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Stemma di Bressanone

Trentino-South Tyrol · Bolzano

Bressanone

The oldest town in Tyrol, a prince-bishopric for eight centuries at the confluence of the Eisack and Rienz, below the Plose ridge.

560m

Elevation

48 km / 30 mi

Nearest hub (Bolzano)

22,816

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Why come

Bressanone, Brixen in German, is the third-largest town and the oldest urban settlement in South Tyrol, founded in the sixth century at the confluence of the Eisack and Rienz rivers at 560 metres, forty kilometres north of Bolzano. The bishopric was established here in the early Middle Ages and received imperial immediacy in 1027; in 1179 Frederick Barbarossa granted the bishop the title of prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and Brixen remained a prince-bishopric until secularisation in 1803. The Hofburg, the bishops' palace, served as the seat of that power from the thirteenth century, with Renaissance courtyards, Baroque state rooms and the Diocesan Museum of religious art and historic nativity scenes inside. The Romanesque cathedral was rebuilt in Baroque form between 1745 and 1754, faced with thirty-three different types of marble and joined to the older cloister. The Stufles district, across the Eisack bridge, is the oldest neighbourhood in the city. The Augustinian Abbey of Novacella, founded in 1142 by Bishop Hartmann four kilometres north, runs South Tyrol's northernmost winery, producing Müller-Thurgau, Kerner and Sylvaner.

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Gallery

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Known for

  • Duomo di Bressanone

    Cathedral on the site of a tenth-century church, rebuilt as a Romanesque basilica in 1174 and reworked between 1745 and 1754 in Baroque form with thirty-three types of marble.

  • Hofburg

    Bishops' palace and seat of the prince-bishops from the thirteenth century to 1803, with Renaissance courtyard, Baroque state rooms and the Diocesan Museum.

  • Torre Bianca / Weißer Turm

    Seventy-eight metre bell tower of the parish church of San Michele, named for its bright tiled roof, with the present shape dating to 1459 and now a museum.

  • Abbazia di Novacella / Kloster Neustift

    Augustinian abbey founded in 1142 by Bishop Hartmann four kilometres north, with Romanesque church, Renaissance well of wonders, Baroque library and the northernmost winery in South Tyrol.

  • Stufles

    Oldest district of the city, across the Eisack bridge from the centre, with low stone houses and the original riverside settlement.

  • Plose

    Town mountain rising east of Brixen to 2,562 metres, reached by cable car from St. Andrä, with skiing in winter and hiking on the high-altitude ridges in summer.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

  • J
  • F
  • M
  • A
  • M
  • J
  • J
  • A
  • S
  • O
  • N
  • D
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

April through June brings mild weather in the Eisack valley, with the cloister gardens of the Duomo and the courtyards of the Hofburg in shade and the high paths above the Plose opening from late May. September and October are dry and cool, with apple harvest across the orchards north of the city and the Törggelen season starting in early autumn. July and August can hit thirty degrees at 560 metres, with the Plose cable car carrying day-trippers up to cooler ridges. November through March is the winter season: the Christmas market in Piazza Duomo runs from late November through Epiphany, Brixen's busiest period, and the Plose ski runs operate above 1,000 metres. The old town stays usable in winter cold.

How to get there

From Bolzano, Bressanone is roughly 48 km by road. Allow about 41–58 minutes depending on traffic and route choice (autostrada vs scenic).

Drive time to the nearest gateway airports

  • Verona2h 29m
  • Milan3h 14m
  • Venice3h 23m

Elevation 560 m

Reachable by train

Google MapsApple MapsDirections from Bolzano

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