones and gems and their miraculous healing powers together with the Croderes, a mythic race known as the Sons of the Stones, and Aurona, the Queen of Light!
The majestic Dolomiti await you with a rich collection of fossils to inspect and admire, the history of the Dolomiti and their transformation over the aeons to be comprehended, the often erroneous theories developed by the scientists at the turn of the 18th Century to be questioned, and the countless sagas and legends to be told will all continue weaving their spell of enchantment and intrigue for visitors today as they have for ages and ages!
Information: Tel. +39 0474 913462 - e-mail - homepage

Museum of the Collegiate Church at San Candido
In the shadow of the majestic Collegiate church stands a building of no less historical importance with an exterior that has not been touched since the 16th Century. The eastern part goes back even as far as the 10th Century, when the Benedictine Convent founded in 769 by Duke Tassilo III still existed and was transformed into a Collegiate church sometime around 1143. The western part was built in 1385 but came to assume its present day appearance only in the 16th Century. The ornamental painting around the windows was done around 1550 by painters from the Bressanone School. The rooms on the ground floor were used as store houses for food supplies, while the upper floors offered the religious chapter's room, the library, the archive.
Information: Tel. +39 0474 913278

Musem Rudolf Stolz at Sesto
In two rooms, the museum of Sesto which was opened in 1969, shows mainly projects and sketches of many fresco paintings, water-color paintings and graphical works of the famous South Tyrolean painter Rudolf Stolz (1874-1960). Amongst his main works are 'danza della morte' (Dance of Death) in the cemetery in Sesto, and several fresco paintings on the arches of the cemetery. In honor of his pieces of work the Municipality of Sesto built a museum in the central square. The museum was planned by the painters son in law, the architect Erich Pattis. The painters daughters donated more than 160 of his pieces of work to the museum after his death.
Information: Tel. +39 0474 710521

Nature Park House and Mondo Magico della Foresta
Playful and informative at the same time: touch, sense, and experience nature.
At the Nature Park House you will hear everything worth knowing about the natural and cultural landscapes of the Sesto Dolomite Nature Park and the Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Park, the geological cultivation of this area and the events of World War I at the Dolomite front.
In the adventure workshop, visitors can discover nature through their senses: smelling, touching, using their eyes, and ears. The aquarium is full of frogs and amphibians. Multimedia presentations give you insight into the variety of the seven South Tyrolean nature parks.
Information: Tel. 39 0474 973017

Alpine Dairy Tre Cime at Dobbiaco
With the opening of in september 2004 the alpine dairy "Tre Cime" offers for the first time the possibility to visit the production of cheese and dairy processing.
After taking a view on the history and development of cheese making in the museum
the production can be visited on a guided tour.
Certainly all the products of the alpine dairy can be degustated afterwards.
The Alpine Show Dairy is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 8am to 6pm and on Sunday from 10am to 5pm. The Dairy is closed on Monday.
Information: Tel. +39 0474 971300 - e-mail - homepage

Touristic Museum of the Upper Puster Valley at Villabassa
Villabassa has had a pioneer’s role, which started 150 years ago, in the development of tourism in the Tyrolean region and in the Upper Puster Valley thanks to the train connections of Villabassa with many major cities. The museum is located in the Casa Wassermann House and it affords you the opportunity to get to know the story of tourism which was open only to the weill off, up to modern day tourism, with examples of the first touristic places (old hotels and guesthouses, numerous thermal baths) and the construction of the rail way in Puster Valley and the origins of alpinism in the region.
Information: Tel. +39 0474 745136