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00 Bressanone
Stemma di Bressanone

Trentino-South Tyrol · Bolzano

Bressanone

The oldest town in Tyrol, a prince-bishopric for eight centuries at the confluence of the Eisack and Rienz, below the Plose ridge.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
51 min from Bolzano
By train
Station in the comune
Population
22,816

Known for

  • PRINCE-BISHOPRIC

    Seat of the prince-bishops from 1027 to 1803, with the Hofburg palace and the Romanesque-Baroque cathedral as the surviving monuments of that authority.

  • NOVACELLA WINE

    Augustinian abbey founded in 1142 four kilometres north, running South Tyrol's northernmost winery with Müller-Thurgau, Kerner and Sylvaner whites.

  • PLOSE

    Town mountain east of the city, with skiing in winter and ridge hiking in summer, the local high-altitude counterpart to the riverside historic centre.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J7°
  • F10°
  • M13°
  • A16°
  • M21°
  • J26°
  • J28°
  • A28°
  • S23°
  • O19°
  • N12°
  • D7°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

Why come

Bressanone, Brixen in German, is the third-largest town and the oldest urban settlement in South Tyrol, founded in the sixth century at the confluence of the Eisack and Rienz rivers at 560 metres, forty kilometres north of Bolzano. The bishopric was established here in the early Middle Ages and received imperial immediacy in 1027; in 1179 Frederick Barbarossa granted the bishop the title of prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and Brixen remained a prince-bishopric until secularisation in 1803. The Hofburg, the bishops' palace, served as the seat of that power from the thirteenth century, with Renaissance courtyards, Baroque state rooms and the Diocesan Museum of religious art and historic nativity scenes inside.

The Romanesque cathedral was rebuilt in Baroque form between 1745 and 1754, faced with thirty-three different types of marble and joined to the older cloister. The Stufles district, across the Eisack bridge, is the oldest neighbourhood in the city. The Augustinian Abbey of Novacella, founded in 1142 by Bishop Hartmann four kilometres north, runs South Tyrol's northernmost winery, producing Müller-Thurgau, Kerner and Sylvaner.

The Sunday letter

Bressanone is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Bressanone comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Bressanone in our articles

How to get there

From Verona (VRN), about 2h 29m by car.

Milan (BGY) is about 3h 14m away.

By car from the centre of Bolzano 51 minutes or Trento 1h 23m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Verona?

Coming by train into Trento? Bressanone is about 1h 23m away by road.

Bressanone, photo 1
Bressanone, photo 2

What to see

  • Duomo di Bressanone

    Cathedral on the site of a tenth-century church, rebuilt as a Romanesque basilica in 1174 and reworked between 1745 and 1754 in Baroque form with thirty-three types of marble.

  • Hofburg

    Bishops' palace and seat of the prince-bishops from the thirteenth century to 1803, with Renaissance courtyard, Baroque state rooms and the Diocesan Museum.

  • Torre Bianca / Weißer Turm

    Seventy-eight metre bell tower of the parish church of San Michele, named for its bright tiled roof, with the present shape dating to 1459 and now a museum.

  • Abbazia di Novacella / Kloster Neustift

    Augustinian abbey founded in 1142 by Bishop Hartmann four kilometres north, with Romanesque church, Renaissance well of wonders, Baroque library and the northernmost winery in South Tyrol.

  • Stufles

    Oldest district of the city, across the Eisack bridge from the centre, with low stone houses and the original riverside settlement.

  • Plose

    Town mountain rising east of Brixen to 2,562 metres, reached by cable car from St. Andrä, with skiing in winter and hiking on the high-altitude ridges in summer.

The slow-trip planner

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We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • ApostelstubeRistorante

    Apostelstube carries one Michelin star, two Gambero Rosso forks (85/100), plus a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.

  • AlpenroseRistorante

    Alpenrose carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • ElephantRistorante

    Elephant carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • FinkTrattoria

    Fink holds a Gambero Rosso listing.

  • Oste Scuro - FinsterwirtRistorante

    Oste Scuro - Finsterwirt carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • VitisRistorante

    A spot in the Michelin Guide, at Vitis.

  • ForestisHotel

    Forestis carries two Michelin Keys, a La Liste score of 96, plus a Condé Nast Traveler nod.

  • My Arbor - DolomitesHotel

    My Arbor - Dolomites carries a place in the Michelin hotel guide.

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

  • Mercato del Pane e dello Strudelmarket

    usually held in October. sagritaly.com

Living here

  • Population 22,816
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Verona, 2 h 29 min drive
  • Regional capital Bolzano, 51 min drive

Common questions

What is Bressanone known for?
Bressanone is the oldest town in Tyrol, a prince-bishopric for eight centuries at the confluence of the Eisack and Rienz, below the Plose ridge.
Where is Bressanone?
Bressanone is a comune in the province of Bolzano, in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, at 560 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Bressanone?
Verona (VRN), about 2h 29m by car.
Can you get to Bressanone without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Bolzano to Bressanone?
About 51 minutes by car.
When is the best time to visit Bressanone?
Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Bressanone?
Yes. Mercato del Pane e dello Strudel. October is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Bressanone?
Cortona, Fabriano and Meran.
How many people live in Bressanone?
22,816 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 560 m
  • Population: 22,816
  • Surface area: 84.7 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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