South Tyrol Museum of Nature

In the South Tyrol Museum of Nature in Bolzano you can learn more about the formation of the Dolomites.

The Museum of Nature in Bolzano is the only provincial museum of natural history and is for this reason the main collecting and documentation point for natural history objects of South Tyrol. The museum is located in a historic building dating back to the period of the Austrian emperor Maximilian I in the historic centre of Bolzano in Via Bottai.

In the Museum of Nature visitors can make a natural history and culture tour across the regions of South Tyrol. The development and the aspects of the unique mountain and valley landscape and their respective biospheres is illustrated by means of several carefully selected examples. Models, stagings, games and experiments make a visit to this museum interactive. The permanent exhibition comprises two main sections: the first is dedicated to geology in South Tyrol, while the focus in the second section is set on the typical living environments in South Tyrol.

The reef-tank of 9,000 litres and the Nautilus aquarium, however, give a lively insight into the coral reef of the Triassic about 230-220 million years ago. Once upon a time a shallow tropic sea covered the area where today the Dolomites rise. The Nautilus aquarium, however, is the habitat of Nautilus, often referred to as „living fossil“. In Valgardena nautilus fossils were discovered, testifying that already about 200 million years ago these animals lived in this area. An absolute must-see.

Opening hours:
> open daily from 10 am to 6 pm
> school classses from 9 am
> Monday closing day, open on feast days
> closed on January 1, May 1 and December 25

Further information:
> South Tyrol Museum of Nature
Via Bottai 1, Bolzano
tel: +39 0471 412964
fax: +39 0471 41 2979
info@naturmuseum.it