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Bressanone: the ancient bishop’s city
More than a thousand years old, the city of Bressanone is located at the confluence of the Isarco/Eisack and Rienza/Rienz rivers. Here you will find porticoed streets and old roads, houses, and bridges. You will be amazed by the city's churches, the Cathedral with its cloister, the beautiful Gothic frescoes and the old palace of the bishop princes, now a Diocesan Museum that also includes nativity scenes.
History comes alive with each step you take. The boulevards and parks embracing the old city invite you to take a moment to stop and relax. The architecture of the surrounding countryside is dominated by vineyards and orchards, bursting with fruit in the fall. Bressanone has a big heart for guests and its inhabitants.
There's always something to do, from entertainment to culture, from the Historical Centre Festival to the exclusive cabaret shows in the "Anreiter" cellar Theatre, plus numerous concerts.
Specialists from around the world get together at the Cusano Academy and the Fourm Brixen-Bressanone for congresses and symposiums. Bressanone offers something new in every season. The numerous hotels and restaurants vie for the patronage of guests, rediscovering the delicious recipes of the past or recreating, with imagination, the new dishes of the already famous "Isarco Valley cuisine". And hotel accommodations are truly outstanding. Bressanone has always been a hospitable and open city, and deserves being experienced and loved...
Varna/Vahrn - The southern gateway
This is what a writer recorded in his travel diary to describe the Valle Isarco as he came down from the North and discovered the first vineyards and chestnut forests at Varna/Vahrn.
This Bressanone basin, protected from the northern winds, has a mild and temperate climate. This is also why, centuries ago, the bishop princes of Brixen/Bressanone and the court nobles built their residences and a castle. One of the most beautiful mountain streams of South Tyrol flows down from the Scaleres/Schalders valley.
This complete protected waterway feeds the famous Kneipp hydro-mineral spa. The area around the Varna/Vahrn lake is truly enchanting where bathers enjoy its iodine-rich waters. Art lovers can visit the nearby Novacella/Neustift Abbey and Bressanone, the beautiful city of bishops. Excursionists who want to stop and relax in the silence of nature can follow the stream to Scaleres or Spelonca/Spiluck and enjoy a fantastic view over the Bressanone basin and the Dolomites.
Fortezza/Franzensfeste - Powerful but harmless
The fortress of massive granite blocks that dominates the gorge to the south of the man-made lake seems to be impervious, though it is quite harmless: the "Franzensfeste", built in 1833-39 and named in honour of the emperor Francesco I of Austria, was Europe's strongest fortress at that time. However, this defensive structure was never involved in any battles. From a technical point of view, it soon became obsolete, and today continues to be the town's main feature.
The town called Fortezza is located above the man-made lake built in 1940 and is an important railway hub. This is where all long-distance trains stop and other trains depart to cross the Pusteria/Pustertal valley, the eastern Tyrol region and Carinzia to Vienna.
Of course, Fortezza, with the villages of Prà di Sopra/Oberau, Mezzaselva/Mittewald and Le Cave/Grasstein, also offers many other things to do : splendid strolls in the highlands, on the peaks and surrounding pastures, tennis, river rafting and beautiful, hospitable hotels. Fortezza is also a convenient departure point for trips to the Dolomites and for those who would like to discover Bressanone, Bolzano/Bozen and Merano/Meran.
Tourist Office Bressanone
Via Stazione 9
I-39042 Bressanone
Tel. +39 0472 836 401
Fax +39 0472 836 067
info@brixen.org
www.brixen.org |