South Tyrol Archaeology Museum
The main figure in the South Tyrol Archaeology Museum in the capital city Bolzano is the sensational find Ötzi from around 3,300 B.C. Through the Iceman and his accompanying finds, as well as further discoveries, the history of life in the southern Alpine region is told from the Upper and Middle Stone Age around 15,000 B.C. up to the Carolingian period around 800 A.D. Through various models, reconstructions, interactive multimedia stations, and much more, an interesting insight into the past of South Tyrol is provided.
Messner Mountain Museums
The Messner Mountain Museums are the realization by the passionate mountaineer of a vision that tells of the encounter between humans and mountains. At five different locations in South Tyrol and Belluno, always in the heart of a magnificent Alpine landscape, Messner dedicates each museum to a special theme and presents it in a unique visual, multimedia, and acoustic way.
The Messner Mountain Museums are as follows:
MMM Firmian in Bolzano – the centerpiece of the MMMs, theme: “Human–Mountain Relationship” – MMM Ortles in Solda – theme: Ice “At the End of the World” – MMM Dolomites in Cibiana di Cadore – theme: Rock “Museum in the Clouds” – MMM Juval in Castelbello – theme: “Mountain Myth” – MMM Ripa in Brunico – theme: “Mountain Peoples”
Trauttmansdorff Castle and the Touriseum
The gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle may not be among the museums in South Tyrol, but they are certainly one of the most popular excursion destinations in South Tyrol. Around the former holiday residence of Empress Sissi in Merano, a spacious garden spreads over more than 12 hectares, featuring over 80 garden landscapes from around the world. The colorful variety delights and fascinates countless visitors from April to mid-November. In 2005, the gardens were voted the “most beautiful garden in Italy.”
Adjacent is the South Tyrol Museum of Tourism. Here, visitors experience 200 years of tourism history in the Alpine region and in South Tyrol. The museum is the first in the Alpine region to focus exclusively on this topic. And it does so in a very special way: visitors are transported back to times gone by.
Open-Air Museum GEOPARC Bletterbach
The GEOPARC Bletterbach, the “Grand Canyon of South Tyrol,” offers insight into the impressive forces of nature, tells about the geology and diversity of the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, and is simultaneously an adventure park, learning center, and natural monument. GEOPARC Bletterbach, one of the open-air museums in South Tyrol, illustrates the development of the Earth and life in the South Tyrolean Dolomites through a forest and geology trail, the visitor center, and the Radein Geology Museum. What makes this fascinating place particularly special are the large fossil finds made by researchers, which can be viewed in the museum. From May 1 to October 31, the Bletterbach can be visited, and guided hikes are available upon request.
Tyrol Castle – Museum of Cultural and Regional History
In 2003, the museum of cultural and regional history in South Tyrol was opened at the ancestral castle of the Counts of Tyrol near Merano. Here, the history of the region, art and social history, and medieval everyday life in the castle are presented on interactive tours within the castle complex. In addition, a comprehensive collection documents the development of South Tyrol up to autonomy and presents it through interesting contemporary testimonies at multimedia stations.
