Val Gardena

Val Gardena: a holiday paradise in UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site
In winter a fairy-tale scenery in white and during the Summer, a unique variety of nature's beauty. In every season, the world of the Dolomites demonstrates its particular charm in an impressive beauty. The towns of Ortisei, S. Cristina and Selva Gardena (in all only 6 miles distance) not only offer beautiful nature, but also a wide variety of art and culture. Ortisei 1236 m, S. Cristina 1428 m and Selva Gardena 1563 m, is situated at a height of 1200 to 1700 meters above sea level. The alpine meadows and ski pistes rise up to 2518 m and the mountain peaks up to 3181 m.
Val Gardena is an international renowned region of ski and hiking sports. It is a holiday area for the active and athletic guest and a paradise for the nature lover, throughout the year.
Val Gardena is aspire to a continuous advanced offer on services, hotels, uphill facilities, ski and alpine schools and international events. The ladin culture is through the spoken language, the woodcarving art and the traditions deep routed in the population of the valley.
Val Gardena is the Dolomite-valley par excellence and the “pallid mountains” with their high peaks, steep rocks and breathtaking views are directly reachable from the villages.

Selva Gardena - Wolkenstein
Altitude: 1.563 m
Area: 5.327 ha
Inhabitants: 2.582
Population: Lad. 87,84% - Ital. 5,97% - Germ. 6,18%
Guest beds: ca. 8.000
Overnight stays/year: ca. 1.000.000
Selva Gardena set in the suggestive landscape of the Dolomites, among the mountains Sassolungo, Puez and the Sella massif, it is one of the most popular vacancy destinations in winter and summer. Placed in the heart of the skiing carousel of the "Sella Ronda", Selva offers kilometres of runs for exciting ski descents and a lot of fun and enjoyment thanks to ice-skating, sledding, snow-shoeing, ski mountaineering, ice-climbing and so much more. During summer Selva is mainly known for its infinitive mountain paths in the middle of the nature: sunny walks and exciting hikes, breathtaking climbing routes, adventurous Nordic Walking and mountain bike tracks. Welcome to Selva!
 
S. Cristina - St. Christina
Altitude: 1.428 m
Area: 3.183 ha
Inhabitants: 1.904
Population: Lad. 91,20% Ital. 3,12% Germ. 5,68%
Guest beds: 2.837
Overnight stays/year: ca. 320.000

The small village with the old center and the typical mountain-farms
appears very romantic and particular. The village lies in the middle of
Val Gardena and is the ideal starting point for skiers and excursionists,
who can walk in the middle of nature, while admiring the manifold
Alpine flora, surrounded by the beautiful Dolomite mountains. An
experience you will never forget. Thanks to its isolation in the past, the
valley has developed an own tradition and culture that is still alive.
S. Cristina (1.428 m) is the ideal place for the mountain-friend, who
likes to hike, for the nature-lover, who cares about health and is looking
for silence and rest and for the one, who loves to spend an amusing
ski-vacation in a great atmosphere.

Ortisei - St. Ulrich
Altitude: 1.236 m
Area: 2.423 ha
Inhabitants: (including Bulla and Oltretorrente) 5.635
Population: Lad. 82,32% Ital. 5,55% Germ. 12,03%
Guest beds: 5.700
Overnight: ca. 740.000 stays/year
The altitude of 1,236 m above sea level makes of Ortisei the ideal place for winter and summer holidays. This town, with its old and solid mercantile tradition and rich history, has a particular urban plan that blends harmoniously with the landscape. The centre and its pedestrian only area are a wonderful meeting place but are also ideal for shopping. From here one may easily wander off into the woods in search of some old farm. The Seceda and the Alpe di Siusi can be reached by comfortable lifts.

Ski enjoyment without limits Val Gardena not only has written history due to its winter sports champions, but today it is still the annual meeting point of the world's elite.
With its connection to Dolomiti Superski, the world's largest ski carousel and the nearby Alpe di Siusi, it is the eldorado for all winter sports lovers.
With the Skipass Dolomiti Superski you have access to all lift facilities in the Dolomites with 500 km interconnected slopes surrounding the Sella Group and a total of 1.220 km slopes in 12 zones. Low and steep pistes, easy and extreme downhill runs. The most modern lift facilities and romantic alpine hut experiences. There are many surprises and offers waiting for you!
For the winter season 2010/11 the lifts are open from 04.12.2010 until 10.04.2011.
By good snow conditions the Sellaronda should also be open at the same time.
 
SKIPASSPRICES
ACCOMODATIONS
VAL GARDENA ACTIVE

Val Gardena - A crossroads of cultures Val Gardena used to be part of a territory called "Ladinia", and the traces of its two thousand year old history are still visible. "Ladin" is a Rhaeto-roman language that is still spoken in the four Ladinian valleys of the Dolomites. Ladin originated from a mix of Latin, spoken by the Roman conquerors, and Celtic (Rhaetian), the language of the territory's first inhabitants. This particular historical circumstance makes of Val Gardena the emblematic meeting point of many European cultures. The preservation of traditions and cultural patrimony and especially of the Ladin language are a bulwark of this people. "Bën unì" = "Welcome": by listening to this arcane language or watching a day of celebration with the Gardenesi dressed in their traditional costumes, it is possible, as if by magic, to rediscover all the shine and glamour of the past.
GALARIA UNIKA
The esposition features artworks of the "Unika" sculptors, live woodcarving and several other events at the Typak-Center in Via Arnaria 9 in Ortisei - Roncadizza.
At the Typak-Center in Via Arnaria 9 in Ortisei - Roncadizza
The gallery is open every day from monday to saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m..
Entry free of charge!
 
ART52
Permanent exhibition of the artistic handcraft 52 exhibitors welcome you! Here you can admire handcarved sculptures and art-paintings by craftsmen from Val Gardena and locally produced carvings.
At the ART52 permanent exhibition of the artistic handcraft in Gardena Valley at the Congress Center in Ortisei/ St.Ulrich visitors can admire woodcarvings of our best artists and artisans. In Gardena Valley woodcarving, painting and gilding are crafts with a long famous tradition. The beginning of Gardena's artistic woodcarving dates back to the middle of the 17th century.

Sightseeing
Mother Nature has created the most spectacular monuments in Val Gardena, but there is more to the region than the fine scenery nevertheless, including works of man which are very much worth discovering. Those works of man are the most impressive that have been set in the beautiful countryside of Val Gardena, like the Crucifix of Sëurasas or St. Jacob’s Chapel.
 
Museum
Museum Gherdëina Ortisei - St. Ulrich - Str. Rezia 83 phone: 0471 797554  e-mail: info@museumgherdeina.it
 
Culture
The strength of living art Many people only attach value to the products of the past, while modern works are considered suspect or irrelevant. There are others who only have eyes for the big names, and have no time for the works of local artists. And Val Gardena has a living artistic tradition of which we are rightly proud. Art in Val Gardena boasts strength and creativity – and a need to interact. That is the key to living art, to enlivening art.
 
Traditional customs
There is no reason why nostalgia should be the automatic response to times gone by. Life was hard, and privation was the rule. But there was variety, too, with an annual calendar – indeed the whole life – made up of a succession of mostly rustic customs and celebrations. New Year’s wishes, Shrovetide and Easter customs, the processions of decorated cattle brought down from the mountains before the winter, and much else besides gave a special character and spirit to everyday life and holidays alike. Today Advent is the traditional time for processions, for St. Nicholas ("San Miculau") and the "tléca nocht". Those are the Thursday evenings when youngsters in disguise go from house to house, playing their music and singing the old songs and receiving little gifts in return.

The New Year, too, is a time for music, and the children and youngsters come round singing the traditional song:

"Bon dì, bon ann! Di liegher y san!
Cun grazia y fertuna dut l tëmp de l ann.
Cun grazia y sanità y cun mancul piciá
la bela y bona man a mi!"
 
The Ladin language
"Bënunì te Gherdëina!" - Welcome to Val Gardena! We hope you have a nice time here" – where this Rhaetian language is still spoken. The origins of the language go back to the Roman Empire, when the legions marched into Rhaetia. The Latin of the conquerors was mixed with the language of the native Rhaetians. During more than four centuries of Roman rule, this Rhaetian language spread from the Swiss Alps to the Adriatic.

When the Germanic tribes of the Bavarians and Alemanni moved south in the 6th century, the area of the Rhaetian language was split up, leaving enclaves in which the language has survived against all obstacles right down to the present day, e.g. in the canton of Grisons, in the Dolomites (Val Gardena, Val Badia, Val di Fassa, Livinallongo, Cortina) and Friuli. The fact that the Rhaetian language was once much more widespread can be seen from the ancient field and place names found in Val d’Isarco/Eisacktal or the upper Val Venosta/Vinschgau.

Because of the small size of the remaining area, the Ladin language could not develop like other roman languages, e.g. Portuguese or Provençal, and conversely it was more susceptible to change. Nevertheless, the sounds of the Ladin tongue will continue to be heard in these valleys for generations to come.

Nowadays Rhaeto-Romanic is taught at school as an obligatory school subject. Furthermore books and magazines are published in this language, too. There are also daily programmes on radio and TV.
Geography and History
Val Gardena for mountains and valleys, woods and streams The name Val Gardena is first recorded in a deed of gift from the year 999, when Duke Otto von Andechs made the Bishop of Freising a present of an area of woodland called "Forestum ad Gredine". Val Gardena – Gröden in German, and Gherdëina in Ladin – means "fence".
Val Gardena, the heartland of the Ladin culture, is about thirteen miles long and runs more or less from west to east from the narrow entrance to the valley at Ponte Gardena to Selva at the end of the valley and up to Passo Gardena and Passo Sella. The lowest point is located at 470 m above sea-level, while the highest is Sassolungo (3,181 m).
Val Gardena starts off as a gorge-like valley before it opens out after the defile at Pontives to form a high-level valley at Roncadizza, at about 1,100 m above sea-level.
From Pontives the valley rises gradually to Ortisei (1,236 m) and continues to gain in height as far as S. Cristina (1,428 m) and Selva Gardena (1,563 m). These are the main centres of the three valley communities, of which Selva Gardena is the biggest in area. Roncadizza, Bulla and Oltretorrente – on the left bank of Rio Gardena – have been part of the adjoining community of Castelrotto since the Middle Ages. For the church, however, the valley is a single unit, the Deanery of Val Gardena. Concerning the history we do not know a lot about the area of the Dolomites if we think of the prehistoric times. Some reminds announce on one hand an early settlement of this area but on the other hand we haven’t got much information about the way of life. It is merely based upon suppositions. But one remind found in Val Gardena made prick up an archeologist’s ear: at "Plan de Frea" prehistoric objects were found during archaeological excavations. Archeologists date this find 6000 before Christ. Arrowheads, needles and other tools has been shown turned out to be the oldest archaeological finds in the whole area of the Dolomites.
This supposition could be revealed as true, because a permanent settlement of this place was rather unlikely during the winter period.

How to get there
The fast trail to the finishing line Val Gardena seems to be out of reach, but being in South Tyrol right in the heart of the Dolomites makes it easily accessible.

Distances:
Bolzano 40 km
Verona 190 km
Milan 300 km
Rome 700 km
Venice 250 km
Innsbruck 120 km
 
By car: Val Gardena can be reached using the Brenner Motorway (A 22).
Coming from north, follow the route Innsbruck - Brennero - Chiusa. Coming from south, follow Verona - Trento - Bolzano. Take the Chiusa/Val Gardena exit. Following the well-marked roads, you should reach Ortisei in about 20 minutes, then S. Cristina and Selva Gardena.
At the end of the valley, you come to the Dolomite pass ways. They are only a few minutes away. You do not need a car to get around in Val Gardena. The lifts depart directly from the individual towns and there is also a very convenient bus service. Many guests arrive in the valley by train, plane or coach.
 
By train: From Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium, there are good IC and EC connections, coming from Munich, Innsbruck, Brennero to Bressanone or Bolzano.
Some trains stop in Chiusa. A bus service transports you from Bressanone and Bolzano almost every hour to Val Gardena. Some hotels arrange a pick-up service for you.

In addition: Every Saturday Transfer from Munich (main station) to Val Gardena (S. Antonius square - Ortisei).
Information and reservations:
Bus company Silbernagl, Tel. +39 0471 706633
Price for return ticket from main station to Ortisei: 66,00 Euro
 
Reach Val Gardena through low cost flights and transfer!
You can reach Val Gardena through "low cost flights and transfer" from the airports of Bergamo, Verona and Innsbruck.
Details on www.flytovalgardena.com
 
 
Transfer from the airports on this LINK
 
TAXI AND BUS
 

  
HIGHLIGHTS WINTER
 
Fis Ski World Cup www.saslong.org
Christmas on ice
Val Gardena Ciasp
Sellaronda Skimarathon
Val Gardena Spring Trophy
Südtirol Gardenissima
 
All the winter highlights on: http://www.valgardena.it/en/highlights/page5.html
All the winter events on: http://www.valgardena.it/en/events/page31.html
 
HIGHLIGHTS SUMMER
Belsy Festival www.belsy.it
Val Gardena Bike Marathon
Sellaronda Hero www.sellarondahero.com
Sellaronda Bike Day www.sellarondabikeday.com
Karl Unterkircher Award
valgardenaMusika
Val Gardena folklore festival
UNIKA www.unika.org
Val Gardena Extrem Marathon
Alpine Week in Val Gardena
10th Ladiner Festival
ITF Tennis
 
All the summer highlights on: http://www.valgardena.it/en/highlights/page43.html
All the summer events on: http://www.valgardena.it/en/events/page246.html