Culture & museum
Castle Tirolo
As Europe emerged from the Dark Ages the western part of what is now South Tyrol was ruled by the Lords of Vinschgau who began to call themselves Counts of Tirol after their castle on the mountainside overlooking present-day Meran. The Tirol dynasty increased their sway to include the territory to the north of the Continental Divide and eventually the entire region from Lake Garda to southern Bavaria bore the name of the castle. Until 1420 Tyrol was ruled from there (the administrative centre was then moved to Innsbruck. The castle remains a gem of Romanesque and medieval architecture. Its palace and chapel portals rank among the most sublime works of Romanesque-style stonemasonry, while the keep houses an exhibition over 20 levels elucidating Tyrol’s history, focusing especially on South Tyrol’s struggle for autonomous status in the 20th century.
There is also a sanctuary for sick and injured birds on the castle mound where they are nursed back to health and released, or cared for if they are no longer able to fend for themselves. A nature trail acquaints visitors with the life of birds of prey which perform acrobatics twice daily during the summer months.
There is also a sanctuary for sick and injured birds on the castle mound where they are nursed back to health and released, or cared for if they are no longer able to fend for themselves. A nature trail acquaints visitors with the life of birds of prey which perform acrobatics twice daily during the summer months.
Andreas Hofer Museum
At the former farmstead of the Tyrolean freedom-fighter Andreas Hofer (1767–1810) in the village of St. Leonhard in the Passeirer valley in the South Tyrol a museum, the MuseumPasseier, is being created.
A documentary film regarding the life and the achievements of Andreas Hofer and his allies respective to the Tyrolean insurrection of 1809 against the Napoleonic and Bavarian invaders as well as many original show-pieces are at the heart of the exhibition in the former stable of the outhouse of the farm.
In the barn itself above there is a fine ethnographic collection of show-pieces documenting local costumes, furniture, art, popular arts & credences, healing practices, customs, agricultural life, transport, crafts & the life of various local personages.
An audio-studio presents examples of the music, the legends, the popular tales and the literature of the valley.
The open-air area offers a stroll through various rebuilt original buildings of the 16th to the 19th century, through a typically furnished Passeirer farmstead of late, a visit to the chapel of the Sacred Heart (1899) and the small church of the Sacred Sepulchre (1691).
The MuseumPasseier also takes care of the French Cemetery, of Jaufenburg castle and the Mountain Pasture Museum in Pfistrad.
Opening hours
The Museum is open
daily from 10.00 to 18.00,
from March to November.
Closed Mondays.
A documentary film regarding the life and the achievements of Andreas Hofer and his allies respective to the Tyrolean insurrection of 1809 against the Napoleonic and Bavarian invaders as well as many original show-pieces are at the heart of the exhibition in the former stable of the outhouse of the farm.
In the barn itself above there is a fine ethnographic collection of show-pieces documenting local costumes, furniture, art, popular arts & credences, healing practices, customs, agricultural life, transport, crafts & the life of various local personages.
An audio-studio presents examples of the music, the legends, the popular tales and the literature of the valley.
The open-air area offers a stroll through various rebuilt original buildings of the 16th to the 19th century, through a typically furnished Passeirer farmstead of late, a visit to the chapel of the Sacred Heart (1899) and the small church of the Sacred Sepulchre (1691).
The MuseumPasseier also takes care of the French Cemetery, of Jaufenburg castle and the Mountain Pasture Museum in Pfistrad.
Opening hours
The Museum is open
daily from 10.00 to 18.00,
from March to November.
Closed Mondays.
