Surroundings

Kohlern

It is only a 25-minute walk to the top of the mountain and you will see, it is worthwhile! The summer resort Colle is located at 1135m a.s.l. and from a wooden viewpoint you will enjoy a breathtaking and unforgettable view of Bolzano and its surroundings as well as of the Dolomites and the Central Alps. Do not miss this memorable experience! The rounded mountain with its extensive network of forest trails and Alpine meadows is superb for walks, hikes, horse riding and mountain bike tours. The best- known is the European long distance hiking trail E5 from Lake Constance, continuing to Venice.
 

Bolzano
Bolzano offers its visitors a lot in terms of culture, sports and shopping. The famous Christmas market, the archaeological museum that exhibits “Ötzi, the Ice man”, the Messner Mountain Museum by the well known mountaineer Reinhold Messner, are only a few to mention.

The Kohlern cable car

It is a little known fact that the world's very first overhead passenger cable car system went into service in Bolzano in 1908. It was the brainchild of the hotelier Josef Staffler, who gave the townspeople the chance to escape the summer heat by whisking them up to his inn at Kohlern at an altitude of 1100 metres (3610ft) in just a few minutes- a difference in altitude of 850 metres. The original gondola suspended from wire ropes was small and had a capacity of only six persons, but the news of this innovation spread and drew large numbers of tourists and local people who queued up from the early hours to savour the unique experience.