Ortisei

Ortisei ( St. Ulrich in Gröden ) is an Italian picturesque market town and the main town of Gröden in South Tyrol.Ortisei is in the Dolomites, about 40 km north-east of Bolzano and 15 km from the Isarco Valley where the highway to the Brenner Pass passes. Ortisei is the capital of Val Gardena (in German: Grodnertal).

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Ortisei in Val Gardena, together with St. Christina and Selva, is one of the three Val Gardena communities in which Ladin is an official language alongside German and Italian.,the vast majority of the inhabitants of Ortisei declared themselves to be of the Ladin language group.
The city stretches from the Val Gardena valley to the slopes of Mount Rasciesa (German: Raschotz, 2,282 meters above sea level). The city is crossed by Rio Gardena which is a tributary of Isarko. It borders the towns  of Santa Cristina,Siusi , and Connacht, while Brixen is also very close by.
For several decades, tourism has been the main industry of the market town, which is one of the most famous winter sports resorts in the Alps. South of Ortisei is the Alpe di Siusi, the largest high alpine pasture in Europe with an area of 57 km². It can be reached directly from Ortisei with the Alpe di Siusi cable car.

Access : Coordinates: 46.566667, 11.666667 / Ortisei is accessible all year round from the western Isarco Valley via the Val Gardena road, which leads further east to the higher-lying neighboring communities of St. Christina (Santa Cristina) and Selva. There are also direct road connections with Kastelruth via the Panider saddle (Pinei) and with Lajen.

Highlights :

• Church of St. James (chiesa di San Giacomo).The oldest church in Val Gardena, first mentioned in a document in 1325, but the year 1181 is carved into the bell tower.
• Chapel of the Holy Cross in Rasciesa (cappella Santa Croce su Rasciesa)Built in 755 and partly renovated and restored in 1846, 1885, 1956 and 2012. The fastest way to reach the mountain chapel on the Rasciesa Alm from Ortisei in Groden is via the Rasciesa funicular railway
• Parish Church of St. Ulrich in Val Gardena (chiesa di Sant’Ulrico e dell’Epifania del Signore)Built from 1792 to 1796 and dedicated to both the Epiphany (January 6) and Saint Ulrich of Augsburg (July 4). Inside the church building, in addition to the organ with 2000 pipes, which was completed in 2010, there are numerous statues of saints by local artists from the last two centuries, including Johann Dominik Mahlknecht, Josef Moroder-Lusenberg, Ludwig Moroder, Johann Baptist Moroder and Jakob Crepaz-Maidl
• St. Anne’s Church (chiesa di Sant’Anna). . Inside the St. Anne’s Church you can see numerous sculptures by well-known Val Gardena artists, and in the cemetery you can work on the graves of the well-known film director Luis Trenker and the mountaineer Ludwig Norman-Neruda
• Gherdeina Museum (Ladin) (Museo della Val Gardena), Via Rezia, 83.The museum has housed collections on the cultural and natural history of the Val Gardena since 1960
• Luis Trenker Monument : The 10 Luis Trenker monument on the Luis Trenker path promenade, the former railway line of the Gardena Railway (1916-1960) commemorates the world-famous actor, director, writer and mountaineer from Ortisei in Val Gardena.
• Villa Venezia is a historic building built by the Ortisei artist Johann Baptist Moroder between 1903 and 1905. The building was built in Venetian style, is in very good condition today and is a listed building. In front of the Villa Venezia stands a 5.30 meter statue of the Roman general Drusus
• Burg Stetteneck , Stetteneck Castle was a castle north-east of Ortisei in Val Gardena, which became known through the saga The Castle on the Abyss told by Karl Felix Wolff
• Villa Rifesser Stufan / Costamula de seura / Costamula de sot: stone and wood farmhouse, with an inscription dated 1608 / Kudan: brick, multi-storey residential building with a baroque stube facade and marble frames in the windows / Fëur: peasant house, used today as a mountain refuge, with a double-pitched roof / Janon: single storey brick house.
• Exhibition ART52 : The 7th exhibition ART52 houses hand-carved sculptures, wood carvings and art paintings of Val Gardena handicrafts by 52 different artists.
• tobogganing: For tobogganists, a six-kilometer toboggan run is prepared from the mountain station of the Rasciesa funicular down to the Val Gardena to Ortisei in Val Gardena.
• cross country skiing : In addition to the trails in Val Gardena with a total length of 133 kilometers, another 80 kilometers of cross-country trails are groomed on the Alpe di Siusi when there is sufficient snow. This network of trails at an altitude of 1,700 to 2,000 meters can be reached via a gondola and a chairlift from Ortisei in Val Gardena.
• Skis & snowboards : The Val Gardena / Alpe di Siusi ski area includes 79 lifts with 175 km of slopes, including the Sella Joch and the Gardena Joch. It is connected to the Dolomiti Superski, the world’s largest ski carousel with over 1,220 kilometers of slopes. Both ski areas and ski regions offer pistes and descents with different levels of difficulty.
• mountain bike : In addition to the well-known Sellaronda mountain bike tour, which is 58 kilometers long and has an altitude difference of 3,750 meters, the Val Gardena / Alpe di Siusi bike region has been established in recent years. There are 30 different routes between 700 and 2450 meters available.
• Around Ortisei in Val Gardena, numerous hiking trails invite you to extensive hiking tours.you can hike for the Cristal d’Or hiking pin in bronze, silver, gold or rock crystal, simply have your hiking pass stamped at the mountain huts and alpine pastures. The Luis-Trenker-Weg promenade on the former railway line of the Gardena Railway (1916-1960) between Ortisei in Gröden and St. Christina in Gröden is also recommended for a short walk.
• Climb :  The six via ferratas Pößnecker via ferrata, Pisciadusteig, Oskar-Schuster-Steig, Sass Rigais – crossing, Small and Large Cirspitze and Rodella via ferrata all have different levels of difficulty and can be found around Ortisei in Val Gardena. Alternatively, you can also climb in the 1 bouldering hall in Ortisei / Roncadizza, where you will find a 220 square meter climbing wall with over 1000 different holds.
• In 1873 Amelia Edwards described her stay in the little village of St. Ulrich./ In 1896 Emil Terschak founded the first toboggan club in the Hotel Post and skiing was also introduced by Emil Terschak and the Gadertaler Kostner in those years. At the turn of the century there was already a curling club and in 1907 the first ice rink was created. The first ice hockey club was founded in 1927 and a new ice rink was built in the same year.
• In 1935, in the presence of the Italian Crown Prince Umberto di Savoia and his family, the first cable car in Val Gardena from Ortisei to the Alpe di Siusi was inaugurated. In the same year, the first ski school was founded in Ortisei, and four mountain guides were already available in Ortisei in the summer.
• Around 1950 the “Standard” ski slope was opened from the Alpe di Siusi to the village. In the same year, three public tennis courts were built, on which international tennis tournaments were held annually from 1952.
• The city hosts an ATP Challenger Tour carpet tennis tournament every December.

Go next : Vipiteno, an picturesque Italian town / Klausen (Chiusa) 11 km / Brixen (Bressanone) 16 km / Bozen (Bolzano) 26 km / Bruneck (Brunico) 32 km / Hayden (Cortina d’Ampezzo)36 km /Sterzing (Vipiteno) 40 km / Meran (Merano) 41 km /Brenner (Brennero). / Seiser Alm Ski Resort is a dream destination for anyone looking to combine skiing, relaxation, and breathtaking natural beauty.