Discover Sterzing: culture, mountains and hotels

Sterzing combines impressive traces of its urban history with outdoor activities. The town hall, Torre delle Dodici, parish church and Museo Civico e Museo Multscher each offer a different cultural focus; Monte Cavallo has easy hiking trails over short distances. There is also the Balneum, the SKYTREK adventure ropes course and the Brenner–Bolzano cycle path. If you are looking for a hotel in Sterzing, consider which of these themes you would like to shape your stay: art and architecture, activity in the countryside or other leisure options.

Town tower and Gothic council chamber

The Torre delle Dodici is a 46-metre-high town tower dating from the 15th century and is considered a landmark of Sterzing. The town hall offers a different architectural impression: it has a Gothic council chamber with wood-panelled walls and a ceiling with exposed wooden beams. The contrast here is between a striking tower and a historic interior with distinctive wooden details. Anyone interested in architectural history will find different aspects of Gothic architecture in these two buildings.

Church and works of art from different periods

The parish church of “Nostra Signora della Palude” is located in the south of Sterzing and is one of the largest churches in the Alpine arc. It contains the Roman funerary stele of Postumia Victorina, which probably dates from the 2nd or 3rd century AD. The high altar’s furnishings also point to an earlier history of art: the Neo-Gothic high altar still features five original statues from a Gothic altar that was dismantled in the 18th century. This means that Roman and late Gothic works sit alongside Neo-Gothic design within the same church.

The Museo Civico e Museo Multscher

The Museo Civico e Museo Multscher is housed in the Deutschhaus, the former commandery of the Teutonic Order. It is located near Sterzing’s parish church. The museum houses most of the late Gothic works by the famous Ulm sculptor and painter Hans Multscher. It complements the artworks in the church with a dedicated look at Multscher’s work. When planning your stay, the two cultural offerings are easy to distinguish: the church preserves the aforementioned statues on the Neo-Gothic high altar, while the museum focuses on Multscher’s late Gothic works.

More things to do in town

The Balneum has indoor and outdoor pools as well as an alpine-style sauna and wellness area. The SKYTREK adventure ropes course is located in Parco Nord in Sterzing, two minutes from the historic centre. Each offers a distinct focus: at the Balneum, the pools and wellness area take centre stage, while SKYTREK is all about the ropes course. Sterzing is also on the Brenner–Bolzano cycle path. These options add a range of leisure and activity opportunities to the historic sights, without requiring the same interests from every visitor.

Hiking on Monte Cavallo

Monte Cavallo has easy hiking trails over short distances. On hikes, views extend across the Alps to the Dolomites. For your travel plans, this offers a different focus from the closely connected cultural attractions in the town and church: here, the emphasis is on walking short trails and enjoying the scenery. The hiking trails and the sights mentioned above therefore offer different ways to enjoy a stay in Sterzing.

Discover more destinations: Franzensfeste, Ratschings, Brenner, Mareit, Pfitsch, Mauls, Freienfeld.

See the overview of the wider region: Wipptal.