What is Kastelruth known for?

Europe's largest high-altitude meadow at 5,400 hectares, reached from the commune territory, with the Sciliar and Sassolungo framing it on either side. Eighty-two-metre baroque campanile standing separate from the parish church in the central square, the silhouette of Castelrotto from any direction. Folk band founded in the village in 1975, more than fifteen million records sold and a museum on the central square, a German-language touring institution.

Kastelruth is a comune in the province of Bolzano, Trentino-South Tyrol region of Italy, about 35 kilometers from Bolzano.

Trentino-South Tyrol · Bolzano

Kastelruth

South Tyrolean gateway to the Alpe di Siusi at 1,060 metres, eighty-two-metre bell tower over the square, home of the Kastelruther Spatzen.

1060m

Elevation

35 km / 22 mi

Nearest hub (Bolzano)

6,967

Population

Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

Castelrotto, in German Kastelruth and in Ladin Ciastel, sits at 1,060 metres on a shelf below the Sciliar and the Alpe di Siusi, twenty kilometres northeast of Bolzano. The commune is the main gateway to the Seiser Alm, Europe's largest high-altitude meadow at 5,400 hectares, and its territory rises from 720 metres at San Vigilio to over 2,400 metres on the Sciliar massif. The name first appears in the tenth century and goes back to the Castellum Ruptum, a destroyed castle on the Calvary hill above the village. The parish church of Saints Peter and Paul stands in the centre with its detached eighty-two-metre bell tower, the silhouette of the village from any approach. Of around 6,500 residents, 82 per cent speak German as their first language, 15 per cent Ladin and 3 per cent Italian, the demographic that gives Castelrotto its Tyrolean character. The Kastelruther Spatzen, the folk band founded here in 1975, have sold more than fifteen million records and made the village name a German-language household reference.

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Gallery

8 photos · scroll →

Known for

Campanile della Parrocchiale
Eighty-two-metre baroque bell tower in the centre of Castelrotto, separated from the parish church of Saints Peter and Paul and visible from the surrounding pastures.
Chiesa Parrocchiale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
Parish church with baroque interior beside the detached bell tower, the principal religious building of the commune since the medieval period.
Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm
Largest high-altitude meadow in Europe at 5,400 hectares, reached by cable car from Siusi, with the Sciliar and Sassolungo on either side.
Chiesa di San Valentino
Small Gothic church in a meadow above the village, one of the most photographed views in South Tyrol with the Sciliar massif rising behind it.
Monte Calvario
Hill above the village square, named for the Castellum Ruptum that gave Castelrotto its name, with a small chapel and views down to the centre.
Museo degli Spatzen
Museum on the Kastelruther Spatzen folk group, founded here in 1975, with gold records, costumes and instruments from a fifty-year German-language touring career.

When to visit

Best months · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

June through September is the high-meadow season on the Alpe di Siusi, with the Seiser Alm pastures green, the chairlifts running and hiking and biking routes open from the village to the Sciliar. December through March is the ski season: the Seiser Alm has fifty-six kilometres of slopes, mostly red and blue, and connects by the Saltria-Mont Sëuc gondola to the rest of the Dolomiti Superski. Late June brings the Oswald von Wolkenstein Riding Tournament, the historical equestrian event held in the meadows around the village. April, May, October and November are the shoulder months, when most lifts close, refuges shut for the in-between weeks and the village quiets down between seasons. Snow holds on the Alpe di Siusi well into April most years.