Nature Park House

Nature Park Visitor Center in Villnöss valley

Appreciating nature at the heart of Puez–Geisler Nature Park

The Puez-Geisler Nature Park encompasses mountain ranges such as the Geisler/Odle Group and the Peitlerkofel Massif, ranking it amongst the most impressive and most photographed mountain formations in the whole of the Alps. The central information point of the nature park is the Nature Park Visitor Center in Villnöss valley, which opened in 2009 in St. Magdalena/Villnöss valley. The simple contemporary cube made of concrete, wood and glass was designed by architects Stefan Burger and Birgit Rudacs and is integrated harmoniously into its surroundings in terms of both form and colour.

This visitor center in one of the most beautiful valleys of the Alps has, since it opened, presented many interesting exhibits including a huge aerial photograph that visitors can walk across and Berge anfassen (Touching the Mountains), which is about rock types and stratification. On the second floor there are also the two permanent exhibits: Wunderkammer der Natur (lit: Nature’s Chamber of Wonders) and Berge erobern (lit: Conquering Mountains).
The mission of the visitor center is not only to inform, but also to convey the geological, biological and cultural diversity found at Puez-Geisler Nature Park. In so doing, the hope is to raise enthusiasm in people of all ages – not only regarding the natural park’s beauty but also about those things for which it stands.
 

Special exhibitions

December to March: The bark beetle
Bark beetles are an important part of the forest ecosystem: as decomposers of old, diseased trees and as food for other creatures. At the same time, they can also cause enormous damage. This small exhibition, developed by the Kastelruth secondary school, gives an insight into the way of life of this insect.
Puez-Odle Nature Park House

Contact and opening times

Nature Park Visitor Center
Trebich 1, St. Magdalena
39040 Villnöss valley
Tel. +39 0472 842 523
Fax +39 0472 842 677
info.pg@provinz.bz.it
Further information

Opening times
27th December 2023 to 28th March 2024 and from 2nd May to 31st October 2024: from Tuesday to Saturday from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm and 2.30 to 6.00 pm. In July and August open also on Sundays.
Closed on bank holidays.

Admission is free!
Puez-Odle Nature Park