
Trentino-South Tyrol · Bolzano
St. Ulrich
A Ladin wood-carving town at 1,236 metres, set between two high plateaus.
Known for
WOODCARVING
Local craft since the 17th century: sacred sculpture, altars, nativity scenes and the Val Gardena wooden-toy industry that exported across Europe.
LADIN VAL GARDENA
Ladin-speaking valley with the language as the everyday medium for most residents, trilingual signage and a strong cultural identity preserved through Union Generela di Ladins.
DOLOMITI SUPERSKI
Three cable cars (Seceda, Alpe di Siusi, Resciesa) link the village to the Sellaronda and the Dolomiti Superski circuit, and Ortisei hosted the 1970 Alpine Ski World Championships.
When to visit
Best · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- J2°
- F5°
- M7°
- A11°
- M15°
- J21°
- J23°
- A23°
- S18°
- O14°
- N7°
- D2°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The valley climbs east from the Eisack toward the Sella and the Sassolungo, and the town sits at its middle point. Almost all residents speak Ladin at home, and signage runs trilingual in Ladin, German and Italian. Three cable cars leave the village in three directions: one to the northwest onto a plateau, one north onto a long ridge below the Odle, and one south onto a high meadow that forms the valley's southern edge. The museum inside the Cësa di Ladins holds the record of the valley's carving tradition alongside fossils from the surrounding peaks and material on Luis Trenker, the mountaineer-actor-director who came from here.
The layout, a village hemmed by three lifts and named for the saint of its own parish church, reads as a place organized entirely around the ground it sits on: craft below, peaks and plateaus in every direction above.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written St. Ulrich’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 2h 24m by car.
Milan (BGY) is about 3h 8m away.
By car from the centre of Bolzano 43 minutes or Trento 1h 17m.
Coming by train into Trento? St. Ulrich is about 1h 17m away by road.


What to see
Parish church (St. Ulrich/San Udalrico)
Neoclassical church with Baroque elements, rebuilt in the late 18th century, dedicated to the Epiphany and to St. Ulrich, the patron saint who gives the town its German name.
Museum Gherdëina
Local-heritage museum inside the Cësa di Ladins documenting four centuries of woodcarving, wooden toys, sacred sculpture, Dolomite fossils and the Trenker family archive.
Seceda
Long limestone ridge reached by cable car from the village, with the Odle/Geisler peaks rising sharply to the north and high meadows dropping toward the valley.
Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm
Europe's largest high-alpine meadow, a plateau at 1,800 to 2,300 metres reached by cable car from the village, with the Sassolungo and Sciliar on its edges.
Resciesa
Plateau above the village reached by funicular, with the chapel of San Giacomo and trails toward the Aferer Geisler and Brogles.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where St. Ulrich fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
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.
Anna Stuben dell'Hotel GardenaRistorante
Anna Stuben dell'Hotel Gardena carries two Gambero Rosso forks (85/100).
Gardena Grödnerhof Hotel & SpaHotel
Gardena Grödnerhof Hotel & Spa carries one Michelin Key.
Hotel MontchaletHotel
Hotel Montchalet carries a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Living here
- Population 4,793
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Verona, 2 h 24 min drive
- Regional capital Bolzano, 43 min drive
Common questions
- What is St. Ulrich known for?
- St. Ulrich is a Ladin wood-carving town at 1,236 metres, set between two high plateaus.
- Where is St. Ulrich?
- St. Ulrich is a comune in the province of Bolzano, in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, at 1236 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to St. Ulrich?
- Verona (VRN), about 2h 24m by car.
- How long is the drive from Bolzano to St. Ulrich?
- About 43 minutes by car.
- When is the best time to visit St. Ulrich?
- Best in Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar. July is the warmest month, averaging 23 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 18 rain days.
- Which other towns are like St. Ulrich?
- Kastelruth, Cavalese and Toblach.
- How many people live in St. Ulrich?
- 4,793 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 1236 m
- Population: 4,793
- Surface area: 24.16 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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