This short, easy walk leads to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking Lake Kaltern and the surrounding area. The Gothic church of St. Vigilius, dating from the 14th century, is well worth a visit.

Reachability

From Bolzano, take the Mendelstraße towards Kaltern/Weinstraße. At a junction just past the village of Kaltern, turn right towards St. Anton and continue on to Altenburg, where you can park near a chapel.

Description

From the car park (611 m) opposite the small chapel (accessible via steps), we turn left onto a small tarmac road and follow it up a gentle slope to the Altenburgerhof (621 m). Passing vineyards and apple trees, which are typical of this wine-growing region, we reach a stone well at the end of the route. Here we turn right and follow a small access road with natural stone paving down to the small Gothic church of St. Vigilius. From the church, a sign points the way to an exposed viewpoint (616 m), which offers a wonderful view of Lake Kaltern, the surrounding villages and the ruins of St. Peter. Behind the three-nave basilica, dating from the Christianisation period, there are ten bowl-shaped depressions in the porphyry rock, which date back to 3,000 BC. We return to our starting point via the same route.