Sexten between the Three Peaks, history and mountain trails

Sexten between the Dolomite landscape and alpine history

Sexten was a German-speaking and distinctly German village in the former empire, located directly on the front line of the First World War. This past is just as much a part of the character of the village as its mountain landscape. Sexten’s alpine history began with the legendary first ascents from 1869 to 1890. Many old farmsteads also bear the Erbhof plaque as a sign of more than 200 years of family ownership.

The former mountain-station building was transformed into the Reinhold Messner Haus, a visionary centre for sustainability, art and culture. The Anderter Alpe open-air museum is located on the Rotwand at an altitude of 2,150 metres and brings the First World War in the Sexten Dolomites to life. Information panels and guided tours by the ONLUS association Bellum Aquilarum convey the history and impact of the First World War on Sexten.

Experience Fischleintal Valley and the Three Peaks

Fischleintal Valley lies within the protected Three Peaks Nature Park. At the same time, it is a direct gateway to the Three Peaks and a starting point for numerous hikes and mountain tours in the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site. A path just under 4.5 kilometres long runs through Fischleintal Valley between Bad Moos and the Talschlusshütte mountain hut. This makes it possible to discover the landscape along a clearly defined route, while more challenging mountain tours require a different pace and different planning.

In and around Sexten, there are numerous excellently prepared winter hiking trails that can be walked without special equipment. For climbing enthusiasts, the Sexten Dolomites offer climbing crags, climbing routes and secured via ferratas with varying levels of difficulty. Access routes to via ferratas are located at Kreuzberg Pass, the Rotwand meadows and in Fischleintal Valley. The Dolomitenarena climbing hall is 18.5 metres high and has a climbing area of 1,800 m² for the winter season.

Winter sports between Helm and Kreuzberg Pass

The 3 Zinnen Dolomites ski area has several access points in Sexten: the Helmjet valley station, Rotwand, Stiergarten and Kreuzberg Pass. From any lift facility in Sexten, you can use a single ticket to ski all the slopes and runs of the Helm, Rotwand, Stiergarten and Kreuzberg Pass ski mountains without interruption.

Churches, art and a path to the forest chapel

The contemplative path with 14 stations leads from the Sexten parish church to the forest chapel at an altitude of 1,552 metres. In Moos, the Church of St Joseph was built in 1679. After its reconstruction, it was decorated with impressive frescoes by South Tyrolean artist Rudolf Stolz.

The Rudolf Stolz Museum displays more than 160 works by the painter Rudolf Stolz in two exhibition rooms. In the Church of St Joseph and the museum, you can therefore encounter two different forms of his artistic work.

Local features and orientation

Between the Haus der Berge and Moos is the Zeitstein marker made of Dolomite rock. There, the mountain peaks are explained in relation to the movement of the sun. The regional cuisine also has its own Sexten character: Schlutzkrapfen are crescent-shaped pasta dumplings typical of South Tyrolean cuisine as a whole. In Sexten, they are traditionally filled with finely mashed potatoes, known as “Eadeipfl”, instead of spinach and curd cheese.

When choosing your accommodation in Sexten, you can use your planned activities as a guide: Fischleintal Valley, mountain tours, winter trails, climbing opportunities, museums and churches represent different daily rhythms. Bus line 446 from the direction of Innichen runs to the “Sexten Hauptplatz” stop, providing a concrete point of reference for travelling to the village.

More destinations in the same region:Lappach, Sankt Martin In Thurn, Issing, Bruneck, Floronzo, Enneberg, Sand In Taufers, Gsies.

To the overview of destinations at the next level: Pustertal.