Auer: Wine, History and Paths through South Tyrol

Auer combines local history, winegrowing and paths through a varied landscape. If you would like to get to know South Tyrol not only through individual sights but also through its historical traces and regional characteristics, you will find various points of interest here.

Historic Centre and Special Buildings

The historic centre of Auer includes a maze of narrow streets, a massive wall and historic manor houses. Baumgarten Castle is located in the historic centre. St. Peter’s Church also characterises the townscape: it is a Gothic church built in the 16th century, with origins dating back to the 11th century. Its present-day nave was begun around 1475 and completed in 1526. The northern bell tower, dating from the 13th century, goes back to a Romanesque predecessor.

St. Daniel’s Church houses a late Gothic winged altar dating from 1525. Its present structure probably dates from the 14th century; lancet-arch windows and angled choir walls can be found on the southern wall. The old railway station building of the Fleimstalbahn provides another historic accent and continues to be used for cultural and musical events. The Areal ex Fleimstalerbahn complex includes a preserved part of the connecting station of the Auer–Predazzo narrow-gauge railway, which was built between 1916 and 1918. It includes a water tower, locomotive and carriage sheds, as well as a locomotive workshop.

Winegrowing between Tradition and Tastings

The Clemens Waldthaler winery in Auer is located in the heart of the Lagrein and Pinot Noir region in South Tyrol’s Lower Adige Valley and is now run by the seventh generation of winegrowers. As part of a visit to the Clemens Waldthaler winery in Ora, the cellar tour includes a tasting of four wines and lasts 1.5 hours. This allows regional winegrowing to be included as a focus of its own in your planning.

Hiking Trails, Water and Castelfeder

A circular hiking trail follows the Schwarzenbach mountain stream to the waterfall. The waterfall plunges into a 120 m deep gorge. The Katzenleiter is a stone staircase with 540 steps carved into the rock. Another hike to the Castelfeder ruins begins at the Schwarzenbach sports zone in Auer and follows Trail No. 5 through woodland and scrubland up to the Castelfeder ruins and the Barbara Chapel.

Castelfeder is a protected hill and an important archaeological and natural-history landscape. Roman-era traces, old walls, ponds, dry grasslands and ancient oak trees are part of this landscape. The 16 km Pinot Noir Trail in southern South Tyrol is designed as an educational trail and provides insights into the region’s culture and wines; alternatively, three half-day tours are available. A historic transport route can also be explored by bicycle: the “Auer–Fleimstalbahn–San Lugano” cycling tour follows the well-preserved section of the former Fleimstalbahn railway from Auer to St. Lugano.

Getting There and Finding Your Way Around

Auer can be reached via the Brenner–Bolzano–Trento railway line. From Auer railway station, there are further bus connections to nearby villages. The Old Parish Church of St. Peter can be visited during services or on Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; please enquire with the parish about the exact times.

More places for planning your trip: Neumarkt, Leifers, Terlan, Cornaiano, Montan, Kurtatsch An Der Weinstraße, Andrian, Eppan An Der Weinstraße.

For the overarching travel overview: Kaltern an der Weinstraße.