Villandro (Villanders in German) is one of the most famous tourist destinations of the Inn Valley, in the province of Bolzano, softly on a sunny hillside covered with vineyards stretching up to the high pastures and the peak of Mount Villandro ( 2509 meters). Once a trading hub of copper, lead and silver extracted from the mines located above the village, today it is the ideal destination for those looking for a quiet and relaxing holiday, characterized by walking in the open air crystal clear streams and woods, as well as for those who prefer a dynamic experience with excursions to the summit of Mount Villandro. In Winter the Dolomiti Superski facilities ensure maximum enjoyment for lovers of snow, thanks to the equipped ski skiing and snowboarding tours, snowshoeing or ski tours.
Archaeological finds unearthed in the last twenty years in the Plunacker area attest that the territory of Villandro was continuously inhabited since the Mesolithic period until the Roman occupation. But the country's history is also closely linked to the mining activity: already 3000 years ago, in fact, the miners started to extract from the Seeberg, silver, copper, zinc and lead. In particular, the silver was in great demand by the Austrian rulers and bishops of Brixen.
A curiosity: the Hotel Zum Steinbock (XII century) was the background to the "Last call to arms" of the painter Franz von Defregger.
Sites of Interest:
- the archaeological excavations conducted in the city center, with artifacts dating back to the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, the Roman period and the Middle Ages;
- the Parish Church of Saints Stephen and Lawrence, whose present appearance dates back to 1521, although it was built on an existing building first documented in 1234. Worthy of mention is the Madonna of the Rosary, a Baroque masterpiece, and the high altar of 1884;
- the Cemetery Church of San Michele, adjacent to the parish church, which was opened in 1344;
- the Church of St. Maurice, in the hamlet of the same name, recorded since 1406, in Baroque style was renovated in the second half of the XVII century and destroyed by French troops in 1793;
- the Church of St. Valentine, a single nave plan building, documented since 1303, with frescoes on the West façade and inside a beautiful neo-Gothic altar;
- the Chapel of Miners, a religious center, for more than 150 years, of the miners of the Fundres;
- the Church al Morto/Totenkirchl, in the Villandro Alps, with an interesting and impressive group that depicts the Crucifixion (at a larger than normal scale);
- the Mine of Villandro, one of the most important of Tyrol in the Middle Ages, it was definitely closed in the early years of the XX century.