Vandoies
Vandoies, in tedesco Vintl, è un comune della bassa Val Pusteria, in provincia di Bolzano, adagiato dove la valle della Rienza all...
Përditësuar më 17 korrik 2026
Këtë sezon · Korrik · Verë
Çfarë të bësh në Vandoies tani
Historia
Historia e Vandoies
Vandoies in the Lower Val Pusteria and Its Hamlets
Vandoies occupies a stretch of the lower Val Pusteria between Bressanone and Brunico, at the point where the Rienza valley floor widens and receives the Val di Fundres from the north. The municipality, one of the largest in the area at over 110 square kilometres, took its present form in 1929, when the old communities of Vandoies di Sopra and Vandoies di Sotto, once administratively separate, were merged into a single municipality together with the hamlets of Vallarga and Fundres. Vandoies di Sotto, set on the valley floor at the junction between the Val Pusteria state road and the road climbing into the Val di Fundres, today hosts the town hall and the main services, while Vandoies di Sopra lies a few kilometres further uphill, on a sunny terrace. The municipal landscape, largely made up of woods and pastures, leaves room for an intensively farmed valley floor, crossed by the Val Pusteria railway line and by cycle paths connecting Vandoies to the nearby towns of Rio di Pusteria and Chienes.
The Val di Fundres, a Corner of Wild Nature
North of the main village opens the Val di Fundres, a side valley that runs for about twenty kilometres into the heart of the Fundres Alps, between rock walls, coniferous woods and high-altitude pastures that grow ever wilder as the valley climbs. The hamlet of Fundres, at over 1,150 metres, is its last inhabited settlement before the landscape gives way to an almost untouched alpine environment, closed to the north by the peaks marking the border with the Val d'Isarco and the Vipiteno area; the highest, the Punta Bianca Bassa, rises above 3,260 metres. Here, in 1987, ibex were reintroduced and today survive as a small stable population, alongside chamois, marmots and deer that inhabit the steepest slopes. The valley, little urbanised and without large tourist facilities, has kept an authentic character, appreciated by those seeking a hike away from South Tyrol's busiest trails.
Hiking and Alpine Huts in the Fundres Mountains
The Val di Fundres is prime hiking territory, with routes suited both to those looking for a few hours' walk and to those tackling a multi-day trek. The Val di Fundres trail accompanies visitors from the mouth of the valley, at Vandoies di Sotto, up to its highest settlements, while more demanding routes climb toward Lake Ponte di Ghiaccio and the hut of the same name, among the classic destinations in the area. The best known, however, is the Alta Via di Fundres, a multi-stage trek that crosses the entire Fundres Alps massif from Vipiteno to Falzes, passing through some of the most remote landscapes in the lower Pusteria. There is no shortage of routes dedicated to the alpine huts, such as the Giro delle Malghe di Fundres, which passes the Weitenberg alpine pasture, one of the largest community-managed pastures in the area, where cattle are still driven up for summer grazing according to a system of grazing rights rooted in centuries-old tradition.
Farmsteads, Woodcraft and the Rural Landscape
The landscape of Vandoies is typical of the scattered settlement pattern of Bavarian origin: rather than gathering into compact villages, farmhouses, the masi, dot the sunny slopes, often isolated and reachable only by narrow mountain roads, while inhabited centres have historically coincided with the seats of the parish churches. On the Getzenberg slope, above Vandoies di Sopra, gentler terrain allowed the settlement of numerous farmsteads still active today, many of which now offer farm-stay hospitality. The traditional craft of woodworking remains alive in the workshops of the village's carpenters and joiners, alongside other historic trades such as carded wool processing, felting and the production of Loden, the waterproof cloth typical of the Alpine valleys, also recounted in a local museum trail. The Sentiero dei Masi in the Val di Fundres, a roughly seven-kilometre loop, links several of these farms and lets visitors discover still-working bread ovens, herb gardens and other examples of this mountain farming culture up close.
History, Culture and Bilingualism
The earliest written records concerning Vandoies date back to around the year 1000, though the settlement's origins are older and tied to the Bavarian colonisation of the valley, begun from the 7th century onward. In 1091 Emperor Henry IV granted the county of the Val Pusteria to the Bishop of Bressanone, under whose authority the area remained for a long time, as shown by the fact that in the early 15th century the episcopal court administered dozens of farmsteads in Vandoies di Sotto alone. The old communities of Vandoies di Sopra and Vandoies di Sotto, long administratively separate, were merged into a single municipality only in 1929. The religious heritage preserves notable works, such as the 1490 wooden triptych attributed to Hans Klocker in the Church of San Nicolò at Vandoies di Sopra. Today the population, more than 97 percent German-speaking, keeps traditions alive such as the Krapfenbetteln pastry-begging custom in Fundres, parish choirs and village brass bands, while the twinning between Fundres and the Bavarian town of Siegsdorf, begun in 1970 through a letter exchange between schoolchildren, testifies to the still-strong bond with the Tyrolean and Bavarian cultural area.
Not to be missed
- A hike into the Val di Fundres, among high-altitude pastures and reintroduced ibex
- The Alta Via di Fundres, the multi-stage trek from Vipiteno to Falzes
- The Sentiero dei Masi, discovering the valley's traditional farmsteads
- The 1490 wooden triptych by Hans Klocker in the Church of San Nicolò
- The Giro delle Malghe di Fundres, with a stop at the Weitenberg alpine pasture
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