The localities of Val Pusteria: Monguelfo

castello di monguelfo

Set in a fairytale landscape, Monguelfo is the capital of the Monguelfo-Tesido municipality, is located at 1087 meters above sea level. and has a centuries-long history behind it. According to the first findings, the area around Monguelfo was already inhabited since the Bronze Age.

The 1500 inhabitants of Monguelfo therefore have very ancient ancestors, who live in one of the most loved villages in the Val Pusteria, because it is made up of pure nature and culture. Splendid pastures, a view of the Dolomites, an enchanted landscape made of dense forests and high peaks, invites you to relax, hike and climb.

In winter, the cross-country trails of Val Casies are not to be missed, just a few kilometers away together with the splendid ski slopes of Plan de Corones.

Monguelfo offers an extensive entertainment program to its guests. Concerts, including those of the Festival, evenings and traditional festivals. An essential step is a visit to Castel Mongueldo, also called Castel Welsperg, to be done following the path of Castel Welsperg. The walk around the castle takes about 2 hours and will take you from the village center of Monguelfo to Castel Welsperg and the ruins of Castel Torre above the Rio Casies.

Built in 1140 by the brothers Schwicker and Otto von Welsperg, the structure is fairytale-like and stands on a hill that slopes steeply on three sides towards the Rio Casies

The castle had a great administrative and judicial importance. For 750 years, until 1907, it was owned by the lords, then counts, of Welperg. In 1765 it was hit by a great fire that destroyed the palace and the external building and led to the demolition of the upper floor. The oldest part of the castle is the extraordinarily high keep for the time it was built. Shortly after, the "palace" was built with rural buildings and a small Romanesque chapel.

The cultural journey did not end here: this was a city much loved by the artists Hugo von Hoffmannsthal and Arthur Schnitzler, who spent their holidays here in 1907 and who were deeply amazed by the beauty of the area. In Monguelfo also lived artists such as Paul Troger, whose works can be admired in the church and in the headquarters of the Raiffeisenkasse-Cassa Rurale.

To find inner harmony and harmony with nature, the ideal place is to climb a little further, to 1212 m above sea level, above Monguelfo, in the town of Tesido. A sunny terrace that dates back to 600 AD. C. about. TEsido is the ideal location for trekking and walks surrounded by fields, meadows and woods.

To relax instead? In the nearby Prati you will find the Kneipp path, and the characteristic huts of Val Pusteria to be discovered.

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