In the heart of the Alta Pusteria region, surrounded by green meadows and woods with in the background the unique setting of the Dolomite massif, Villabassa (Niederdorf in German) is a municipality in the province of Bolzano, located at about 1154 meters above sea level. Important touristic resort in Val Pusteria, thanks to the talent and vision of the innkeeper Frau Emma Hellenstainer, Villabassa is popular all year round: it offers, in fact, several activities and entertainment, ranging from traditional Winter sports to trekking, from the excursions to the hydrotherapy treatments of Kneipp in the Kurpark.
Already documented in texts since 994, the town's origins date back to 769 with the founding, in the area, of the Benedictine monastery of San Candido. The monastery belonged to the High Bishop of Freising, who helped several Bavarian families to build their farms and settle in the Val Pusteria.
Sites of Interest:
- the Alta Pusteria Tourism Museum in Palazzo Wassermann;
- the Parish Church of Santo Stefano, a late-Baroque style building, inside which is preserved a valuable altarpiece by Martin Knoller, a pupil of the famous painter Paul Troger;
- the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena, built in 1490;
- the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, inside the old hospital.