Aurina Valley is a valley and a municipality in the province of Bolzano, in South Tyrol. Interestingly, the territory of the Aurina Valley lies both in the better-known Puster Valley and in the Tures Valley. It boasts a surprising area with peaks over three thousand meters high and careful preservation of the customs and traditions of the Alpine region, along with environmental awareness typical of the whole region. It is an ideal destination for mountain holidays as well as slow tourism. There are several attractions to see in Aurina Valley. Here is what to do in Aurina Valley when it rains, when you’re not skiing or when you are looking for cultural curiosities.
- Maranatha Nativity and Folk Art Museum
- Information about the Maranatha Nativity and Folk Art Museum
- Oberkofler Brothers Memorial Museum
- Information about the Oberkofler Brothers Memorial Museum
- Kirchler Mineralogical Museum
- Information about Kirchler Mineralogical Museum
- Mines Museum: Cadipietra Granary and Aurina Valley Museum Area
- Information about Mines Museum: Cadipietra Granary and Aurina Valley Museum Area
Maranatha Nativity and Folk Art Museum
The Maranatha Nativity and Folk Art Museum is located in Lutago, a hamlet of Aurina Valley. The Maranatha hosts the largest nativity display in Europe. Artworks from various countries are exhibited in the garden and in a 1,300 square meter exhibition area. The Maranatha Nativity Museum in Lutago originated from a brilliant idea of the Gartner family. Since its inauguration, efforts have been made to keep the museum not only authentic and attractive but also to expand it as a special source of faith, strength, and hope in a Christian sense.
The museum’s overall inventory consists of numerous new and old nativity scenes, some on loan. Existing nativity scenes, like the large wooden Oriental nativity, are expanded and completed by Jonas Pitscheider and Lukas Troi. Thanks to the tireless commitment of passionate nativity builders and backdrop/scenario makers, such as Olaf Flatscher, Paul Gartner, Eduard Untergasser, and Rainer Minatti, to name a few, many old and original wooden nativity scenes have been exhibited.
The entrance room is already very special: the room is a reconstruction of a Tyrolean “Stadel“, built with old wood from the worn-out “Holzlechnhof” farmhouse in Predoi, dating back to 1725. At the entrance on the left, the Tures Castle is represented as a knights’ nativity, built by Maria Hofer from Predoi.
In the entrance room, behind the heavy wooden door on the left side of the room, visitors can admire a nativity by Egon Oberkofler. The talented woodcarver native of Aurina Valley represented the birth of the Lord in a local atmosphere. Next to it, there is a North Tyrolean nativity and a South Tyrolean mountain hut nativity. On the right side of the entrance room is the Christmas Night of Reimmichl, a nativity created by Georg (Jörg) Lanzinger from Sesto. South Tyrolean, Austrian, and German painters contributed to the construction and expansion of the nativity scenes and their backdrops at Maranatha.
Among the local artists, special mention goes to Albert Abfalterer, who painted a ten-meter-long watercolor, perhaps the largest he has created so far. These backgrounds adorn the representations of Tyrolean customs in the annual cycle in the Gothic room. In the entrance hall on the right is the large nativity depicting the customs and traditions of the Aurina Valley, whose miniature buildings were constructed by Alfons Hofer of Prettau, in twenty years of patient work during the winters. Moving beyond the world of farmer nativity scenes, one arrives at the “Great Oriental Nativity of the King”.
Information about the Maranatha Nativity and Folk Art Museum
The Maranatha Nativity and Folk Art Museum is open year-round on weekdays from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. On Sundays and holidays, it is open in the afternoon from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Entrance ticket price: 5.00 euros.
Aurina Valley (Bolzano)
Phone: 0474 671682
Email: info@krippenmuseum.com
Website: https://www.krippenmuseum.com
Oberkofler Brothers Memorial Museum
In the old fodder warehouse of Casa Mesner Gottfried Oberkofler, a memorial collection of the Oberkofler brothers is set up: Johann Baptist (1895-1969) and Josef Georg (1889-1962). After taking holy orders and becoming a priest, Johann Baptist attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and then fully dedicated himself to painting. Josef Georg studied law and then worked as a lecturer in Innsbruck, where he later lived as a novelist and poet.
Information about the Oberkofler Brothers Memorial Museum
S. Giovanni, 247 – 39030 Aurina Valley (Bolzano)
Phone: 0474 671178
Open from Easter until the end of October, Tuesday to Sunday from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
Entrance ticket price: 2.00 euros
Kirchler Mineralogical Museum
The Kirchler Mineralogical Museum is the result of a demanding research and collection effort spanning several decades, born out of a great passion for minerals.
The museum exhibits 1,000 mineral specimens that formed inside the Earth about 30 million years ago.
The museum’s multimedia section presents the birth of minerals, their discovery and arduous recovery, and finally, the therapeutic action of many of them.
Information about Kirchler Mineralogical Museum
S. Giovanni, 3 39030 Aurina Valley (Bolzano)
Tel. 0474 652145
Email: artur.kirchler@rolmail.net
Website: https://www.museo-mineralogico.it
The museum is open from April to the end of October every day from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM and from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM. From November to the end of March, it is open daily from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
Entrance fee: 3.00 euros
Mines Museum: Cadipietra Granary and Aurina Valley Museum Area
Information about Mines Museum: Cadipietra Granary and Aurina Valley Museum Area
Cadipietra, 99 39030 Aurina Valley (Bolzano)
Tel. 0474 651043
Email: kornkasten@bergbaumuseum.it
Website: https://www.museominiere.it
Hours: from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM Tuesday to Sunday, from April to October €9.00 Source: MIBACT
