Ortler Region Museum in Sulden

The museum

A collectionfrom Sulden.

The Ortler Region Museum is on the ground floor of the primary school in Sulden and belongs to the Knoll family. It is a place that keeps the valley’s roots from being forgotten.

Konrad Knoll gathered and sorted the exhibits with painstaking care, and almost all of the fittings are his work. The pieces tell of a hundred years of tourism: at almost 1,900 m, Sulden attracted mountaineers and winter sports fans early on.

On ortlergebiet.com (in German)

WhereSulden primary school

OwnerKnoll family

CollectionKonrad Knoll

Opening timesat the reception

The mountainAll about the Ortler, 3,905 m ExcursionsMore museums and sights in the Vinschgau

27 September 1804

The first wayup the Ortler.

On 27 September 1804 Josef Pichler from the Vinschgau, with Johann Leitner and Johann Klausner from the Zillertal, became the first to stand on the summit of the Ortler. The expedition was commissioned by Archduke John of Austria.

For its time it was a remarkable feat. The museum tells what came next: the mountain huts, the patrons and the pioneers of Sulden.

Pioneers and hutsWho opened up Sulden and how the first mountain huts came about.
A hundred years of tourismHow mountaineers and skiers came early to the village beneath the Ortler, Königsspitze and Zebru.

Trail between Swiss stone pines, the snow-covered Ortler massif behind

Steel summit cross against the setting sun

1915 – 1918

War inrock and ice.

A dedicated exhibition covers the First World War. From 1915 to 1917 the front line between Italy and Austria-Hungary ran through rock and ice.

It stretched from the Stelvio Pass across the Ortler and the Adamello to the northern shore of Lake Garda. For South Tyrol, these years were a historic turning point.

MineralsA fine collection of minerals, all from the Ortler region, rounds off the visit.

Glaciated peaks above a sea of cloud in the evening glow

Sulden mountain rescue

Help on the mountainsince 1898.

Mountain rescue is as much a part of Sulden as the Ortler. In 1898 the Alpine Rescue Society was founded, the forerunner of today’s mountain rescue service.

From 1880The mountain guides receive their first rescue equipment from the Alpine clubs.
1952Official founding of the Sulden mountain rescue, first led by mountain guide Fritz Reinstadler.
1960First helicopter rescue; the same year the Sulden avalanche dog school is founded.
1984First night rescue on the north face of the Ortler.

Climber with helmet on the rock, glaciers in the background

Frequently asked questions

About themuseum.

Aerial view of Sulden in summer with Hotel Cornelia on the slope

Question not listed? The Knoll family will answer personally: +39 0473 613 032 · [email protected]

Where is the Ortler Region Museum?

The museum is in the centre of Sulden, on the ground floor of the primary school. It belongs to the Knoll family, who also run Hotel Cornelia.

When is the museum open?

Ask at the Hotel Cornelia reception for the current opening times, or call +39 0473 613032.

What does the Ortler Region Museum show?

The first ascent of the Ortler in 1804, a hundred years of tourism, the pioneers, mountain huts and mountain rescue of Sulden, an exhibition on the First World War 1915–1918 and minerals, all from the Ortler region.

Who first climbed the Ortler?

Josef Pichler from the Vinschgau, together with Johann Leitner and Johann Klausner from the Zillertal, on 27 September 1804, on behalf of Archduke John of Austria. More about the mountain: The Ortler.

Is the museum a good idea on a rainy day?

Yes. The museum is in the village, within walking distance. Also in Sulden is the Messner Mountain Museum Ortles, which is dedicated to ice. More ideas: Excursions in the Vinschgau.

Holidays with the Knoll family

Discover the history,stay beneath the Ortler.

The Knoll family will reply personally: +39 0473 613 032 · [email protected]

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